2k Games

Expert Character Concept Artist

2k Games$127K — $188K *
Media
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 8+ years of professional concept art experience with multiple shipped titles.
  • Exceptional online portfolio showcasing character design and development sketches.
  • Expert knowledge of character and costume design to convey narrative and personality.
  • Mastery of visual elements including anatomy, composition, and color.
  • Ability to solve complex visual design problems with thoughtful solutions.
  • Understanding of the translation from concept art to 3D production and communication of design intent.
  • Expert proficiency in 2D concept-art tools and basic knowledge of 3D tools.

Responsibilities

  • Conceptualize and develop character designs from early ideas to production-ready assets.
  • Translate complex briefs into clear visual solutions aligned with narrative and gameplay.
  • Define visual standards and contribute to style guides for consistent design quality.
  • Collaborate with art and cross-discipline teams to balance visual and technical goals.
  • Mentor artists through critique and example, improving workflows and processes.
  • Self-manage assignments while keeping leadership informed and addressing dependencies.

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage.
  • 14 paid holidays and significant vacation time (15-25 days) or discretionary time off.
  • Up to 10 paid sick days annually, parental and compassionate leave.
  • Wellbeing programs for mental health and wellness support.
  • Family planning support and fitness-related expense reimbursements.
  • Commuter benefits and participation in a 401(K) plan.
Full Job Description
What We Need:

As an Expert Character Concept Artist, you will be a key contributor to the development and evolution of our project's character direction. You are an exceptional character designer and visual problem solver who can translate broad creative goals into compelling, production-ready designs.

Working closely with the creative team you will take on complex, high-impact character-development challenges and turn ambiguous creative problems into clear visual solutions. You will operate with a high degree of autonomy while remaining aligned with the project's creative direction.

Through the quality of your work and collaboration, you will help raise the visual bar and reinforce the project's character language. As a senior craft expert, you will provide feedback, mentorship, and examples that enable stronger work.

What You'll Do:
  • Conceptualize and develop high-quality character designs from early exploration through production-ready assets (thumbnails, sketches, turnarounds, and supporting documentation).
  • You break down problems and bring solutions by translating complex, ambiguous briefs into clear visual solutions that align with narrative, gameplay, and project-wide art direction.
  • Define and uphold visual standards, contributing to style guides and reference materials to ensure consistent design quality.
  • Partner with art and cross-discipline teams to balance visual goals with technical requirements and ensure concepts are effective for translation into 3D.
  • Mentor other artists through thoughtful critique and example-setting while actively identifying opportunities to improve workflows and processes.
  • Self-manage complex assignments and priorities, maintaining alignment with leadership while proactively identifying dependencies and risks.

What'll Make You A Great Fit:
  • Typically 8+ years of professional concept art experience, with experience contributing to multiple shipped titles.
  • An exceptional online portfolio demonstrating expert-level character design across exploratory development work and refined, production-ready concepts that should include development sketches and explorations alongside refined character designs.
  • Expert knowledge of character development and costume design, with the ability to communicate personality, function, and story through visual design.
  • Mastery of anatomy, proportion, gesture, silhouette, composition, perspective, lighting, color, materials, and visual storytelling.
  • Demonstrated ability to solve complex visual design problems and produce thoughtful solutions.
  • Ability to work within an established visual direction, identifying opportunities to strengthen the design and ability to stretch stylistically.
  • Strong understanding of how concept art translates into 3D production and how to communicate design intent to downstream artists.
  • Expert proficiency with industry-standard 2D concept-art tools and working knowledge of 3D-assisted workflows using Blender, ZBrush, Maya, AI Assisted workflows or equivalent.
  • Proven ability to work independently, make sound craft decisions, manage complex assignments, collaborate effectively across disciplines, communicate clearly, and mentor other artists.

The pay range for this position in California at the start of employment is expected to be between $127,500 and $188,700 per year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations.

Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards and eligibility to participate in our 401(K) plan and Employee Stock Purchase Program.

Regular, full-time employees are also eligible for a range of benefits at the Company, including: medical, dental, vision, and basic life insurance coverage; 14 paid holidays per calendar year; paid vacation time per calendar year (ranging from 15 to 25 days) or eligibility to participate in the Company's discretionary time off program; up to 10 paid sick days per calendar year; paid parental and compassionate leave; wellbeing programs for mental health and other wellness support; family planning support through Maven; commuter benefits; and reimbursements for fitness-related expenses. Ontario only: The use of Artificial Intelligence is not being used to screen candidates. The position is for an existing vacancy.

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About 2k Games

2K Games is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded in January 2005 by Take-Two Interactive, and is best known for publishing the NBA 2K series of basketball games. Other popular franchises published by 2K Games include the Borderlands series, the BioShock series, and the Mafia series. The company has also published several licensed games based on popular movies and TV shows, such as The Walking Dead and WWE.
Learn more about 2k Games
Size
500 employees
Industry

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