About the role
Los Angeles, USA
As an Animation Artist Intern at Riot, you will bring champions and characters to life through classic animation principles and body mechanics. You will create high quality animations for a diverse and rapidly growing universe, including bipeds, quadrupeds, and creatures. A great reel will showcase a variety of body types, a diverse selection of action oriented game-related animation, and a strong foundation in the principles of animation, including weight, anticipation, and impact. Also working to expand our current content pipeline, you will collaborate with designers and artists to develop new features and technologies. Your craft expertise will breathe life into iconic and beloved characters for players.
In your application, you will select which product you prefer to apply for:
- Teamfight Tactics: As an Animation Artist Intern on Teamfight Tactics, you will animate a large variety of things, ranging from champions (old and new), creatures, and even props! Your animations will have to consider how to synthesize both animation principles and the needs of strict gameplay requirements. Throughout development you will be hand-keying/editing animations in Maya, learning about League’s proprietary game engine, and implementing assets within the Unreal Game Engine. Throughout the internship you will have an onboarding partner and a team supporting you through our set development.
- League of Legends: As an Animation Artist Intern on League, you will focus on champion animation. You will collaborate with animators on character lore, their motivations, and incorporate their core identity with project requirements to create impactful character performances. Your animations will be hand keyed in Maya using classic animation principles. You will also be responsible for implementation within our proprietary game engine. Throughout the process you will have an onboarding partner and a mentor to guide you through our development process.
Responsibilities
- Create high quality animations for a diverse and expanding universe, including bipeds, quadrupeds, and monsters
- Help develop new features and technologies to expand the content pipeline
- Collaborate with designers and artists to create animation assets that fulfill the requirements of the project’s game and visual design
- Recognize areas of opportunity and help other animators level up to AAA-title-standards
- Consistently meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity
- Balance craft and product feedback with a strong empathy and focus on player value
- Consistently communicate by proactively collaborating, directing next steps, and providing clear goals and outcomes to your team
Required Qualifications
- Currently enrolled in a college, university or non degree program
- Available to work full-time hours for 10-12 week at our Los Angeles Headquarters
- Authorized to work in the U.S.
- Experience with action and combat based animations showcasing locomotion cycles for characters and creatures of diverse shape and size (bipeds, quadrupeds, etc.)
- Experience with Maya
Desired Qualifications
- Gaming specific animations through professional or personal work
- Experience w/ Unreal Engine and Animation Blueprints
Work Authorization
- Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States for the duration of the program.
- This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. We do not sponsor visas for this position or internship conversions.
General Portfolio Advice
- Please limit application submission to 1 role. You will automatically be considered for similar roles based on your portfolio
- Online format is preferred (Artstation, personal websites, etc.)
- If you have private work that is under NDA, please include the password in your application. Otherwise, we recommend you do not password protect your portfolio
- Test that your Portfolio or reel is accessible. Please include access to your portfolio on your resume in addition to the application form in case the link breaks
- Ensure your portfolio showcases your best work
- Fan Art? Sure! It shows your versatility as it relates directly to our art style
- Depending on the role, immersing yourself in the game to get the feel, tone and look can go a long way for your portfolio
Application Deadline
Applications close Monday, January 4th, 2027 at 11:59pm PT
Perks and Compensation
- Paid internships with the ability to participate in our 401(k) plan
- In-game perks and the ability to participate in our Play Fund
- University Programs team events to connect with fellow interns and Rioters
- Hourly rate for this internship is USD $35.48