About the role
Company Profile
Mob Entertainment is a startup multimedia studio known for the indie horror game Poppy Playtime. The franchise has accumulated over 100 billion YouTube views and holds over 5 billion views on TikTok.
Role Overview
As a Concept Artist, you will define the visual identity of the horror franchise from early ideation through production. This role requires collaboration with Creative Direction, Game Design, Narrative, Environment Art, Character Art, Animation, and VFX to balance artistic vision with gameplay requirements.
What You'll Do
- Create high-quality concept art that establishes the visual direction for characters, creatures, environments, props, and interactive gameplay elements.
- Design memorable horror characters, monsters, and antagonists that support gameplay, narrative, and emotional tension.
- Develop mood paintings, lighting studies, color scripts, and cinematic key art that define atmosphere and tone.
- Produce environment concepts that support first-person gameplay, exploration, pacing, and environmental storytelling.
- Explore multiple visual directions quickly through thumbnailing and rapid iteration.
- Collaborate closely with Creative Direction to refine and maintain a cohesive visual style.
- Partner with Narrative and Design teams to ensure concepts reinforce story beats, gameplay mechanics, and player experience.
- Work alongside Character, Environment, and Outsourcing teams by providing production-ready callouts, orthographic views, material breakdowns, and design documentation.
- Help establish visual standards and mentor junior artists through feedback and art reviews.
- Balance creative ambition with production realities, delivering polished work under tight deadlines.
- Contribute to building and evolving the visual language of an established entertainment IP while introducing fresh ideas that fit naturally within the franchise.
Required Qualifications
- 3+ years of professional concept art experience in games, film, or entertainment.
- Shipped at least one AA title, or equivalent experience on a commercially released project.
- Exceptional portfolio demonstrating advanced visual development skills and design thinking.
- Strong understanding of horror visual language, mood, suspense, and psychological storytelling.
- Expert drawing, composition, lighting, perspective, anatomy, and color skills.
- Experience designing creatures, environments, architecture, props, and characters.
- Ability to work from rough ideas through polished production-ready concepts.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with multidisciplinary teams.
- Comfortable receiving and incorporating feedback through rapid iteration.
- Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple priorities independently.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working on horror, thriller, dark fantasy, or suspense titles.
- Familiarity with established entertainment IP and adapting existing visual styles.
- Experience creating concepts for first-person gameplay.
- Knowledge of Unreal Engine workflows and real-time production pipelines.
- Experience with 3D block-ins using Blender, Maya, or similar tools.
- Understanding of cinematic composition and storyboarding.
- Experience mentoring artists or leading visual development initiatives.
- Familiarity with outsourcing pipelines and providing art direction to external partners.
Tools & Software
- Adobe Photoshop
- Blender, Maya, or equivalent 3D package
- Unreal Engine (preferred)
- Figma, Miro, or collaborative ideation tools
- Traditional sketching skills are a plus
Bonus Points
- Experience with collectible toys, animation, or transmedia entertainment.
- Creature design expertise.
- Knowledge of practical horror effects, cinematography, or production design.
- Experience creating promotional key art or marketing illustrations.
- Passion for horror games, horror films, and psychological storytelling.
Compensation
The base salary range is determined by work location:
- San Francisco, CA; New York City, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; & Seattle, WA DC Metropolitan Areas: $83,000 - $101,000 USD annually
- Austin, TX; Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; & Miami, FL Metropolitan Areas: $72,000 - $88,000 USD annually
- All Other U.S. Locations: $61,000 - $75,000 USD annually
Benefits
- Profit sharing
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) matching
- FSA/HSA
- Paid time off
- Sick time
- Holidays
- Parental leave