Lead Artist

Just Wright; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A creative studio in Liverpool seeks a Lead Artist to enhance visual fidelity for a game franchise. You’ll balance producing high-quality environments and leading a team. Significant experience in Unity and a passion for game development are essential. Enjoy a fantastic culture with flexible hours and various benefits, including holiday schemes and training opportunities.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

25 days holiday + Bank Holidays

Annual pay reviews

Discretionary bonuses

Continual training and development

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience within a Senior, Principal or Lead Artist role.
• Strong understanding and passion for games and their development.
• Ability to assess and implement new technologies.

Responsibilities

• Optimising and ensuring delivery of high-quality work.
• Leading teams to ensure quality work is produced and deadlines are met.
• Creating high-quality, production-ready art assets as required.

Skills

Unity

Art direction

Team leadership

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Job description

Lead Artist

Department: Creative

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: UK

Description

Build worlds that millions unwind in. Based in Liverpool, Skyhook Games is the studio behind Lawn Mowing Simulator and a trusted partner on the Train Sim World series, blending craft, technology and production discipline to deliver standout simulation experiences. You’ll join a team that also provides specialist art and development services to leading studios, so your work will span diverse projects and platforms.

Job Overview We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Lead Artist /Principal Artist to help bring LMS2 to life – the exciting sequel to Lawn Mowing Simulator, our much loved original title. You will work closely with the Art Director and join our game development team as we improve the visual fidelity of the franchise.

As the Lead Artist, you will balance your time between producing high-quality realistic environments & assets and guiding a team of artists to deliver likewise, to meet both aesthetic and technical requirements.

A working knowledge of the process of animation and how to get the best from it would be advantageous.

This is a hands‑on role for an experienced artist who can work independently and be able to juggle leading a small cohort. You will assist with the allocation and grading of work to ensure high visual quality, artistic consistency and milestones are met.

You must have solid experience working within Unity and have seen at least one game development project through to release.

What will you do?

• Optimising and ensuring delivery of high-quality work
• Ensuring artwork follows the agreed realistic project style
• Identifying relevant reference materials that can be used within projects
• Taking direction from Art Director, clients and peers and proactively make changes as needed
• Creating high-quality, production-ready art assets as required
• Ensuring believable and high-quality artwork is created
• Working with management and peers to ensure that artwork is completed on time
• Creating and updating documents on art production processes/workflows
• Amending workflow documentation so that they work within context
• Leading teams to ensure quality work is produced and deadlines are met
• Guiding and mentoring other team members
• Helping to drive the art vision and production for the game
• Allocating tasks and providing feedback to other artists within team
• Contributing to senior team feedback
• Attending meetings as required with senior management
• Contributing to meetings and working with other teams to ensure deadlines are met
• Ensuring best results in a given amount of time and advising on pipelines
• Where necessary, communicating feedback from senior management to juniors
• Benchmarking and creation of assets as required

What are we looking for?

• Demonstrable experience within a Senior, Principal or Lead Artist role
• Experience in leading and providing feedback to team in a similar role
• A strong eye for detail and excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• A strong understanding and passion for games and their development
• Coordination and direction of asset creation across projects
• Working knowledge of Unity to implement and iterate on art assets, ensuring they function correctly in-game
• Ability to direct the team to achieve project goals
• Ability to identify risks for team and project and provide contingency solutions and mitigation plans as needed
• Experience with providing and verifying estimates and assisting in the building of art schedules for project plan
• Ability to assess and implement new technologies alongside Art Director
• Assessing where development time can be saved from experience
• Needs a pragmatic view towards technology and can see the opportunity of using it as timesaving tools

Why will you love working with Skyhook Games?

• Fantastic team culture and working environment
• Zero crunch culture
• Flexible working hours
• 25 days holiday +Bank Holidays, rising with length of service each year
• Holiday buy back scheme
• Annual pay reviews
• Discretionary bonuses
• Contributory workplace pension scheme
• Referral bonus scheme
• Parental leave
• Company Events, including social events, industry events, charity events and more
• Continual training and development for all staff
• Paid parking
• Cycle to work scheme
• Christmas-New Year shutdown