UK Only | Art Director

Blue Zoo Productions; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Remote options

Career development

London studio

Profit sharing

Job summary

Blue Zoo Productions in London seeks an Art Director to drive the visual direction across the art, asset, lighting and compositing teams. You will translate the director's vision into concrete design, review work and guide the team to deliver high-quality artwork within the production brief.

Reporting to the Production Manager and Line Producer, you will manage timelines and budgets, mentor designers, and may participate in hiring.

Qualifications

• Excellent aesthetic judgement and imaginative design ability.
• Strong communication to translate director’s vision.
• Proven leadership to manage an art department.
• Understanding of animation pipelines and production constraints.
• Experience supervising design teams and mentoring artists.
• Proficiency with design tools such as Cintiq and Photoshop.

Responsibilities

• Lead artists across art, asset, lighting and compositing teams.
• Articulate director’s vision and provide concise feedback.
• Review design work to ensure alignment with production brief.
• Manage deadlines, budgets and resource planning with Production Manager.
• Mentor the design team and contribute to hiring decisions.

Skills

Aesthetic judgement

Communication skills

Leadership

Understanding animation pipelines

Budget & schedules

Design team supervision

Color theory & lighting

Concept development

Problem solving

Tools

Cintiq

Photoshop

Job description

As Art Director you are a fundamental part of the project team and responsible for its visual direction. You will lead the artists in the art department, asset team and lighting and compositing teams. You will articulate the vision of the director to the team, review design work in detail and provide concise, informative feedback to ensure artwork produced fulfils the production brief.

You will ensure all artwork is of a high quality and reflects the director’s vision. You will provide detailed brief and feedback, ensuring any material passed to artists is comprehensive in helping translate design into final asset or shot.

Reporting to the Production Manager and Line Producer, you will assist on budgets and timelines. You will need to be flexible and a creative problem solver to ensure the director’s creative brief is met within resources and timeframes. As Art Director you may also be involved in the hiring process for the art department.

We are very happy to discuss flexible, hybrid and remote working options for all our vacancies. Please note that this vacancy can close early if we receive a high number of applications.

Day to Day:

• Facilitating the requirements for story and the Directors’ vision for characters, sets and props that establish and maintain the show’s unique visual style throughout the animation pipeline.
• Brief and give feedback to the production team in order to achieve the right visual tone, mood, colour palette etc. to help communicate the story, character and world.
• Develop and communicate a clear design vision (including characters, locations, props, backgrounds, lighting, and colour) that will support and maintain the overall creative vision and quality for the story and style of the project.
• Liaise with the Production Manager and coordinators to agree on the best use of resources within the art department, finding practical solutions to creative problems and working to a TV production turnaround.
• Manage the art department of designers and provide practical direction to the pre production and lighting/ comp teams.
• Oversee workflow to ensure all deadlines are met, communicating with the Animation Director and/or other departments to anticipate and tackle potential design and production challenges and issues
• Liaise and communicate with the client team.
• Mentor and support the design team and cultivate positive team morale.
• Provide feedback and direction to the 2D team, both for episodic props and characters and environments.
• Brief the designers/2D team directly.
• Liaise between departments so that everyone is getting what they need. i.e: rigging/animation requirements must be considered from the very first 2D design.
• If a CG supervisor is involved, maintain a close relationship and be able to direct and answer questions throughout the production process to problem solve in tandem where challenges arise.

About You

Must Have:

• Excellent aesthetic judgement, artistic skill and imagination to produce original and high-quality designs.
• Excellent communication skills to gain clear understanding of what the director wants, being able to explain ideas, give constructive feedback.
• Strong organisational and management skills to lead a department, able to communicate and present visual ideas.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to meet deadlines and keep a team on schedule.
• Understand animation pipelines: be able to understand what can be achievable further down the line within an animation pipeline. Take the initiative to talk with all departments to understand their requirements in a design, in order to execute successfully in its final 3D format.
• Work to a schedule and budget, be able to prioritise, remain calm under pressure.
• Experience supervising a design team including delegating, providing constructive feedback.
• Comprehensive knowledge of tools and software such as Cintiq, Photoshop, or other applicable design software.
• Ability to create concepts for characters, props and sets and ability to adapt and work within different styles as required.
• Excellent understanding of colour theory, surfacing and lighting.
• Experience of planning and assessing the design needs from scripts.
• Knowledge of storyboarding and cinematography.
• Able to think laterally and creatively to problem solve and produce great design solutions efficiently while working to tight deadlines.

About Us

Blue Zoo is a leading animation studio in the UK, with a world-class reputation as the go-to place for creating bold, fun and characterful animation. Established in London in 2000, the studio has grown to become the largest dedicated CG animation studio in the UK, picking up a shelf full of BAFTAs, an Annie and an Emmy along the way!

We couldn’t be prouder that Blue Zoo is the first major animation studio in the world to receive B Corp certification. We’ve been independently certified by B Lab, a non-profit organisation who award the B Corp certification. The certification verifies companies who are working to improve the lives of employees as well as industries as a whole. The certification process involves over 170 rigorous metrics to improve the lives of our staff, customers, suppliers, and the local community, ensuring we are not just saying we are ethical with empty gestures, but independently evidencing it.

We are going through an exciting period of growth and are building a studio that is full of amazingly talented, happy artists, making work they are proud of, which in turn makes a small contribution to a happier world. Blue Zoo believes that a healthy balance in our lives - whatever our situation - is key to supporting the wellbeing of our staff. We offer flexible working to support this.

We look for people who have expertise, enthusiasm and are motivated to make things better. You’ll work alongside a talented and diverse group of people who respect each other's differences and seek to understand and embrace fresh perspectives.

What we offer:

• Winner of Broadcast Best Places to Work in TV 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025 & 2026.
• Flexible and remote working policy
• Play a role in our Inclusive Blue Zoo Shorts Programme
• Many in-person and remote social events throughout the year
• Career development opportunities including training. Mentoring and more.
• Quarterly employee feedback and engagement programme
• Benefits package including cycle to work scheme, gym memberships, shopping discounts and offers
• Great studio space in the heart of London
• Studio lunches plus breakfasts and healthy snacks
• Profit share (for UK employees who have been with us for 2+ years)

Blue Zoo is committed to creating and nurturing an inclusive studio that promotes and values diversity and invites everyone to ‘bring their whole selves’ to work. We believe that companies that truly embrace and value diversity, and create an environment where everyone from any background can do their best work, are better companies.

To be engaged our people have to feel included and valued. We work hard to build and nurture a culture where inclusiveness is embedded in the way we work, not just an initiative. We strive to engender a studio community that feels a deep sense of pride and commitment that transcends any role, department or level and works together to produce excellent and engaging work.