Character Art Director (Stylized Games | Mobile)

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Character Art Director (Stylized Games | Mobile) based in Switzerland. The Character Art Director will shape the visual identity of an exciting, unannounced game project, creating stylized characters that captivate players through distinctive personalities, expressive designs, and emotional storytelling. This senior creative leadership role combines hands-on artistic contribution with the responsibility of defining and maintaining exceptional character art standards throughout production. You will guide character development from initial concepts to final in-game implementation, ensuring each character feels memorable, recognizable, and aligned with the overall artistic vision. Working closely with artists, animators, designers, and creative leaders across international teams, you will foster collaboration and elevate the quality of the entire character roster. This fully remote opportunity is ideal for an experienced art leader with outstanding visual judgment, a passion for stylized game art, and the ability to inspire creative excellence. Accountabilities - Define Character Art Direction: Establish and maintain a cohesive visual vision for stylized characters, ensuring consistency, originality, emotional appeal, and exceptional artistic quality across the game. - Drive Character Design and Storytelling: Develop and refine distinctive characters through expressive silhouettes, appealing proportions, shape language, color relationships, facial expressions, and meaningful visual details. - Translate Gameplay and Personality into Design: Ensure character designs communicate personality, motivations, emotions, and gameplay roles while remaining readable and recognizable at different camera distances and viewing angles.

- Contribute Hands-On Artistic Expertise: Create sketches, paintovers, design explorations, and visual references to communicate creative direction and demonstrate the desired quality standards. - Oversee the Character Production Pipeline: Guide character development from early concepts through 3D production, materials, expressions, and final in-game presentation. - Establish Quality Standards: Develop character design guidelines, artistic benchmarks, and visual references that help maintain a consistent identity across a diverse character roster. - Review and Elevate Artwork: Provide detailed artistic feedback on concepts, models, materials, and presentations, identifying opportunities to improve character appeal and overall execution. - Collaborate on Animation and Gameplay: Work with animators, designers, and technical artists to ensure character designs support expressive movement, believable acting, emotional storytelling, and gameplay requirements. - Lead and Mentor Artists: Support character artists through constructive feedback, creative guidance, and mentorship, encouraging both artistic growth and high-quality output. - Coordinate International Teams: Align artistic direction, feedback, and production priorities across distributed teams in Europe and the United States, communicating expectations through clear documentation and practical examples. - Balance Creativity with Production Needs: Maintain ambitious artistic standards while accounting for technical constraints, production timelines, and implementation requirements. - Take Ownership of Artistic Excellence: Proactively identify improvements and ensure the quality, consistency, and creative impact of character art throughout development. Requirements: - Professional Experience: At least 7 years of professional game art experience, including demonstrated experience as a Character Art Director, Art Director, or Character Art Lead.