Role Summary

We are looking for the next great Associate Art Director (characters and weapons), He/She will acts as a direct extension of the Art Director for all matters related to the visual direction of levels and environments. He/She ensures artistic consistency, visual quality, and the proper application of the approved art direction across environment production, while supporting characters and weapons teams for our next AAA Dark fantasy game. The candidate we need to show a strong portfolio showing visual range, style application, and quality across game art disciplines

Responsibilities

• Help define and uphold the artistic vision and visual style across characters and weapons design in conjunction with (animations, rigging, props, VFX) under senior art leadership.

• Contribute to creation and maintenance of style guides, reference materials, and documentation that communicate the art direction to artists.

• Define and maintain AAA quality standards for characters and weapons

• Act as a creative problem solver without challenging the validated vision

• Provide constructive reviews and art feedback to artists to align work with the vision.

• Assist with scheduling art milestones, tracking deliverables and escalating risks related to art quality or pipeline issues.

• Participate in cross-functional reviews (design, engineering, production) to advocate for artistic quality.

Team composition: Lead + Level artists + concept artists

Team work: Work closely with Concept, Character, Animation, rigger teams and Technical Art to ensure art quality and stylistic consistency.

Core Mandate (4 main missions)

• Ensure the consistent application of the approved art direction

• Provide senior-level expertise with immediate impact

• Support and structure Level Art teams over a limited timeframe

• Produce standards, guidelines, moodboards and ref that remain usable after the contract ends

Success Criteria (What are we expecting from you in the next months)

• Translate the existing art direction (concept art) into clear, actionable rules

• Quickly identify and correct quality gaps

• Propose artistic solutions adapted to production constraints

• Does not challenge the approved vision, but ensures its clarity and consistency

• Integrate quickly into existing pipelines

• Identify artistic and technical friction points

• Help secure chara/weapons deliverables

• Provide clarity in partially defined production contexts

Key information

• Type of contract: Full time permanent position

• Availability: ASAP (if available later, do not hesitate to apply!)

• Location: Full remote possible (Europe only)

• Compensation and Benefits:

  We partner with Deel to facilitate hiring globally, ensuring compliance with local labor laws and providing tailored benefits for each country. This collaboration allows us to offer competitive packages and seamless onboarding for our international team members, enhancing their employment experience no matter where they are located.

• Few links about us

  • We released the first trailer: https://tinyurl.com/yd9k7fa8

  • Our website: https://tinyurl.com/2ae4hxuu

  • A short article about us: https://tinyurl.com/mr23zkkb

  • Good summary of our game: https://tinyurl.com/bdzxd9cc

Hard skills

• Mandatory (if a candidate doesn’t have it in his/her background, the hiring process will not continue)

  • Industry Experience: ~6–10+ years in game art roles (lead artist, senior artist) with shipped titles - preferably including AAA console/PC projects.

  • Leadership Exposure: Previous work leading art tasks, mentoring, or supervising artists within a game production environment.

  • Expertise in industry art tools such as Maya/3ds Max, Photoshop, Substance, and familiarity with proprietary or modern engines like Unreal.

  • Solid understanding of art pipelines, asset creation constraints, and performance considerations in real-time games.

  • Strong collaborative mindset, excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability to articulate artistic decisions to artists, leads, and non-art stakeholders

• Nice to have (if the candidate doesn’t have it, we can continue the hiring process)

  • Knowledge in concept art characters and weapons

  • Basic artistic principles

1. First conversation (20 min) by video call with Arthur (Recruiter): To learn more about your experience, your expectations and Novaquark

2. Technical interview (1 hour) with Mohamed (Lead Character Artist) To assess your technical skills and go deeper into our project

3. Hiring Manager interview (1 hour) with Jérémie (Art Director) To meet your future manager and to go deeper in our current context and the position itself

4. Production interview (1 hour) with François (Production Director) and Vincent (Head of Studio Novaquark) To meet your future manager and to go deeper in our current context and the position itself

Throughout the entire recruitment process, Arthur will ensure follow-up and coordination. Do not hesitate to send your portfolio in addition to your CV to showcase your creations!