Skydance Animation is seeking a Costume Designer to lead the design and execution of wardrobe across all characters, from leads to crowds, ensuring visual consistency throughout our film. As a key member of the art leadership team, the role will collaborate closely with the Director, Production Designer, Lead Character Designer, and report directly to the studio’s Head of Costume Design.
This position is responsible for defining and maintaining the film’s distinctive visual style through clothing, hairstyles, and accessories while finding innovative and researched ways to enhance character performance, express personality, and elevate the storytelling.
The ideal candidate combines strong creative vision with deep technical expertise in garment construction, tailoring, fabrics, and sewing techniques. The Costume Designer will play a pivotal role in mentoring and guiding the broader team, providing clear instruction on costume preparation and packeting from both a costume and visual development perspective.
Previous experience as a visual development artist in animation is required.
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Responsibilities
- Design and develop the visual style for all costumes on a film by understanding the Director’s overall vision for the story, character development, and visual tone
- Partner with other art leadership (Production Designers, Art Directors, and Lead Character Designers) to ensure world, characters, and costumes are cohesive and elevate overall storytelling
- Drive costume research in support of the films vision and provide findings to the broader team
- Visually explore research by pitching, iterating, adapting, and designing
- Create multiple iterations of each main character’s costume from rough pass to final design and use these iterations to later inform all other costumes from secondary, tertiary, and crowds
- Provide and share expertise on clothing styles, fabrics, fabrication techniques, and patterns to align with the narratives, character, and show designs
- Art Direct asset building teams to fulfil costume pipeline
- Oversee Costume Design Assistants; distribute assignments, make corrections, give notes, track delivery dates and production deadlines, and overall be a teacher and mentor
- Teach Costume Design Assistants and Visual Development Artists how to prepare detailed costume packets for downstream CG departments by instilling clarity on required information such as pattern cuttings, fabric swatches, draping, texture, color, silhouette, and pattern design
- Champion a positive, collaborative, and inclusive team culture within the larger Production and Art team that promotes professionalism, creativity, and continuous improvement
- Creative problem solving
- Involvement in hiring and mentoring of costume design crew
Requirements
- 8+ years of experience working as a visual development artist on animated projects and 1+ years working on costume designs in visual development, theater, live action, or related field
- Education in Fashion Design, Costume Design, Toy Design, or Art preferred
- Self-starter and organizer with the ability to drive all production needs keeping mind production pipeline and deadlines
- Demonstrated ability to prepare detailed costume packets for downstream animation departments that inform final design execution
- Knowledge of and ability to teach costume terminology, methods, practices, and techniques such as textiles, fabric properties, and garment construction including pattern making and draping
- Proficiency in drawing (including human and animal anatomy), design, perspective, composition, painting, lighting and color theory
- Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop
- Experience working hands-on with fabrics
- Previous experience leading a team
- Requirement to be, or become, a member in good standing of the Animation Guild (Local 839)
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