Company overview:
age of learning®is the leading developer of engaging and effective pre-k through 5th grade learning resources that help children build a strong foundation for academic success and a lifelong love of learning. The company's research-based curriculum, developed by education experts, includes the award-winningabcmouse.com®early learning academy, as well as the adaptive, personalized school solutions,my math academy®,my reading academy®, andmy reading academy español. Having served over 50 million children worldwide, age of learning is a global leader in efforts to advance equity, access, and opportunity for all children.
summary:
we are seeking a highly motivated artist/animator to join our in-house production team.
the ideal candidate will
be a team player who will be responsible for creating and assembling art and animation assets for educational
games and experiences. The work includes a heavy emphasis on illustration, character, prop, and environment
design, visual development, storyboarding, and asset preparation.
this position will support our interactive learning products by creating expertly crafted art and animation that aids
in producing highly engaging product experiences that fit into our broader educational ecosystem. As an
artist/animator, you will collaborate closely with creative/design leads and product leadership including
producers, product owners, and other art, animation, tech-artists, and software engineers.
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responsibilities:
- provide aid to designers in the creation and hand-off of production-ready art and animation assets
- help establish standards, conventions, best practices for asset creation and integration workflow
- manage optimization/best practices
- create and maintain art production templates covering wide-ranging needs
- research software tools that can help enable art production
- diagnose problems related to asset preparation and quickly deliver solutions
- be the development team's main contact on the art and design teams when asset integration or performance questions arise
- review assets relative to technical and integration requirements before hand-off
- facilitate production-related communication between the engineers, designers, and artists
- be sufficiently versed in the technology to advise artists and designers on opportunities and limitations affecting design decisions
- work with 2d/3d artists to prepare working files for integration into game engine including animations, visual effects, static objects, textures, and rigged characters
- work to optimize and streamline the art pipeline
- oversee and manage art-related performance issues and technical budgeting
- create and manage tools to expedite the production process
- partner with leads to ensure product vision and quality benchmarks are met
- stay current with industry trends and technical advancements used in game development
required qualifications:
- bilingual english/business spanish
- 3+ years of experience in both art/animation fundamentals, preferably in edtech, gaming, or interactive media
- create appealing gameplay and cinematic art/animations for characters, props, and environments that provide meaningful context to teachers, caregivers, parents, and kids utilizing an adaptive recommendation engine
- adhere to a style guide and create art/animation assets for the appropriate age group and audience
- create 2d art/animation with use of photoshop, illustrator, rive and the like
- produce and deliver best-in-class, implementation-ready art/animation assets well under pressure, work in short timeframes, manage time and schedules efficiently while maintaining a high level of quality
- identify and implement techniques to optimize graphics and animations for performance across various devices and platforms assets on web and mobile applications
- adept at balancing trade-offs between quality and performance
- experience working in a fast-paced environment that requires rapid project turnaround and frequent priority shifts
- team player, accommodating change easily
- agile at navigating multiple projects
- self-motivated, proactive, and detailed oriented
- able to manage time and schedules efficiently
preferred qualifications
- experience working in a scrum/kanban/agile environment
- knowledge of children's media,
especially in children's educational apps and learning games
- experience in 2.5d art style pipelines
- experience rigging and skinning
- experience creating vfx with engine particle tools
- knowledge of rive animation
- good understanding of technical and artistic pipelines on required skills
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an equal opportunity employer
age of learning, inc. (the "company") is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender expression, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, veteran or military status,
marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, domestic partner status, genetic information, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.