Bonfire is seeking a talented and passionate Senior Character Concept Artist to help us visualize captivating and believable characters and creatures for our new original IP. The candidate that will make an impression on us is an artist who demonstrates outstanding draftsmanship with a solid understanding of human and creature anatomy, costume, and prop design. Most importantly, a successful candidate strives for excellence and brings solid ideas and solutions to enhance the designs and story behind the characters.
Bonfire Studios is a highly collaborative, cross-disciplinary environment where every developer’s voice shapes the company, the game, and the tasks we work on each day. This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site at our Irvine, California studio and some work-from-home. However, we understand each person’s circumstances may be unique, and will work with you to explore other possible options, including remote work arrangements.
About the role…
- You will create concept art for characters, creatures, and props- ranging from loose exploration sketches all the way to fully rendered designs.
- Work closely with Art Directors, Artists, Animators, and Designers on the design and function of characters and creatures.
- Collaborate with 3D Artists by providing extensive paint-overs to push the visuals further, and problem-solve.
- Create thoroughly researched mood boards and quick iterative sketches that inspire new possible themes.
- Your ultimate impact on the studio will be unbounded; we lean on each other’s passions and embrace one another’s unique perspectives on game development to help us all grow as a team together. You will have many opportunities to contribute to areas of the game and the company outside your core focus.
We’re excited about you because you…
- Believe, as we do, that great games are the product of great teams that put their people first.
- Value working with a diverse team and welcoming different perspectives.
- Have a growth mindset and also care about helping others develop.
- Have experience in the games or film industry, designing characters, costumes, and creatures.
- Demonstrate outstanding draftsmanship with an understanding of fundamentals like composition, perspective, proportion, scale, value, and color theory.
- Have a strong costume and fashion design knowledge throughout many eras and cultures, from modern to historical.
- Have a strong sense of material surfaces and the ability to communicate that visually.
- Draw storyboards that will illustrate the movement of FX and FX animations
- Possess excellent communication skills and the ability to work individually, in groups, and with multiple departments with different personalities.
- Proactively seeks feedback from the Art Director and team to enhance the visual design.
- Understand that art supports the game and has gameplay relevance and implications.
- Have expert-level understanding of Photoshop.
- Are able to self-manage time and meet deadlines and goals.
A little something extra…
- Knowledge of standard 3D software such as Zbrush, Maya, Modo, 3ds, or Blender to facilitate concept creation.
- Ability to create jaw-dropping illustrations with a compelling visual narrative that excite others with its unique artistic vision.
- Are a player of many games and love examining them and thinking about how to take them to the next level.
- Can work with outsourcing to provide feedback on the concepts and 3d models
- Able to manage Miro board to keep track of the latest concepts and help streamline the production
- Have 7+ years in the games or film industry working on character, creatures, and props designs in past projects.
- Ability to learn new tools and game engines quickly.
You’ll love working at Bonfire because we…
- Have strong values that include transparency, ownership, and trust. We are a people-first studio that also strives for a high bar of excellence in our creations.
- Celebrate craft expertise because we are a small, tight-knit group of highly experienced game developers who are as passionate about our team as we are our game.
- Offer opportunities to learn and contribute beyond your focused discipline in areas of interest or passion.
- Practice candor and feedback, leveling ourselves and each other up in the process.
- Play games and have fun together, kindling our own love for games and learning about each other.
The base salary range for this position is $148,600 – $236,133. The range doesn’t tell the whole story – we are always open to candidates at different stages in their careers and consider candidates’ potential impact holistically, not just their years of experience or skill level. There is also more to our total comp package than salary, we offer equity to every new hire as well as a comprehensive benefits package and more. We will be happy to share more about our compensation opportunities when we chat with you!
You can learn more about Bonfire’s studio culture, team, benefits, and perks on our website: www.bonfirestudios.com. Any information you submit is used for recruiting purposes only, and is never shared. You can learn more in our privacy policy.