Look Development Artist | Lighting & Compositing

Swaybox Studios • New Orleans, LA

6h • Onsite

About The Position

Swaybox Studios is seeking a creative and technically skilled Look Development Artist specializing in Lighting & Compositing. The role focuses on bringing characters and environments to life through lighting, compositing, and seamless integration of live-action footage with CG elements. The artist will help establish the film’s visual language by translating creative direction into compelling, screen-ready imagery.

The position is part of a small, versatile Look Development team that explores, defines, and refines the film’s visual identity. Lighting and compositing are the primary strengths sought, but this is a generalist role requiring curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to contribute across disciplines as project needs evolve. The team works quickly, experiments often, and collaborates through iteration and creative feedback.

Requirements

• Professional experience in lighting, compositing, look development, or a related CG/VFX discipline.
• Strong proficiency in Nuke and familiarity with relevant CG and rendering workflows, including Houdini, Arnold, and/or Unreal Engine.
• Strong artistic eye and deep understanding of color theory, lighting, composition, and visual storytelling.
• Experience integrating CG elements with live-action footage.
• Solid technical and creative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to interpret creative direction and translate feedback into effective visual solutions.
• Comfort working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with evolving creative priorities.
• Versatile, hands-on approach and willingness to work across multiple disciplines.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with camera tracking and matchmoving workflows.
• Familiarity with both real-time and traditional rendering techniques.
• Experience developing visual styles for characters and environments during early look development.
• Knowledge of additional 3D applications and ability to work across multiple software packages.
• Experience with hybrid productions combining practical and digital filmmaking techniques.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine lighting and compositing approaches for characters, environments, and other visual elements to help establish the overall look of the film.
• Integrate live-action footage and CG elements, ensuring visual consistency and a cohesive final image.
• Experiment with lighting, color, atmosphere, and composition to explore and establish creative direction.
• Create and iterate on look development tests, presenting visual solutions that support the storytelling and artistic goals of the project.
• Collaborate with artists across modeling, texturing, technical art, and other disciplines to develop and execute visual concepts.
• Troubleshoot creative and technical challenges related to lighting, rendering, and compositing.
• Incorporate creative feedback quickly and thoughtfully while maintaining a high standard of visual quality.
• Support additional look development tasks outside the primary specialty as project needs evolve.
• Help identify opportunities to improve workflows and streamline the creative process.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Education Level: No Education Listed