Summary of the Art Director job at Skydance

Champion and help execute the Director’s creative vision for the film’s visual identity, in close partnership with the Production Designer, ensuring consistency and excellence from development through final delivery

Define, develop, and clearly communicate the film’s artistic style, with a particular focus on environments, sets, props, and color design, establishing a cohesive visual language across all departments

Create and contribute high-quality concept art, visual development materials, and key imagery

Collaborate with the Production Designer to lead and oversee the Los Angeles and Madrid based Art Departments, fostering alignment, consistency, and a unified creative direction across global teams (including occasional travel as needed)

Provide ongoing artistic direction, feedback, and mentorship to team members, supporting their growth while maintaining high creative standards

Work closely with studio leadership, production, and technical teams to align on creative goals, production timelines, tools, and budget, balancing artistic ambition with practical execution

Prepare and deliver compelling presentations that communicate the film’s visual direction to studio executives, stakeholders, and external partners

Partner with production leadership, Talent Development, and Talent Acquisition to identify, evaluate, and help secure top artistic talent for key roles across departments (both internally and externally)

Facilitate clear and proactive communication across departments

Other duties as assigned

6 years of experience working on animated feature productions; experience in leading or supervising an Art Department, preferably within CG animated feature films a plus

Demonstrated ability to develop visual ideas from initial concept through final execution, with a strong sense of ownership and creative problem-solving

Exceptional understanding of design fundamentals, including composition, color theory, lighting, shape language, and visual storytelling

Proven leadership and team management skills, with the ability to guide, motivate, and develop artists in a collaborative production environment

Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize across multiple demands while maintaining a high standard of artistic quality

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a collaborative mindset and the ability to clearly articulate creative direction to diverse teams

Ability to balance creative vision with production realities, aligning the needs of the show, department, and studio

Solid understanding of animation production pipelines, workflows, and tools, with proficiency in industry standard software such as Adobe Photoshop

Experience working across multiple locations or with distributed teams is a plus