Background Painters/ Concept Artists

Stellar Creative Lab; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 75,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid schedule

Extended health benefits

Professional development support

Collaborative culture

Job summary

Stellar Creative Lab is seeking exceptional Background Painters and Concept Artists for a prestige streaming series, including Marvel-brand production. You will create finished environments with painterly rendering, reading from layouts and references to bring locations to life with color, lighting, atmosphere, and depth.

We value a strong portfolio and welcome junior to senior level applicants. The role offers a flexible hybrid schedule in Metro Vancouver, with extended health benefits and

Qualifications

• Strong portfolio of digitally painted environments with painterly style and storytelling.
• Proficient in Photoshop with organized, production-ready files.
• Understand silhouettes, value, perspective, depth for readability.
• Able to work calmly in a fast-paced episodic schedule and maintain consistency.
• Eligible to work legally in British Columbia.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality BGs matching the production style and language.
• Balance painterly rendering with clear silhouettes and readable composition.
• Apply color, lighting, atmosphere, perspective, and depth.
• Work from approved layouts and references to produce production-ready backgrounds.
• Coordinate with Production Designer, BG Lead, Layout, and Production team.
• Organize Photoshop files and follow production workflows.

Skills

Portfolio evaluation

Adobe Photoshop proficiency

Silhouettes & shape language

Color, lighting & atmosphere

Adaptability for episodic schedule

Eligibility to work in BC

Tools

Adobe Photoshop

Maya

Blender

ShotGrid / Flow Production Tracking

Job description

At Stellar, we aim to build a studio where people actually want to work. We face the inevitable ups and downs of production as a truly supportive and connected team, prioritizing open communication over anyone working in isolation. We value honesty, creativity, and looking out for one another.

The Opportunity

We are staffing up for a Prestige Streaming Series, and yes, it is Marvel! We are looking for exceptional Background Painters and Concept Artists who can help us drive the artistic quality and vision for this highly anticipated show.

As a BG Painter, you will create finished environments that combine painterly rendering with a strong graphic sensibility. Working from approved layouts, design direction, and production references, you will bring each location to life through thoughtful composition, color, lighting, atmosphere, shape language, and attention to detail.

While we are looking for experienced artists, we believe a strong portfolio speaks for itself and welcome applications across junior, intermediate, and senior levels.

Success Criteria

• Create high-quality digitally painted backgrounds that match the approved style and visual language of the production.
• Balance painterly rendering with clear graphic shapes, strong silhouettes, and readable compositions.
• Apply a strong understanding of colour, lighting, value, atmosphere, perspective, materials, and spatial depth.
• Work from approved layouts, visual references, and provided production materials to create polished, production-ready backgrounds.
• Maintain appropriate levels of detail and visual hierarchy so environments support the characters and action.
• Match established locations, source backgrounds, and key artwork while maintaining consistency across sequences.

Collaboration and Delivery

• Work closely with the Production Designer, BG Lead, Layout team, and production team to deliver backgrounds that meet the creative and technical needs of the show.
• Address notes and revisions with a practical, solutions-focused attitude, communicating questions, progress, and concerns clearly and in a timely manner.
• Adapt between different locations, lighting scenarios, and visual requirements while maintaining the established style and continuity of the show.
• Maintain clean, clearly named, and well-organized Photoshop files and layer structures.
• Prepare artwork correctly for review, revision, compositing, and downstream production needs.
• Follow established file structures, naming conventions, and production workflows.
• Manage assignments across multiple locations and sequences while maintaining quality, consistency, and production deadlines.

The Requirements

Must Haves

• Portfolio: A strong portfolio featuring digitally painted environments, with an emphasis on painterly and graphic background work, composition, colour, lighting, atmosphere, and visual storytelling.
• Software: High proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, including disciplined file organization, clear layer naming, and production-ready layer structures.
• Core Skills: Strong understanding of silhouettes, shape language, value structure, perspective, spatial depth, and the use of detail to support readability and focus.
• Adaptability: The ability to remain calm and creative in a fast paced episodic television schedule. Ability to work within an established visual language and maintain consistency across recurring locations, sequences, and work created by multiple artists.
• Eligibility: You must be legally eligible to work in British Columbia.

Nice to Haves

• Experience on high-end episodic, feature animation, or similarly demanding productions.
• Experience working in stylized 2D, 2.5D, CG-character, hybrid animation, or digital matte painting pipelines.
• Familiarity with 3D production references or software such as Maya or Blender.
• Matte painting, texturing, or paintover experience.
• Traditional drawing or painting skills.
• Familiarity with Flow Production Tracking / ShotGrid or similar production tracking software.

Why Join Stellar?

• Flexible Environment: We offer a flexible hybrid schedule that will vary with project and team requirements.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Extended health benefits.
• Growth: Professional development support to help you stay ahead of tech and creative trends.
• Culture: A collaborative, ego-free environment where technical expertise fuels creative magic.
• Compensation: The salary range for this position is between $75,000 and $85,000 CAD, based on your level of experience.

At Stellar Creative Lab, we believe diversity and inclusion are key to creativity and collaboration. We’re committed to building a supportive, open, and diverse community where everyone can thrive. We're always looking for ways to improve accessibility, so feel free to share any feedback or suggestions with us.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply, though priority will be given to BC Residents, Canadians and Canadian Permanent Residents.