Principal Concept Artist (Characters) - Unpublished R&D Product Job at Riot Game

As a Character Concept Artist at Riot, you will bring characters and creatures to life. Drawing inspiration from napkin sketches or full narrative concepts, you will generate ideas and craft designs that are resonant, compelling, and iconic. You will help come up with visual solutions for game concepts as a problem solver.

As a Principal Character Concept Artist on the Unpublished R&D Product team, you’ll design characters that fit the game’s thematics and tone while helping define a unique interpretation of the IP that aligns with our genre and gameplay needs. You’ll partner with the Art Director and character art leaders as you work across disciplines to shape the visual identity of new characters. You will also collaborate closely with designers, writers, and producers to bring these characters to life through strong, story-driven design.

Responsibilities

• Ideate and create highly varied character concepts
• Express character and story through your designs
• Explore creative solutions to establish a unique visual identity for the characters in the game
• Craft detailed concept art for 3D artists and outsourcing
• Work with game designers to understand and fulfill the needs of gameplay
• Collaborate with other artists on the team by providing and receiving creative/team feedback and setting clear creative goals
• Work closely with the Art Director to explore and define new styles and tones in the IP
• Discover and incorporate interesting trends and non-traditional reference
• Continuously deliver concept assets that fulfill the project’s game and visual design requirements
• Guide and mentor junior members of the team

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of concept design experience in gaming or equivalent industry
• 5+ years of professional experience using Photoshop or equivalent software
• Experience in a Principal or Lead role involving establishing style or setting vision for the product

Desired Qualifications

• Experience shipping at least one AAA game title
• Experience working on a highly recognizable stylized game
• Experience in pre-production for at least one game title
• Experience with creating character concepts
• Experience working in fantasy character concepts
• Familiarity with Riot’s live IPs

When submitting your application, please provide a portfolio of your high-quality concept art, including stylized artwork.

Perks

Riot focuses on work/life balance, with an open paid time off policy, flexible work schedules, medical, dental, and life insurance, parental leave for you and your family, and a 401k with company match. Check out our benefits pages for more information.

At Riot Games, we put players first. Our mission drives every decision as we create games and experiences that make it better to be a player. We value collaboration and believe in empowering you to bring your unique perspective every day. If this sounds like the place for you, we look 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 fair chance acts.

Duties

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 company data; communication with Rioters and third parties such as vendors and players (including minors); accessing company assets, secure digital systems, and networks; and ensuring a safe interactive environment for players and other Rioters. These duties are essential to operations, safety, trust, and compliance obligations, and duties may evolve based on business needs.