Art Director, Lead Environment Artist, Lead Character Artist

Forbidden Kemono Studio LLC is a growing indie game studio currently working on multiple Unreal Engine PC titles. We’re building a small, dedicated leadership layer for our art team and are recruiting for three senior/lead art roles:

• Art Director
• Lead Character Artist (2D/3D & Concept)
• Lead Environment Artist (2D/3D & Concept)

All roles are:

• Remote
• Voluntary, revenue-share only (no salary, no stipend, no hourly)
• USA & Canada applicants only

Compensation is percentage-based revenue share after platform fees, taxes, and refunds. Exact percentages are documented in our Independent Contractor Agreement before you join a project. About Forbidden Kemono Studio We’re a “baby studio” building toward AA quality over time, focusing on stylized, character-driven games in Unreal Engine. The team is fully remote and built around people who want real project experience, a clear structure, and honest expectations about revenue-share work. You won’t be treated like a cog—you’ll actually help shape how things look and run. Open Leadership Art Roles1. Art Director Role: Own the overall visual direction across one or more of our projects and guide the art team through our Lead Character and Lead Environment Artists. You’ll:

• Define and maintain the visual style for characters, environments, UI, and key art.
• Turn game pillars and narrative tone into clear visual direction and references.
• Work closely with the Lead Character Artist and Lead Environment Artist to keep everything consistent.
• Create and refine style guides, mood boards, and art bibles.
• Review work regularly and give structured, actionable feedback (not vague notes).
• Help plan art milestones appropriate for a small, part-time indie team.

You should have:

• A strong game art portfolio showing clear style and taste.
• Experience making direction calls and leading or mentoring other artists.
• Familiarity with game art pipelines (concept → production → engine).
• Comfort working in tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and 3D/DCC tools (Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance, etc.).

2. Lead Character Artist (2D/3D & Concept) Role: Own the character art vision and guide 2D Character Concept Artists, 2D Character Artists, and 3D Character Artists. You’ll:

• Define and maintain the character art style across projects.
• Support and mentor 2D concept, 2D character, and 3D character artists.
• Help build style guides, character sheets, turnarounds, expression sheets, and proportion guides.
• Ensure a clean pipeline from concept → 2D → 3D → rig/animation.
• Review character work and give clear, constructive feedback.
• Jump in hands-on for key characters or to unblock the team.

You should have:

• A strong character-focused portfolio (2D, 3D, or both).
• Experience working on game-ready characters (topology, UVs, textures, readability).
• Comfort with tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance or similar.
• Some understanding of rigging/animation needs so characters are built for production.

3. Lead Environment Artist (2D/3D & Concept) Role: Own the environment art vision and guide 2D Environment Concept Artists, 2D Environment Artists, and 3D Environment Artists. You’ll:

• Define and maintain the environment art style for one or more projects.
• Support 2D concept, 2D environment, and 3D environment artists.
• Help create style guides, mood boards, paintovers, and environment callouts.
• Work with level designers to align layout, composition, and focal points with gameplay.
• Oversee the pipeline from concept → 2D → 3D → in-engine.
• Help define modular kits, tiling materials, and set dressing workflows.

You should have:

• A strong environment art portfolio (2D, 3D, or both).
• Familiarity with game-ready environment workflows (modularity, texel density, LODs, performance).
• Experience with tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance tools.
• Some experience bringing environments into Unreal Engine or similar engines.

General Requirements (All Three Roles)

• Must be based in the USA or Canada.
• Comfortable with remote, Discord-based collaboration.
• Able to give and receive feedback like a teammate, not like a diva.
• Okay with revenue-share only, understanding this is a long-term indie grind, not a salaried studio job.

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