Tatsu Works is a company passionate about connecting communities through Tatsumeeko, our modern fantasy JRPG. We are looking for a highly experienced and responsible Senior/Lead Concept Artist to join us and create head turning and eye pleasing characters and environment art for Tatsumeeko, the next game expansion to our popular Tatsu.GG platform used by more than 1.4 million Discord communities. We place fun gameplay, awesome user experience and mass adoption at the forefront of our creative vision. Our team is looking for someone who specializes in characters or environment digital illustrations and can independently create new concepts on the fly. The ideal candidate will have a passion for art, a keen eye for detail and the ability to take initiative. The Senior/Lead 2D Artist joining us will share our vision and make this project their own.

Senior/Lead 2D Artist Responsibilities

• Design and visualize a variety of different subject matters, including but not limited to characters, environments, combat scenes and monsters
• Lead a team of concept artists to quickly visualize and create concepts for the same variety of different subject matters.
• Create sketches and quick drawings that can quickly convey information, emotion and intention in the form of characters, environments, scenes, and monsters
• Keep in mind the big picture even while designing the smallest of details
• Understand the rules of the game world and know what can ‘work’ within the game world
• Develop ideas into visual formats where necessary
• Work with other artists, designers and developers to match the current colors and design style
• Bring original ideas and concepts to discuss in planning meetings
• Imagine, and breathe life into mere words, reference images and abstract ideas, while still keeping in mind the broader picture and narrative
• Actively source for a variety of different references and concepts to aid the work of both the art team and yourself
• Sometimes, polish concepts into working illustrations for a variety of purposes
• Be independent in your time management, fulfilling requests on time or informing ahead of time if more time would be required for requests
• Be faithful to the references when they are provided
• Positive attitude and an ability to receive and provide objective feedback
• Adapt to remote working, asynchronous communication and be willing to attend remote meetings with colleagues to resolve issues and to collaborate on meaningful tasks

You may be a good fit if you:

• Have least 5 years of experience working on concept art and 1-2 year (Senior) or more than 3 years (Lead) of experience leading a team
• Have substantial experience with anime or eastern style digital illustrations
• Have an eye for small details that make worlds come alive even while being able to keep in mind the big picture
• Have the urge to produce digital art that engages and attracts our users
• Are adaptable and able to match the current game style and make constructive suggestions
• Are able to work hand-in-hand with other artists and developers on game related graphics
• Are self-motivated, collaborative, good interpersonal and communication skills
• Have fluency in written and verbal English.
• Have strong comprehension ability, allowing you to take in information and quickly generate sketches off your understanding of the information
• Have experience doing designs for a variety of things including: characters, monsters, environments and props.
• Have strong experience with Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint or similar technologies
• Have experience working on long term commercial projects and an entirely remote team
• Have an affinity for JRPGs, anime, and MMORPGs in general
• Understand and embrace the speed of a growing startup
• Comfortable in working with remote team members in various timezones
• Willing to get your hands dirty and get work done

Projects you will work on:

• Drawing NPC characters in different poses
• Work closely with illustrators and animators to ensure the vision laid out by your concepts are conveyed
• Create quick sketches during meetings to better facilitate and provide a unified understanding of how something should look and feel
• Work with technical artists and assist with creating art pipelines whenever necessary
• Work with the UI/UX team to develop user interface concepts