Animator / Illustrator

Location: St. Louis, MO

The Pixel Press platform offers engaging, interactive storytelling tools that enables users of all ages to turn drawings into video games.

Located in St. Louis and reporting to the Pixel Press Creative Director, the Animator/Illustrator is a full-time position that participates in all phases of the product lifecycle and translates business vision into our products’ features and functionality. Working closely with the Creative Director, the Animator/Illustrator will illustrate and animate video game imagery including, but not limited to, characters, background art and terrain elements. The Animator/Illustrator will also be responsible for various other design projects such as designing and concepting marketing materials, website UI and branding elements.

Primary Responsibilities

  • Collaborates effectively with Creative Director to create engaging imagery.
  • Character animation.
  • Particle, item and emission animations.
  • Concept and final Illustrations of gameplay elements.
  • Collaborate with Creative Director to concept new and exciting gameplay imagery.

Communication Responsibilities

  • Resolves and/or escalates issues in a timely fashion
  • Understands how to tactfully communicate difficult/sensitive information (is open, communicative and doesn’t shy from saying what needs to be said)
  • Has a startup mentality and wants to help garner that type of environment
  • Large egos won’t work with us. You must be able to work in a team environment.

Other Responsibilities

  • Helps define workflow and  task management
  • Create marketing materials such as posters, postcards, newsletters etc…
  • Create website layouts and UI designs.
  • Ensures we are proactive in our pursuit of new solutions and innovation within our technology.
  • Help create new marketing strategies.

At Pixel Press We…

  • Put family first but do not shy away from long hours when it is needed
  • Love games and gaming culture
  • Stay up on popular trends and competitive markets, while simultaneously strive to define innovation
  • Are open to new platforms and applications and have the ability to maneuver quickly within the field
  • Work in our company office in St. Louis, MO
  • Demonstrate accountability; own outcomes and results, prioritizes tasks, and consistently strive to meet deadlines
  • We like to have fun and do not tolerate rudeness, cynicism or an uncomfortable work environment

Minimum Requirements

  • Must be able to illustrate & animate.
  • A minimum of five years of experience with animation. Preferably in the gaming industry (or just show us you rock).
  • A minimum of five years of experience with illustration & design. Preferably in the digital realm, and even more preferably in the gaming or animation industry (years of experience not as important as your portfolio).
  • Able to meet tight deadlines and move from task to task quickly and painlessly.
  • Must be highly skilled at Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS4 +
  • Must be able to mimic other styles of art and maintain consistency of established brands.
  • Part of your lifestyle must be research and staying abreast of design and illustration trends. In other words you must enjoy staying informed.
  • Able to collaborate with development team to create elegant and efficient artwork.
  • Must have an aesthetic sense, ability to compromise, innovative ideas, an eye for detail, patience and all those other things that make a creative professional be top notch.
  • Must be live in St. Louis, MO or be willing to relocate here.

Additional Experience/Skills/Qualifications

  • Must enjoy a collaborative work environment.
  • Experience working within an iterative development environment (comfortable and happy working with tech geeks)
  • Must be a self starter and able to manage a project from concept to completion.
  • Have a desire to learn, teach and grow in a collaborative environment.

Assets (Nice to Haves)

  • Previous work on a game or game-related platform
  • Working knowledge of front-end web design. (HTML5, CSS3 & Javascript)

Travel Requirements

Travel will be required very rarely but encouraged from time to time for team-building events including gaming and technology conferences. A willingness to relocate, should the company require it, is a plus.

If you are interested in this please contact us at jobs@projectpixelpress.com.