3D Art Director

Position Overview

HPL Game Design Studio is seeking a 3D Art Director to lead the creation of high-quality playable and game-ready 3D assets, covering modeling, texturing, animation, and rendering. This role balances hands-on artistic expertise with leadership, coaching, and strategic development, ensuring efficiency, consistency, and visual excellence across projects.

The 3D Art Director will be responsible for elevating team capability through workshops, R&D, upskilling initiatives, root cause analysis, and targeted solutions to address skill gaps impacting quality, performance, and production efficiency.

Key Responsibilities
Art Direction & Production

• Define and uphold the visual standards and quality bar for 3D assets used in playable content, game environments, and video advertising assets, including but not limited to:

• In-game playable assets (characters, props, environments, UI-integrated elements)

• Game cinematics and cutscenes
• Video ads (e.g., playable ads, motion ads, trailers, social media ads)
• Interactive and rich media inserts for marketing and user acquisition
• Oversee 3D modeling, texturing, animation, and rendering workflows for characters, props, environments, and interactive assets.
• Ensure all assets meet technical, performance, and platform requirements across game engines and advertising platforms.

• Provide clear technical guidance for asset quality including, but not limited to:

• Modeling: Clean topology, scale, optimization

• Texturing: UVs, PBR accuracy, resolution
• Animation: Rigging, motion principles, performance
• Rendering: Lighting, shading, realism
• Pipeline: Clean files, compatibility, QC
• Review and approve 3D outputs, providing clear, actionable feedback to maintain consistency, quality, and brand alignment.
• Collaborate closely with Game Designers, Developers, Animators, UA, and Marketing teams to ensure assets are optimized for both gameplay and advertising performance.

Leadership, Coaching & Team Development

• Lead and mentor 3D artists through hands-on coaching, critiques, and structured feedback sessions.
• Conduct skills assessments to identify individual and team-wide strengths and development areas.
• Design and facilitate internal workshops, training sessions, and upskilling programs.
• Guide mid and junior artists in best practices for workflow efficiency, quality control, and problem-solving.

Root Cause Analysis & Continuous Improvement

• Perform root cause analysis on recurring quality issues, rework, missed deadlines, or inefficiencies across both game production and video ad pipelines.
• Develop and implement practical, scalable solutions to address skill gaps, tooling issues, or process breakdowns.
• Establish and refine art pipelines, documentation, standards, and checklists for playable assets and video ad production.
• Track improvements and ensure corrective actions translate into measurable gains in quality, efficiency, and turnaround time.

Research & Development (R&D)

• Lead R&D initiatives exploring new tools, workflows, and techniques for real-time assets, animation, and video ad production.
• Evaluate emerging trends in game art, playable ads, motion design, and real-time rendering.
• Recommend and pilot improvements that enhance visual impact, performance, and production scalability.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Act as a key point of contact between art, production, development, UA, and marketing teams.
• Support project planning by providing realistic effort estimates, risk assessments, and resource needs.
• Align artistic direction with project goals, timelines, technical constraints, and campaign objectives.

Qualifications & Experience
Required

• Mid-level professional experience in 3D game art (modeling, texturing, animation, and rendering).
• Minimum of 3 years of leadership experience (Art Lead, Senior Artist, or Art Director role).
• Strong portfolio demonstrating game-ready 3D assets and understanding of real-time pipelines.
• Proven experience in coaching, mentoring, and developing artists.
• Solid understanding of optimization, performance constraints, and asset integration for playable content and video ads.
• Experience conducting root cause analysis and implementing solutions to improve quality and efficiency.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in industry-standard tools (e.g., Maya, Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Designer, Photoshop).
• Strong knowledge of PBR workflows, UV mapping, baking, and texturing.
• Experience with rigging and animation pipelines for game assets.
• Familiarity with game engines (e.g., Unity, Unreal) and asset implementation workflows.

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership, communication, and presentation skills.
• Analytical mindset with a focus on problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Ability to balance creative vision with production realities.
• Collaborative, patient, and growth-oriented leadership style.

What Success Looks Like

• Improved asset quality, consistency, and performance across projects.
• Reduced rework and production bottlenecks through effective process improvements.
• A visibly upskilled and confident 3D art team.
• Clear, scalable art standards that support current and future projects.

Why Join HPL Game Design Studio

• Opportunity to shape the visual direction and growth of a dynamic game studio.
• Strong emphasis on learning, R&D, and professional development.
• Collaborative environment focused on quality, efficiency, and innovation.

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