About the role
Role Overview
We are looking for talented Environment Designers / Background Artists to join the design team on an upcoming book-based animated production. The project is a short-form digital animated series, with the potential to lead into a planned long-form series.
The production utilizes 2D Toon Boom Harmony with a stylized, cinematic, and anime-influenced visual direction. We are seeking artists who can create memorable environments and atmospheric backgrounds while working efficiently within a modern, artist-directed, rapidly developing visual-development pipeline.
Responsibilities
- Design interior and exterior environments from scripts, storyboards, and creative direction.
- Create environment designs and production-ready backgrounds.
- Rapidly explore compositions, locations, lighting, atmosphere, and visual variations using traditional and approved AI-assisted workflows.
- Paint over, redraw, correct, and refine exploratory material into consistent, production-ready artwork.
- Maintain visual and spatial consistency for recurring environments and locations.
- Prepare layered background elements for depth, parallax, camera movement, and compositing where required.
- Respond efficiently to Director and Art Direction feedback and produce quick iterations while maintaining the established show style.
Qualifications
Mandatory Skills
- Strong environment design, composition, perspective, and drawing skills.
- Strong digital painting, color, lighting, and atmosphere skills.
- Ability to create cinematic, stylized, and atmospheric interior and exterior environments.
- Proficiency with Photoshop or comparable digital drawing and painting software.
- Legally eligible to work in Canada.
Preferred Qualifications
- Toon Boom Harmony experience.
- Maya, Blender, Unreal Engine, or comparable 3D blockout experience.
- Anime-influenced, stylized, or atmospheric animation experience.
- Strong background-painting ability (may provide opportunity to continue into the background-paint phase).
Portfolio Requirements
All applicants must include a link to a portfolio of their relevant work. Please include environment designs and backgrounds demonstrating composition, perspective, lighting, atmosphere, and visual storytelling.
- Professional production work is preferred, but strong personal work is acceptable.
- Where AI-assisted, exploratory, or collaborative work is included, applicants must clearly identify the nature of the work and their artistic contribution.
Terms and Conditions
- Position Type: Contract
- Work Arrangement: On-site in Kingston, Ontario (preferred). Remote applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- Rate: $1,000 - $1,200 per week based on a 40-hour work week (determined by experience and qualifications).
Application Instructions
Apply by email to info@limestonecreativeinc.com. Please write the position title in the email subject line for consideration.