Senior Art Director, Creative Development

$136,000 - $181,000/Yr

Unclassified - Glendale, CA

Full-time - Senior

Glendale, CA

About the position

The Senior Art Director, Creative Development is a pivotal role responsible for providing artistic leadership across a diverse portfolio of licensed console, mobile, and PC games. This position requires a blend of artistic vision and licensing expertise to ensure that all game titles deliver exceptional and authentic Disney and Pixar experiences for fans and gamers alike. The Senior Art Director will manage a talented art department and collaborate closely with Disney Games production, creative, and marketing teams, as well as world-class developers. This role is essential in establishing best-in-class visual standards and providing guidance to licensees, ensuring that all artistic submissions meet the high-quality standards expected from the Disney brand. In this role, the Senior Art Director will oversee the visual and graphics aspects of various games, benchmarking competing titles and making recommendations to enhance overall visual quality. They will review art and visual design submissions from global licensing partners, which include game and marketing assets such as character designs, world designs, animations, and key art. The Senior Art Director will provide clear and concise direction and feedback to licensees, utilizing reference decks, written notes, and visual aids to coach them in understanding the Disney brand better and achieving approval status. Additionally, the Senior Art Director will manage a large team of artists, effectively distributing project workloads and mentoring talent in artistic skills, communication, and workflow. Building strong relationships with film and television studio creatives is crucial to bridging the gap between licensees and game developers. The role also involves attending art reviews, generating notes, and sharing feedback with both licensees and development teams. The Senior Art Director will gather and develop brand guidelines and reference materials for licensees, research new visual styles, and provide suggestions to licensing partners while encouraging their creative exploration. Balancing the needs of licensees, brand stakeholders, and gaming goals is essential for success in this position.

Responsibilities

• Oversee a diverse portfolio of games from a visual and graphics perspective.
• Establish best-in-class standards on the target device and benchmark competing titles.
• Review art and visual design submissions from global licensing partners.
• Generate insightful, clear, and concise direction, feedback, and support to licensees.
• Manage a large team of talented artists and effectively distribute project workload.
• Grow and mentor talent from an artistic, communication, and workflow perspective.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with film and television studio creatives.
• Attend art reviews with studio creatives and generate notes and feedback.
• Gather, develop, and provide brand guidelines and reference materials to licensees.
• Research and explore new visual styles and executions of characters and worlds.
• Partner with licensees to develop high-quality style guides and game reference guides.
• Acquire deep understanding of new brands being developed by Disney and share relevant information with licensees.
• Collaborate with colleagues to share ideas, best practices, and creative methods.
• Act as a Creative Ambassador and Consultant within Disney.

Requirements

• Excellent creative draftsmanship skills with the ability to sketch, design, and digitally paint.
• Broad and deep understanding of the Disney brand including lore, design, and aesthetics.
• Extensive game development experience building and supporting top grossing, critically acclaimed, and/or AAA budgeted games.
• Experience developing artwork for world-class brands.
• Excellent understanding of the games licensing business including trade-offs, creative, and production challenges.
• Experience providing feedback to external teams (domestic and international).
• Adept at problem-solving with the ability to foresee challenges and provide effective mitigation efforts.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to provide clear feedback.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple complex challenges while meeting deadlines.
• Ability to function and thrive in a dynamic environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a clear understanding of the big picture.
• Ability to build and achieve consensus among multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, and motivational skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience in managing teams in a creative environment.
• Familiarity with the latest trends in gaming and visual design.
• Experience working with international teams and cultures.

Benefits

• Health and savings benefits
• Educational opportunities
• Special extras unique to Disney
• Bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided
• Full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits