About the role
Overview
Element Animation is seeking a Freelance Story Artist to join their small but mighty team of artists and weirdos. This role is 100% freelance and fully remote, with applicants required to be based within the UK or Europe.
Before you apply, ask yourself: Can I draw? Do I understand visual comedy? How many hats can I wear? If your answers are yes, yes, and why am I asking about hats, you might be the person for them. They create a wide range of content for their own channels, commercial projects, global events, and external IP.
Key Responsibilities
- Interpret scripts, story outlines, and creative briefs to develop engaging visual sequences.
- Create storyboards that communicate action, emotion, character performance, camera angles, and scene composition.
- Pitch gags and visual ideas that help shape the project.
- Establish clear visual storytelling, pacing, timing, and continuity between shots.
- Build animatics from your storyboards, timing shots to dialogue, music, and sound so the pacing and gags land.
- Collaborate with directors, writers, designers, and animators to develop and refine ideas.
- Revise storyboards in response to creative feedback and production requirements.
- Maintain consistency in character design, environments, and style across projects.
- Contribute to story development, visual problem-solving, and the overall creative direction of projects.
- Ensure storyboards align with the project's artistic style, tone, and production goals.
- Create digital graphic design assets as needed, such as YouTube thumbnails, title cards, social media graphics, and pitch materials.
What We're Looking For
- A strong portfolio demonstrating storyboard work, visual storytelling, and sequential art, with a focus on clarity and humour.
- A good understanding of comedy, and knowing how to sell a joke visually with expressions, staging, and timing.
- A solid understanding of composition, perspective, staging, camera language, and cinematic techniques.
- A strong sense of depth, perspective, and spatial logic.
- Excellent drawing skills, and the ability to draw fast and loose when needed while still communicating ideas clearly.
- A keen sense of timing, pacing, acting, and character expression.
- Proven experience creating animatics, with a strong feel for editing and how a sequence plays in motion.
- The ability to interpret scripts and translate them into effective visual sequences.
- Solid digital graphic design skills, with a good eye for layout, typography, and colour.
- Confidence to work collaboratively in a live writers' room.
- The ability to work independently and collaboratively, manage deadlines, and respond positively to feedback, while being proactive with ideas of your own.
- Effective communication, collaboration, and time-management skills.
Desirable Skills
- Experience in 2D or 3D animation, television, feature films, commercials, or other screen-based productions.
- Familiarity with storyboard and digital drawing software such as Storyboard Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, or equivalent tools.
- Familiarity with comedic editing, short-form storytelling, or sketch content.
- Basic skills with 3D tools such as Maya, Blender, or Cinema 4D.
Perks of Working with Us
- 100% remote work.
- Flexible hours.
- Creative freedom to contribute your ideas and style.
- A chance to work on fun, character-driven projects with a comedic twist.
- A supportive, creative team that values your input.
- Your work will be seen by millions of people around the world.
- Potential for a long-term role with ongoing projects.
How to Apply
Please apply by emailing apply@elementanimation.com, and include:
- Your storyboard portfolio (especially comedic work!).
- Clips of animatics you have created or contributed to.
- A few examples of your graphic design work.
- A quick note on your availability, rates, and preferred tools.
- A short paragraph about yourself. What do you enjoy outside of work? What kind of projects excite you?