Specific requirements for this role:

Overview
The Art Manager is responsible for unifying the artistic vision of their project. They are in charge of both the games visual appearance and quality, directing this vision and communicating it to the project team, client and Studio. They are also responsible for the day to day management of the project's art team ensuring they are working at an optimum level and within the specified art style and technical guidelines at all times.

Directly reporting to: Project Director

Duties

• Team Management

• To lead and manage an effective and efficient art team, promoting good team morale in an open, creative environment.
• To ensure good quality communications within the team at all times, including regular team meetings, internally published documentation and also less formal interactions such as brainstorming and critique sessions.
• To effectively train and mentor an Assistant Art Manager (when one is assigned), both supporting and empowering them through their development to becoming an Art Manager.
• They must support and nurture their abilities to direct an artistic vision, helping to build confidence in making good artistic decisions and then communicating these decisions in a clear, concise and often visual manner.
• They must train the Assistant Art Manager in all base functions of being an effective manager including planning and scheduling, organisation, communication, recruitment, client management and most importantly, managing, motivating and leading a creative team.
• Identify and action any training or mentoring requirements for members of their team.
• To deal with general performance management of the art team, reviewing/appraising staff and setting clear and relevant goals to ensure artists progression.
• Work with the projects managers and leads to define and communicate technical limitations and guidelines, ensuring these are adhered to whilst ensuring all technical, visual and game-play requirements are met.
• Liaise with the Project Director to ensure all tasks are relevant to the schedule and project goals are met.
• To define and oversee an efficient asset creation pipeline keeping a high level of communication with both Tech Team and Art R&D.
• To define, prioritise and delegate art tasks, ensuring high quality and consistency with the art style are maintained.
• Coordinate internal/external recruitment for team vacancies in conjunction with the HR Department.

• Art Direction

• To establish, define and develop the visual style of the project. To translate the visual expectations of both the client and Studio, incorporating these into a single, consistent vision whilst respecting relevant brands, industry benchmarks and the overall direction of the Studio.
• Create, maintain and publish effective and relevant documentation to communicate the visual style and technical guidelines of the project.
• In adherence to the overall Studio direction, Art Managers are expected to fully communicate the intended visual style for their project to the Studio Art Director. Any relevant documentation (Art Design Document) will require sign off to ensure quality, clarity and that the needs and expectations of the Studio are met as well as the client's.
• To direct and manage subcontractors. Communicating the requirements, visual style and pipeline required to complete work. Sign off work and supply critical feedback as and when required.

• Studio & Art Department

• Together with the Project Director, manage a high level of quality communications with the Studio Art Director during all stages of the projects development. This should, at a minimum, include the following;

• Art kick-off meetings at the start of pre-development to ensure all aspects of art and art technology adhere to the proposed deliverables, are within the scope of budget and stay in line with the Studio's strategic goals.
• Regularly art reviews of the game during all stages of development, to ensure that quality, pipeline and procedure are of the highest quality possible. This may also include publishing minutes from these review meetings and ensuring any relevant action points are upheld.
• Communicating all relevant and significant changes to deliverables and to the schedule as well as any client relationship issues.
• Post mortem meetings and documentation to ensure all lessons are learnt and communicated to all that could benefit.

• Manage a good level of communications with Art R&D and Tech Team to ensure any new techniques and pipelines are understood by both groups. To ensure any relevant knowledge or technique that could benefit the wider Studio is communicated.
• To support the development of all members of the Art department, supporting the Blitz Academy encouraging artists to create and/or attend modules whilst managing the internal cost of allowing them to do so.
• Liaise with the PR and Media departments to provide the highest quality marketing assets possible as and when required.

• Client Management & Deliverables

• Ensure that all art requirements are met for each milestone and corrective action is taken should the project fall behind or take a new direction.
• Assist the Project Director in all art related communications with the projects publisher and support where applicable with all relevant areas of client management.
• To define and evaluate client expectations, entering in all relevant formal and informal communications with the client when required to ensure a strong and mutually beneficial relationship. To establish the right role boundaries

Essentials

• Art Skills

• Appreciation and ability to make good artistic judgements on form, colour and composition.

• A good understanding of the basic principles of lighting.
• A basic working knowledge and general understanding of human anatomy.
• Good natural artistic ability and flair.

• Ability to develop and communicate ideas and concepts in a visual manner - both digitally and using traditional media.

• A good understanding and working knowledge of the relevant 2D and 3D software packages being used in development.
• A good understanding of most art creation processes including modelling, UV layout, texturing, rigging, skinning, animation, performance capture, lighting and surfacing.

• Game development

• Full understanding and experience of the entire game production cycle and associated issues.

• Managing and supporting client expectations
• Working within a ‘shifting goals' features, timescales and budgetary environment.

• Full understanding and experience of a game's art and animation pipeline and how it connects and crosses over with a game's design and functionality. Also including all the major technical limitations associated with the intended target hardware.
• Good high level knowledge of the entire game development pipeline, understanding where all content is delivered from creation to the BlitzTech environment and the general flow of this content and data to the projects target hardware.
• In order to stay competitive and industry aware, a broad knowledge of current techniques and practices and an awareness of both current and future quality benchmarks being produced throughout the wider industry is essential.

• Management & Leadership

• Be able to keep team motivation high at all times and also, when required, to action effective performance management.
• Ability to communicate clearly, and concisely.
• Attention to detail and a commitment to quality are essential ensuring that all tasks are carried out to the highest possible standard.
• High levels of initiative and co-ordination skills.
• Ability to schedule tasks in line with the projects milestone structure.
• People management skills are essential.
• Resilience and strength of character.
• Professional attitude and work ethic.
• Ability to fit into and lead a dynamic and creative team environment.

Formal Qualifications:
In terms of formal qualifications, it is agreed that levels of attainment should not be set. At Blitz Games Studios we adopt an approach that relevant higher qualifications are ‘preferred' as opposed to ‘required' for UK/European and other ‘work legal' applicants, however to be considered for this role demonstrable skills and ability in the role requirements will be expected and sought.

Training:
Although the jobholder will be trained on the job, they will be expected to develop their artistic appreciation and tool skills using their own initiative and in their own time. As well as organised training sessions via the Blitz Academy, we encourage staff to broaden their skills further by giving them the opportunity to attend external courses as appropriate.

Attractive salary, benefits and a great career opportunity.