Senior Illustration Artist - Riftbound

Riot Games; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and life insurance

Parental leave for you and dependents

401k with company match

Flexible work schedules

Open paid time off policy

Job summary

Riot Games’ Illustration team seeks a Senior Illustration Artist for Riftbound to deliver high‑quality card art and guide external illustrators. You’ll brief, critique, and ensure artwork supports gameplay and the LoL universe.

Collaborate with an Art Director, designers, writers, animators, and game developers to plan and deliver card art across future sets, maintaining production standards and storytelling clarity.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional illustration experience or related discipline.
• Ability to provide clear, actionable feedback for external artists.
• Portfolio shows a broad range of styles and strong illustration craft.
• Solid foundations in anatomy, composition, lighting, color, and storytelling.
• Experience with briefs, style guides, and print production workflows.
• Experience in game development pipelines from concept to delivery.
• Ability to balance quality, production needs, feedback, and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Create clear art briefs translating Riftbound’s vision into direction for external illustrators.
• Provide craft-focused feedback guiding illustrations from concept to final delivery.
• Apply illustration fundamentals to elevate artwork quality and storytelling.
• Collaborate with Art Director to uphold Riftbound’s illustration direction.
• Ensure consistency and quality across artwork for multiple sets.
• Support art planning and art delivery, ensuring print-ready artwork.
• Partner with producers, designers, external artists, and other disciplines.
• Share craft knowledge and mentor teammates and partners.

Skills

Illustration expertise

Feedback for external vendors

Strong fundamentals

Creative briefs

Print production knowledge

Game art pipelines

Time management

Education

BA in illustration or related field

Equivalent practical experience

Job description

As part of the Illustration team, you’ll put stylus to Cintiq and create promotional art that represents the essence of a Champion, thematic, or gameplay to millions of players. You will use your artistic eye and experience with dynamic lighting, form, and color to tell concise and evocative stories. By working with a team of dedicated illustrators, visual designers, writers, animators, and game developers, you will help decide and illustrate each character’s unique place in our universe.
As a Senior Illustration Artist on the Riftbound team, you will play an important role in delivering high-quality card illustrations. Working closely with the Art Director and cross-disciplinary partners, you will help plan, brief, and deliver card art across multiple future sets, ensuring each illustration supports the creative vision, gameplay needs, and production standards. You will create clear art briefs and provide thoughtful, actionable feedback to external artists, guiding artwork from early concept through final, print-ready delivery. Drawing on a strong understanding of illustration fundamentals and visual storytelling, you will help maintain a consistent quality bar for Riftbound and contribute to creating memorable imagery within the League of Legends universe. Additionally, while working within the constraints of physical trading card production, you will apply your knowledge of print processes, color management, and readability to help ensure artwork reproduces beautifully and consistently at scale. You will collaborate closely with designers to ensure art reinforces gameplay goals, and with visual designers to ensure illustrations complement frames, typography, and other graphic elements. You will translate creative direction into clear, actionable briefs and artist-facing documentation, provide craft guidance and feedback to external partners, and collaborate with producers and other disciplines to deliver cohesive, compelling card sets. You will report to the project's Art Director.

Responsibilities:

• Create clear, compelling art briefs that translate Riftbound’s artistic vision into actionable direction for external illustrators
• Provide thoughtful, craft-focused feedback to external artists, helping guide illustrations from concept through final delivery
• Apply strong judgment in illustration fundamentals, composition, color, and storytelling to elevate artwork quality
• Collaborate closely with the Art Director to understand, uphold, and contribute to Riftbound’s illustration art direction
• Help maintain consistency and quality across artwork while identifying opportunities to improve individual illustrations
• Ensure card art supports gameplay clarity, mechanics, and readability in close partnership with game designers
• Work with visual designers to ensure illustrations complement frames, typography, and other graphic elements
• Review artwork for consistency, polish, and fidelity to the League of Legends IP
• Support the planning and delivery of card art across multiple future sets, helping ensure creative goals and schedules are met
• Apply knowledge of print production, color management, and physical card constraints to deliver print-ready artwork
• Partner cross-functionally with producers, designers, external artists, and other disciplines to deliver cohesive, globally appealing card sets
• Share craft knowledge and provide feedback to teammates and external partners, contributing to a collaborative and supportive art team

Required Qualifications:

• 6+years of professional experience in illustration, or a related creative discipline
• Experience working with providing clear, actionable, and constructive artistic feedback for external vendors or outsourcing partners
• Strong illustration craft skills with a portfolio that demonstrates a broad range of artistic styles
• Strong foundation in illustration fundamentals, including anatomy, composition, lighting, color theory, and visual storytelling
• Experience creating clear creative briefs and working within established style guides and visual frameworks
• Experience with production pipelines for physical goods and print, including vendor collaboration and asset delivery
• Experience working within video game development pipelines, from concept through final implementation
• Ability to balance creative quality, production requirements, feedback, and deadlines across multiple pieces of artwork

Desired Qualifications:

• BA in illustration, fine arts, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience)
• Knowledge of print processes, color management, and physical production constraints
• Familiarity with the League of Legends universe and its visual language

For this role, you'll find success through craft expertise, a collaborative spirit, and decision‑making that prioritizes the delight of players. We will be looking at your past studies, experience, and your personal relationship with games. If you embody player empathy and care about players' experiences, this could be your role!

Our Perks:

Riot focuses on work/life balance, shown by our open paid time off policy and other perks such as flexible work schedules. We offer medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you, your spouse/domestic partner, and children, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. That mission drives every decision in our quest to create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. Whether you’re working directly on a new player-facing experience or you’re supporting the company as a whole, everyone at Riot is part of our mission. And just like in our games, we’re better when we work together. Our goal is to create collaborative teams where you are empowered to bring your unique perspective everyday. If that sounds like the kind of place you want to work, we’re looking forward to your application.

It’s our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and members of Riot Games, Inc. Riot Games makes reasonable accommodations for handicapped and disabled Rioters and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, handicap, veteran status, marital status, criminal history, or any other category protected by applicable federal and state law. We consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state and local law, including the California Fair Chance Act, the City of Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Per the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the following core duties may create a basis for disqualifying candidates with relevant criminal histories:

• Safeguarding confidential and sensitive Company data
• Communication with others, including Rioters and third parties such as vendors, and/or players, including minors
• Accessing Company assets, secure digital systems, and networks
• Ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters

These duties are directly related to essential operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations within our organization. Please note that job duties may evolve based on business needs and additional responsibilities may be assigned as necessary to maintain operational efficiency and security.