Skydance Animation is seeking a Costume Design Assistant to join our Visual Development team. This role will collaborate closely with the Head of Costume Design, Costume Designers, and Associate Costume Designers to help bring compelling, character-driven wardrobes to life by capturing a character’s personality, enhancing storytelling, and elevating a film’s on-screen performances.
This position requires a strong creative sensibility and an even stronger technical understanding of garment construction and animation packeting ensuring that elements such as texture, weight, and movement are thoughtfully considered and communicated across various departments.
The ideal candidate is passionate about fashion and character design, extremely detail-orientated, collaborative, and highly adept at managing time and priorities.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate closely with Production Designers, Costume Design colleagues, and Visual Development Artists to support the creation and refinement of character wardrobes
- Conduct thorough research on clothing styles, fabrics, fabrication techniques, and patters to align with the narrative, character, and shows design requirements
- Prepare detailed costume packets by gathering reference materials, fabric swatches, pattern cuttings, draping, and considerations of texture, color, silhouette, and pattern design to inform downstream departments
- Assist with the execution of character hairstyles that complement overall visual storytelling
- Maintain clear and proactive communication with department leads regarding research findings, design progress (from costume associates), and costume packet development
- Provide feedback and guidance to ensure costume design consistency, offering corrections, notes, or illustrative draw-overs as necessary
(While Design is intended to be a major component long-term, initially the position will focus almost exclusively on packeting).
Requirements
- Approximately 1 year of experience working as a visual development artist, costume designer in theater, toy designer, or related industry
- Previous experience in visual development, with a strong emphasis on packeting is highly desirable
- Education in Fashion Design, Costume Design, Toy Design, or Art preferred
- Strong knowledge of textiles, fabric properties, and garment construction techniques including pattern making and draping
- Demonstrated ability within portfolio to create compelling costume designs that authentically reflects story and character
- Proven skill in interpreting and implementing feedback while consistently meeting production deadlines
- Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop or similar digital tools
- Experience working hands-on with fabrics
- Requirement to be, or become, a member in good standing of the Animation Guild (Local 839)
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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
