Skydance Animation is seeking an Art Director to help shape the visual identity of an upcoming animated feature film. This role is central to defining and executing the overall look and feel of the film, ensuring a cohesive and compelling visual experience that supports both story and character.
The Art Director will report to the Production Designer and will work in close partnership with the Director and the rest of the creative leadership team to bring the film’s visual vision to life, translating conceptual ideas into a clear and actionable visual direction for the broader art team. Throughout production, they will collaborate across departments, including environments, characters, lighting, and effects, to maintain artistic consistency and elevate the quality of every frame.
This position requires a strong artistic sensibility, a deep understanding of visual storytelling, and the ability to lead and inspire artists in a fast-paced, highly collaborative environment. The ideal candidate is both a visionary and a problem-solver and someone who can balance creative ambition with production realities while pushing the film’s aesthetic to new heights.
Prior experience on an animated feature film is required.
Responsibilities
- Champion and help execute the Director’s creative vision for the film’s visual identity, in close partnership with the Production Designer, ensuring consistency and excellence from development through final delivery
- Define, develop, and clearly communicate the film’s artistic style, with a particular focus on environments, sets, props, and color design, establishing a cohesive visual language across all departments
- Create and contribute high-quality concept art, visual development materials, and key imagery
- Collaborate with the Production Designer to lead and oversee the Los Angeles and Madrid based Art Departments, fostering alignment, consistency, and a unified creative direction across global teams (including occasional travel as needed)
- Provide ongoing artistic direction, feedback, and mentorship to team members, supporting their growth while maintaining high creative standards
- Work closely with studio leadership, production, and technical teams to align on creative goals, production timelines, tools, and budget, balancing artistic ambition with practical execution
- Prepare and deliver compelling presentations that communicate the film’s visual direction to studio executives, stakeholders, and external partners
- Partner with production leadership, Talent Development, and Talent Acquisition to identify, evaluate, and help secure top artistic talent for key roles across departments (both internally and externally)
- Facilitate clear and proactive communication across departments
- Other duties as assigned
Requirements
- 6 years of experience working on animated feature productions; experience in leading or supervising an Art Department, preferably within CG animated feature films a plus
- Demonstrated ability to develop visual ideas from initial concept through final execution, with a strong sense of ownership and creative problem-solving
- Exceptional understanding of design fundamentals, including composition, color theory, lighting, shape language, and visual storytelling
- Proven leadership and team management skills, with the ability to guide, motivate, and develop artists in a collaborative production environment
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize across multiple demands while maintaining a high standard of artistic quality
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a collaborative mindset and the ability to clearly articulate creative direction to diverse teams
- Ability to balance creative vision with production realities, aligning the needs of the show, department, and studio
- Solid understanding of animation production pipelines, workflows, and tools, with proficiency in industry standard software such as Adobe Photoshop
- Experience working across multiple locations or with distributed teams is a plus
Skills Required
- Prior experience on an animated feature film
- 6 years of experience working on animated feature productions
- Experience leading or supervising an Art Department
- Demonstrated ability to develop visual ideas from concept through final execution
- Exceptional understanding of design fundamentals (composition, color theory, lighting, shape language, visual storytelling)
- Proven leadership and team management skills, with ability to guide and develop artists
- Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize multiple demands
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to balance creative vision with production realities, aligning show, department, and studio needs
- Solid understanding of animation production pipelines, workflows, and tools
- Proficiency in industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop
- Experience in CG animated feature films
- Experience working across multiple locations or with distributed teams
- Ability to lead and oversee Los Angeles and Madrid based Art Departments, including occasional travel
What We Do
About Skydance Media Skydance is a diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company brings to life stories of immersive worlds across its feature film, television, and interactive platforms. Its feature films include Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Annihilation, LIFE, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Star Trek Beyond, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Terminator Genisys, World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and True Grit. Skydance’s upcoming film releases include Top Gun: Maverick, Gemini Man, The Old Guard, 6 Underground and the nwe untitled Terminator film. In 2017, Skydance formed an animation division to develop and produce a slate of high-end feature films and television series in partnership with Spain’s Ilion Animation Studios. Skydance Television launched in 2013. Its current slate includes Emmy-nominated Grace and Frankie on Netflix, Altered Carbon on Netflix, Jack Ryan on Amazon, and Condor on AT&T Audience Network. Skydance Interactive launched in 2016 to create and publish original and IP-based virtual reality experiences and video games. Skydance Interactive recently debuted its first original title – Archangel, a story-driven VR shooter. About Skydance Interactive Skydance Interactive creates and publishes original and IP-based virtual reality games. The division of Skydance Media was launched in 2016 through the acquisition of The Workshop Entertainment. Skydance Interactive’s first VR offering is Archangel, launched on July 18th 2017. Skydance Interactive in 2017 partnered with Skybound Entertainment to develop a number of original virtual reality video games based on the expansive world of The Walking Dead universe. The Walking Dead VR game will be the inaugural co-developed title from both companies. The studio is located in Marina del Rey, CA. About Animation In 2017, Skydance formed an animation division to develop and produce a slate of high-end feature films and television series in partnership with Spain’s Ilion Animation Studios. Skydance’s first three animated features are Luck, Split (working title), and Powerless (working title). Luck, directed by Alessandro Carloni (Kung Fu Panda 3) and written by Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger, is a comedy that pulls back the curtain on the millennia-old battle between the organizations of good luck and bad luck that secretly
