Senior Artist

A Bit About Us

Gamemode One was founded 7 years ago to build innovative games and bring major IPs to the Minecraft Marketplace. We are scaling to develop a bold new independent game while continuing to prioritize staff well-being and an excellent working environment.

We care deeply about our vibrant company culture, which enables us all to do our best work. We are an established, fully self-funded studio with roots in Minecraft and ambitions to deliver experimental games for PC and console platforms. We are building a small, talent-dense team to develop an innovative multi-platform physics adventure title.

The Opportunity

You’ll be working on our unannounced indie title, responsible for the creation of high-quality models, textures, and UV maps, while developing and documenting both art style and process. You’ll help shape art direction, including helping identify project needs and contributing to the overall design of the project.

You’ll bring your knowledge of 3D asset production, stylized low-poly art, and Blender expertise, while learning optimization techniques, shader and VFX workflows, and Unity environment design. You will manage art assets and version control—ensuring consistency, efficiency, and a seamless pipeline across the team. You will not just be working at a great company, you will be instrumental in shaping the next frontier of art direction at Gamemode One.

What do we mean when we say ‘Experienced’?

This role is listed at an experience level of “experienced”. We know that this can mean something different across employers. For us, this means you should have ample experience in 3D game art such as textures and 3D modelling. This may be a mix of personal and professional experience. If your art expertise is primarily lies outside of games, being a fast and curious learner is essential; and familiarity with similar low poly styles would go a long ways. We are looking for someone who will be confident working on the bulk of the art of a project. You will heavily impact the art direction of our project. This is likely not the role for you if it would be your first-ever art job, or you are seeking a role with a large focus on mentorship.

Within 1 month, you’ll…

• Understand the positioning of Gamemode One in the market, including our company structure, the vision for our game, and the company's present projects and future goals
• Onboard to the team’s workflows, tools, and version control systems, and initiating research into industry-standard asset management processes.
• Actively participate in brainstorming sessions, sharing your insights on the art impact of certain mechanics, narrative elements, and provide feedback on the overall player experience
• Build relationships with the team, grounding your communication in idea sharing and clear two-way feedback.
• Demonstrate cultural understanding and values alignment by leveraging curiosity and courage while learning about the company
• Contribute to ongoing research and development of the project’s art style, presenting early concept explorations, and creating a reference foundation for consistency.

Within 3 months, you’ll…

• Collaborate effectively with the team, regularly seeking support and clarity, contributing ideas to the game’s overall design, and generously supporting others.
• Work closely with the game director to develop art direction goals, demonstrating strong communication and alignment with project goals.
• Develop 1st iteration of 3D hero assets and advance the development of a visual target that aims to accomplish established art direction goals.
• Collaborate with development team to establish and document initial asset pipelines that aim to create clarity and streamline process
• Support the scoping of long-term art needs through thorough game and art direction documentation review.

Within 6 months, you’ll…

• Take ownership of the production pipeline for art assets, ensuring smooth integration into Unity and troubleshooting as necessary.
• Expand documentation of the art style and processes, refining guidelines for broader clarity and efficient onboarding.
• Facilitate art direction discussions, advocating for innovative improvements and solutions aligned with project goals.
• Create a diverse range of quality assets, including characters, creatures, props, and environments, showcasing versatility as a generalist.
• Identify art hiring needs and working closely with HR and Game Director to advertise, interview, and evaluate candidates.

Within 12 months, you’ll…

• Establish yourself as a key driver of the project’s visual identity, having significantly shaped the art style and its implementation.
• Build a robust and scalable art asset library, streamlining version control and asset reuse across the project.
• Serve as a mentor and collaborator for new team members, sharing expertise in generalist tasks, including animation, shaders, tech art, and environmental design.
• Lead or co-lead art direction initiatives, ensuring alignment with the project’s overall vision and milestones.
• Innovate on processes and tools, introducing impactful improvements to the art pipeline that enhances team productivity or output quality.

Why our job descriptions look like this

Our job descriptions look different than the average, and that’s on purpose! We find the normal approach to be far too prescriptive. Defining explicit qualifications and requirements would be us defining how you should have acquired a certain skillset. What these generally achieve is intimidating those who don’t fit the mold to not apply. That’s not our style. In an effort to be inclusive, and clear, we take a more descriptive approach. Read through the opportunity, and the description of the work you’ll be doing. Decide for yourself if the work excites you, and is something that you are able to rise to the challenge of.

Benefits

• Unlimited paid time off, with a 2-week minimum
• Health Spending Account of $3000/year
• Charitable matching of $2000/year
• Investment in professional development
• Flexible hybrid schedule, with a focus on in-office collaboration
• Access to the benefits above without a probationary period