Cultural Methodology

Are you as enamored with the promise of virtual reality as we are? Have you designed games or worlds that users have fallen in love with? Are you excited to push pixels and melt GPUs in order to deliver the absolute best visual experiences in the world?

If so Secret Location wants someone like you. Someone who is not afraid to experiment, push outside their comfort zone, crush boundaries and eager to constantly learn and evolve their skill set.

If none of that scares you, then Secret Location needs you as their Art Director in Los Angeles; to be the vision holder and evangelist for our properties;  applying your notable experience and proven ability to deliver cutting edge immersive visuals; defending, tweaking and maximizing visual fidelity against the onslaught of budgets, timelines and stakeholders.

In the end, we need someone with a keen eye, tremendous talent, and an avid interest in pushing the leading edge of game art development, specifically in VR

Company Responsibilities

• The Art Director is equal parts manager, mentor and hands-on artist.
  * As a manager, the Art Director will identify the strengths and weaknesses of their team and pipeline, they will see problems ahead of time and work with the Producer to prevent and mitigate risk; they will mentor their team and draw out potential in individual artists.
  * As a mentor, the Art Director is the evangelist of the project and its creative potential; advocating, advising and, where necessary, demanding better and better results.
  * As an artist, the Art Director is responsible for establishing the creative look & feel, pushing the limits of feasibility and ultimately delivering the world class visual output Secret Location expects.
• The Art Director will collaborate with stakeholders, executives and department leads  to deliver world-class visuals on schedule and within scope and budget, contributing significantly to establishing Secret Location as a premium producer of Virtual Reality experiences.

Project Responsibilities

• The Art Director will deliver and/or oversee the delivery of storyboards, look development, concepting development, layouts, designs, graphics, models, textures and shaders and other production materials as well as assigning tasks, approving work, and managing the time of assigned resources.
• Throughout a project the Art Director tracks creative milestones and ensures that the team stays on track, critiques and reviews art when it comes in, gives notes for revision, provides mock-ups, and lights the fire under the creative staff.
• In pre-production;
  * the Art Director leads the creation or exploration of of storyboards, layouts, user interfaces, character design, models, textures, shaders, environments, and all other visual material. He or she also directs the research and development of new pipelines. When the programmers have an engine prototype in place, the art director oversees the insertion of placeholder art.
• In production,
  * the Art Director keeps a close eye on the pipeline, assigns tasks, approves work, constantly checking in with the team to monitor asset creation; maintaining an art production pipeline, process and workflow that ensures the art direction adds considerable value to the finished product.
  * The Art Director is hands on and jumps in where his/her skills are best suited to prevent blockers and maximize team output.
  * The Art Director is ultimately responsible for creative quality assurance, review & feedback and integration of assets delivered from 3rd party providers.

Required Skills or Experience:

• 5+ years in lead artist or lead concept position, with heavy emphasis on maintaining strong team dynamic, creativity and efficiency
• Must have shipped multiple titles on PC or console. High preference for AAA experience.
• Prior experience as a lead environment or character artist is applicable to this role, as is work as a lead game designer.
• Expert understanding of game engines (Unity and Unreal) and the game development process, from design methodology to craftsmanship and production; and specific art integration pipelines.
• BA or BFA in Computer Graphics, Game Design, Visual Effects or equivalent experience.
• Experienced at pitching visual and gameplay designs and able to adapt visual design goals to the strengths of the various platforms.
• Broad proven 3D generalist skillset; including modeling, texturing, shader creation, lighting and environment skills.
• Proven ability to work with diverse teams across multiple offices; including the ability to guide freelancers and vendors in delivering to exacting and detailed requirements.
• Strong foundational art skills in color, composition, light, anatomy, architecture  and form.
• Ability to lead by example via consistent contribution, hands-on attitude and cohesive efforts.
• In-depth mastery and understanding of 2D and 3D art packages, including Photoshop and industry tools (Maya, 3D Max, Zbrush, etc.), with some scripting experience.
• Able to build, evaluate and revise art schedules and manage a team’s project execution within them. Able to schedule dependencies with other project leaders.
• Ability to define deadlines and work across disciplines to establish project/task LOE, schedules, work well under pressure, and able to multitask effectively.