Skydance Animation is excited to welcome an emerging Character Designer as an apprentice. With the help of their designated mentor, the Character Design Apprentice will join the studio in a rotational program having opportunities to hone their craft while working on real feature productions and getting an in-depth look at Skydance Animation's culture, including our filmmaking process and our people. In addition, a learning curriculum will be built around the apprentice to help support future growth as an artist.
Candidates must be 18 years or older and have approximately 1 year of experience as a Character Designer and/or visual development artist, background painter, background designer, prop designer, costume designer, etc., but no more than 2 years in feature animation.
#Animation
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Responsibilities
- Use artistic skills to bring characters to life
- Work alongside mentor and team(s) to visually explore and design different aspects of a character while keeping in mind the story needs and narrative
- Generate work in the form of sketches, rough designs, and final character designs all while featuring a character's personality, movement, and motivations
- Create character turnarounds and character poses in 2D and/or CG vis dev models
- Innovate and elevate ideas, keeping in mind leadership’s requests and vision while adding your own creative flair with depth, humor, emotion, and resonance to visual concepts
- Perform research that will inform the design of the work
- Take notes, implement feedback, make any changes or revisions when necessary
- Communicate progress of work to mentor and other appropriate staff
- Ensure quality and style of show is consistently achieved
- Participate in brainstorming sessions with other visual development artists
- Attend and contribute to relevant meetings as needed
Requirements
- Must be 18 years or older
- Approximately 1 year of experience as a character designer and/or visual development artist, background painter, background designer, prop designer, costume designer, etc. (this can include previous internships, trainee experiences, etc.) but no more than 2 years in feature animation
- Available full-time (40hrs per week) for 7 months between June 15, 2026-January 22, 2027
- Located in, or willingness to relocate to, the Los Angeles Metropolitan area
- Portfolio that demonstrates character design skillset; exhibit proficiency in drawing, anatomy, design, perspective, composition, painting, and color theory
- Advanced knowledge of Photoshop
- Knowledge of CG tools (Blender, Maya, Zbrush) a plus
- Eagerness to learn and actively participate in studio offerings
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The hourly rate for this non-exempt position in Santa Monica, CA is $45.87.
You must be available to work full-time from 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM (PT) for the duration of the program (Mondays-Fridays, June 15, 2026 - January 22, 2027), excluding holidays.
