2D Animation Director

Bardel Entertainment

$98K — $104K *
Media
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of directing or leading experience in animation projects
  • Strong expertise in 2D character animation
  • Exceptional grasp of character acting, timing, and body mechanics
  • Experience transforming storyboards into polished animations
  • Proficient with Toon Boom Harmony or similar software
  • Excellent communication and team leadership skills
  • Passionate about anime-inspired animation with a clear understanding of its unique style

Responsibilities

  • Lead the animation team through all production stages
  • Define and uphold the animation style for the project
  • Review and provide constructive feedback on animation work
  • Collaborate with various department leaders to create engaging sequences
  • Ensure animation enhances emotional tone and storytelling
  • Balance creative goals with production timelines
  • Establish scalable animation workflows and quality standards

Benefits

  • Flexible work environment
  • Extended Health and Wellness coverage from day one
  • RRSP matching
  • Comprehensive setup for a healthy work-life balance
  • Opportunities for professional growth within the animation industry
Full Job Description
Role Overview:

Bardel is looking for a 2D Animation Director to lead the animation vision for an original anime-inspired project, bringing a web comic to life through a proof-of-concept trailer and future animated series. This role establishes the animation style, guides the animation team, and works closely with creative leadership to deliver compelling performances that support the project's cinematic storytelling.

What You'll Do:
  • Lead the animation team from pre-production through final delivery.
  • Define and maintain the project's animation style, including character performance, acting, timing, movement, and visual consistency.
  • Review animation and provide clear, actionable creative feedback that elevates performance and quality.
  • Collaborate with the Storyboard Director, Producer, and other department leads to translate boards into engaging animated sequences.
  • Ensure animation supports the emotional tone, pacing, and cinematic intent of each scene.
  • Balance creative ambition with production goals, identifying risks and helping the team deliver on schedule.
  • Help establish animation workflows, quality standards, and documentation that can scale into series production

Requirements

What You'll Bring:
  • Significant experience directing or leading animation on animated productions, with strong expertise in 2D character animation.
  • Exceptional understanding of character acting, body mechanics, timing, spacing, weight, and performance.
  • Experience translating storyboards and animatics into polished, emotionally engaging animation.
  • Proficiency with Toon Boom Harmony or comparable 2D animation software.
  • Strong communication and leadership skills with the ability to mentor artists and provide clear creative direction.
  • Comfortable collaborating in an evolving development environment where ideas continue to be refined.
  • Passion for anime-inspired animation, with an understanding of the performance, timing, action, and visual language commonly found in the genre.

Benefits

Pay Range: CAD $1900 - $2000 per week

This salary range provided reflects our current expectations for these roles as of this posting's date. Your final salary offer will consider various key factors, including your education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographical location, as well as the needs and requirements of the business.

Flexible work environment, Extended Health and Wellness from day 1, RRSP matching are just some of the benefits. For more details, check out our website.

If this seems like a good fit, what are you waiting for, get your application in!

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