Expert Character Concept Artist

Socket.dev; San Mateo (CA); Hybrid; USD 128,000 - 189,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

14 paid holidays per year

15–25 days vacation per year

Up to 10 paid sick days per year

Parental and compassionate leave

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

31st Union seeks an Expert Character Concept Artist to lead character direction and produce production-ready designs. You will translate broad creative goals into compelling visuals and mentor peers while maintaining alignment with the project’s artistic direction.

With 8+ years in concept art, you will contribute to multi-title development, push visual standards, and collaborate across disciplines to ensure effective 3D translation.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of professional concept art experience.
• Online portfolio showing expert-level character design across development work.
• Ability to translate briefs into clear, production-ready visual solutions.

Responsibilities

• Conceptualize and develop high-quality character designs from exploration to production-ready assets.
• Translate complex briefs into visual solutions aligned with narrative and gameplay.
• Define and uphold visual standards; contribute to style guides and references.
• Collaborate with art and cross-discipline teams to ensure 3D translation feasibility.
• Mentor other artists through critique and example-setting.
• Self-manage complex assignments and align with leadership on priorities.

Skills

Character design

Anatomy mastery

Visual storytelling

3D workflow understanding

Education

Bachelor's degree in Art/Design

Tools

Blender

ZBrush

Maya

Job description

WE ARE GAME MAKERS

Who We Are:

At 31st Union, we are a diverse team of developers driven by a passion for our art, united by our core values and inspired by a culture of inclusivity to build amazing games that thrill players everywhere. We pursue growth and innovation in an environment of safety and trust. Our culture is built on the belief that the more varied voices in our collective will strengthen our team and our games. We are looking for our next teammate who will raise our bar and make us better.

For more information, visit our website at: thirtyfirstunion.com

What We Need:

As an Expert Character Concept Artist, you will be a key contributor to the development and evolution of our project's character direction. You are an exceptional character designer and visual problem solver who can translate broad creative goals into compelling, production-ready designs.

Working closely with the creative team you will take on complex, high-impact character-development challenges and turn ambiguous creative problems into clear visual solutions. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy while remaining aligned with the project’s creative direction.

Through the quality of your work and collaboration, you will help raise the visual bar and reinforce the project’s character language. As a senior craft expert, you will provide feedback, mentorship, and examples that enable stronger work.

What You’ll Do:

• Conceptualize and develop high-quality character designs from early exploration through production-ready assets (thumbnails, sketches, turnarounds, and supporting documentation).
• You break down problems and bring solutions by translating complex, ambiguous briefs into clear visual solutions that align with narrative, gameplay, and project-wide art direction.
• Define and uphold visual standards, contributing to style guides and reference materials to ensure consistent design quality.
• Partner with art and cross-discipline teams to balance visual goals with technical requirements and ensure concepts are effective for translation into 3D.
• Mentor other artists through thoughtful critique and example-setting while actively identifying opportunities to improve workflows and processes.
• Self-manage complex assignments and priorities, maintaining alignment with leadership while proactively identifying dependencies and risks.

What'll Make You A Great Fit:

• Typically 8+ years of professional concept art experience, with experience contributing to multiple shipped titles.
• An exceptional online portfolio demonstrating expert-level character design across exploratory development work and refined, production-ready concepts that should include development sketches and explorations alongside refined character designs.
• Expert knowledge of character development and costume design, with the ability to communicate personality, function, and story through visual design.
• Mastery of anatomy, proportion, gesture, silhouette, composition, perspective, lighting, color, materials, and visual storytelling.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex visual design problems and produce thoughtful solutions.
• Ability to work within an established visual direction, identifying opportunities to strengthen the design and ability to stretch stylistically.
• Strong understanding of how concept art translates into 3D production and how to communicate design intent to downstream artists.
• Expert proficiency with industry-standard 2D concept-art tools and working knowledge of 3D-assisted workflows using Blender, ZBrush, Maya, AI Assisted workflows or equivalent.
• Proven ability to work independently, make sound craft decisions, manage complex assignments, collaborate effectively across disciplines, communicate clearly, and mentor other artists.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $127,500 and $188,700 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including:

• medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program
• up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year
• paid parental and compassionate leave
• wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support
• family planning support through Maven
• commuter benefits
• and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses.

Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

#LI-Remote #LI-Onsite #LI-Hybrid