Vacancies

Art Director – Racing

Art & Animation (London-UK)

At NaturalMotion, we make games that wow people. We innovate to create experiences that previously were impossible and that would not exist without us. We take pride in making titles that reach a large audience and in creating communities that last. For the past four years NaturalMotion Studios have been named as one of the Best Places to Work in the UK games industry by gamesindustry.biz.

Our Racing Studio - responsible for the CSR Racing franchise and the #1 Racing Game on Mobile CSR2 - is one of the most ambitious, successful, and creatively inclusive studios in the UK. Based across three locations – London, Birmingham and Bangalore - the team loves welcoming diverse, humble, straightforward and ambitious talent, aspiring for award-winning excellence. People who want to find a place where they will be supported and encouraged to do the best work of their career.

Job Purpose

NaturalMotion seeks an Art Director to join the studios Art Leadership team and to drive and manage the art direction as well as overseeing the processes and pipelines for asset creation on the project. You will make sure the art direction is in service of, and under the umbrella of, the Racing Franchise Art Vision as defined by the Franchise VP Art.
 
As the Art Director, you will lead the art leadership team and are responsible for defining the strategy and tactics to deliver the art direction on the project.
 
Experienced at managing a team of direct and indirect reports, you will have a fluid and elegant understanding of a wide range of leadership, management, communication, and production practices, optimising engagement, productivity, and quality in your peers and team, whilst instilling it with the culture and values of NaturalMotion.
 
A strategic thinker, you will be able to define effective strategies for the future of art creation and translate those strategies into achievable tactical plans.
 
As Art Director you will ensure the predictable delivery of technology, features, and updates for Art on the project, helping translate your strategy into effective and achievable tactics.
 
As a senior member of the craft across NM Racing, the Art Director will join the studios Art Leadership team and will be expected to contribute in a positive way to the VP of Arts multiyear vision for the studio.
 

Key Roles & Responsibilities

The Art Director oversees the Visual Direction on the project. This work encompasses the delivery of the game’s art vision at all stages of development from pre-dev to production and live-ops.

In partnership with the Franchise VP Art, the Art Director leads the art team to deliver all art elements for their game, including in-game 3D art, 2D assets, animation and once live high level marketing and brand creative.
 
The Art Director works closely with the Design Director and General Manager to ensure the Art Direction is of industry leading quality and constantly exploring new trends and methodology for creating an evoking and engaging art style for the game.
 
The Art Director will ensure all art planning is effective, clearly communicated and includes strategic planning for efficiencies and cross discipline dependencies.
 
The Art Director will drive art communication for the project. Presents with confidence, gravitas and persuasion within the team, organisation and to press.
 
The Art Director effectively defines and articulates all the art vision goals and visual rules/reasoning for the project in a way that is clearly understandable to different audiences.
 
The Art Director will promote an Art culture and relevance across the team.

The Art Director is responsible for the art teams health including team morale, effective oversight of team training and resourcing needs, and providing direct mentoring and development to 'level-up' artists.

 

Required Experience

The Art Director has proven experience of leading the Art team on a AAA game from early concept and pre-production into full production, release and live operations.

The Art Director has experience of delivering Art content across different platforms – ranging from mobile to console and PC.

The Art Director has proven experience in clearly defining the requirements for art production components including those that have significant cross discipline dependencies and requirements.

The Art Director has experience in managing staff and processes, including the teams' required interactions and planning responsibilities with stakeholders at all levels of the team and studio

The Art Director has experience in collaborating with marketing/social teams, supporting them with asset workflows and creation.

The Art Director has experience in sourcing and attracting of talent required to meet the needs of the project.


Required Skills  
Can produce a broad spectrum of exploratory work that helps define the overall Art direction in line with the VP of Art’s requirements and sign off.

Can Clearly communicate the art direction to internal and external departments with supporting material.

Can demonstrate an understanding on colour theory and lighting fundamentals and how that can influence the art direction for the game.
 
Can demonstrate outside the box thinking when it comes to potential new art features in the game

Can mentor peers to inspire towards best practices.

Can deliver best quality whilst being mindful of game limitations.

Can promote “What good looks like” in best working practice influencer.

Stays current by immersing themselves in relevant culture.
 
Can Identify key competitors by watching and measuring, then strategizing how we dominate them artistically and reporting upwards for buy in.

What we offer you:

• Competitive salary and discretionary annual bonus scheme 
• Create next-gen games that will be played and loved by millions of players 
• around the world
• Work in a family-oriented, collaborative team that invests in your development and growth on-the-job
• A diverse team of friendly, fun and supportive co-workers
• Flexible working hours & crunch-free working culture
• Communal music and laid-back atmosphere
• Summer/Christmas parties and Happy Hour in the studio each Friday
• 25 days holiday, plus Christmas shutdown
• Private medical care and healthcare cash plan
• Life insurance and critical illness insurance
• Cycle to work scheme
• 6 months fully paid maternity leave or 3 months fully paid paternity leave
• Annual season ticket loan and cycle to work scheme

 

We are an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to building a diverse and talented workforce. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, colour, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, disability, or any other class or characteristic protected by applicable law. We welcome job-seekers, players, employees, and partners from all backgrounds to join us!

We will consider all qualified job-seekers with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable law.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with physical or mental disabilities in order to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment.  Please contact us at accommodationRequest@zynga.com to request an accommodation associated with your application for an open position.

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