Environment Designer

The Walt Disney Company•Burbank, CA

2d•$61 - $72•Onsite

About The Position

Environment Designers visually explore and collaborate in the creation of story-driven animated worlds and their interior logic through the depiction of design ideas, dramatic story moments, mood/tonal pieces, and prop and vehicle designs that all serve a film’s narrative needs. Artists also prepare technical designs for downstream departments including technical orthographic drawings, breakdowns, and full render texture reference to inform the art direction of downstream departments. We’re looking for Environment Designers who have a rich imagination, a sense of whimsy and appeal, stylistic versatility, and masterful drawing and painting skills. Expertise in design, perspective, color, both architectural and organic forms, and a general knowledge of the CG process are also key skills in breathing life into our worlds. The ability to work both traditionally and in digital media including 3d is appreciated. We welcome artists who will bring inspirational and unexpected ideas and research to our filmmaking and our team. We encourage and embrace original thinking and passion.

Requirements

Proficiency in Photoshop
Professional experience required, feature animation experience preferred
Bachelors degree or equivalent experience
Ability to bring unique and interesting solutions to design challenges
Ability to create cinematic compositions that convey storytelling, creating “shots” instead of illustrations
Ability to evoke mood and feeling in your work that enhances the storytelling of your images
Ability to utilize dynamic relationships of color & value structures to convey specific emotions and story points
Adaptability to varying film styles and director tastes, reinforcing and furthering the established style as needed
Adaptability to the different stages within a film (such as development, production, marketing, etc) as well as evolving workflows and tools
Openness to new approaches, workflows, and tools and risks failure responsibly

Nice To Haves

Expertise in design, perspective, color, both architectural and organic forms, and a general knowledge of the CG process
Ability to work both traditionally and in digital media including 3d is appreciated
Portfolio should include paintings and environment designs that demonstrate stylistic versatility and a strong understanding of specificity, storytelling, lighting, observation, mood, clarity, staging, color, perspective, and appeal
Illustrations of narrative moments, character and environment interactions encouraged
Observational studies

Responsibilities

Design inspiring worlds, spaces, and moments based on a director’s vision that convey information and storytelling
Translate designs into detailed technical drawings and surfacing rendering to support collaboration across downstream departments
Communicate with downstream departments to clarify requests, provide context, and find solutions
Authenticate your designs with thoughtful research and inspire through your art
Collaborate thoughtfully and respond constructively to direction