Join Thunder Lotus (Spiritfarer, 33 Immortals, Jotun, and Sundered), a studio of passionate and seasoned humans, in their quest to create and publish engaging games! 

As Art Director, you will report directly to the CEO and provide problem-solving support to the production team and other departments. 

In your daily life, as an Art Director, you will have to:

• Assessing whether the project aligns with the defined vision and continuously providing feedback to the game’s leadership team to ensure quality;

• Communicating with the game’s Creative Director to ensure that visuals and ideas align with the creative vision, and making suggestions;

• Developing a short/medium/long-term vision of the project’s visual asset needs;

• Gathering references that will define the game’s overall look, in accordance with the proposed or already established creative vision;

• Planning and evaluating prototypes in alignment with the game’s creative vision, animation, and other departments;

• Creating concept sketches and ideas for environments, characters, visual effects, and all other elements (key art thumbnails);

• Communicating with the level design team to ensure the visuals are feasible and breaking down the process into steps for creating and exporting assets;

• Establishing clear guidelines and rules for the art team to follow in order to achieve the visual goal;

• Providing necessary feedback to the team and individuals to ensure the consistency of the artistic direction;

• Collaborating closely with the Animation and Design teams to enhance and highlight the artistic direction;

• Breaking down, delegates, prioritizes and provides high-level and milestone-based task estimations;

• Coordinating planning with other departments;

• Communicating with the team and ensuring task status updates in the project management software (JIRA);

• Creating drafts and prototypes (e.g., color moods, environments, props);

• Designing characters and creating reference sheets intended for 2D animation;

• Producing final-quality assets in alignment with the artistic direction;

• Integrating and testing assets in the engine (Unity) ;

• Testing assets with level designers to determine their best use in the game;

• Working closely with the marketing department and community management team;

• Creating merchandise and the art book;

• Supporting and participating in solving complex problems with the team and other departments;

• Holding one-on-one meetings with team members;

• Ensuring team engagement and motivation;

• Participating in recruitment processes and onboarding new recruits;

• Fostering a climate of trust within the team and across disciplines;

• Communicating and reinforcing Studio practices and policies with the team;

• Acting as a mentor and sharing technical knowledge with the team, peers, and other departments;

• Supporting the development of the team’s hard and soft skills;

• Staying informed on Studio news and attending Studio meetings;

• Writing artistic documentation and other relevant documents;

• Performing any other related tasks.

The ideal candidate will have the following experience and qualifications:

• At least five years of experience as an artist;

• Ability to adapt to various artistic styles;

• Strong communication and motivational skills;

• Ability to plan effectively for the team in the short, medium, and long term, considering dependencies with other departments;

• Ability to share knowledge and support others’ development;

• Decision-making skills and managerial courage;

• Delegation skills;

• Knowledge of human and animal anatomy;

• Advanced skills in 2D and 3D drawing;

• Visualization abilities (3D, 2D, isometric perspectives);

• Illustration;

• Creativity;

• Familiarity with visual codes and language specific to video games.

The ideal candidate contributes to the team with the following interpersonal skills:

• Agility;

• Collaboration;

• Receptiveness to feedback;

• Time and priority management;

• Attention to detail;

• Self-taught mindset;

• Proficiency in both spoken and written French. Proficiency in English is an asset.

The ideal candidate fills the following requirements:

Based in Montreal, as the work will require face-to-face time with the team;

Legally authorized to work in Canada;

Thunder Lotus offers:

• Competitive salary;

• Net Revenue Sharing;

• Participation in the company’s stock option plan;

• Corporate RRSP contribution program;

• Generous vacation policy and unlimited discretionary unpaid leave;

• Medical, dental, vision, life insurance and disability benefits;

• Virtual Mental Health and Telemedicine Programs (Dialogue);

• Flexible working hours and 35 hour work week;

• Flattened structure and small teams with tons of creative control over the games we make (Original IP);

Thunder Lotus is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We value talent, ideas and collaboration. Unusual backgrounds are welcome!