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Character Designer Jobs in New York (NOW HIRING)

2K

Character Designer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Character Designer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Lead Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Lead Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

Designer Brands

Designer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

About Designer Brands At Designer Brands, we are the proud parent company of DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Shoe Company, and Rubino, operating nearly 675 stores across North America and a billion ...

Amazon

Principal UX Designer , Fauna

New York, NY · On-site

The right candidate thinks in terms of character, emotion, and behavior. They're comfortable ... They've designed systems that evolve over time and build relationships with people. And they're ...

Amazon

Principal UX Designer , Fauna

New York, NY

The right candidate thinks in terms of character, emotion, and behavior. They're comfortable ... They've designed systems that evolve over time and build relationships with people. And they're ...

Amazon

Principal UX Designer , Fauna

New York, NY · On-site

The right candidate thinks in terms of character, emotion, and behavior. They're comfortable ... They've designed systems that evolve over time and build relationships with people. And they're ...

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All JobsCharacter Designer JobsCharacter Designer Jobs in New York

Character Designer information

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$34

$51

How much do character designer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 31, 2026, the average hourly pay for character designer in New York is $34.62, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $31.54 and $39.71 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a character designer?

Character designers are artists who create the visual appearance, style, and personality of characters for animation, video games, comics, films, and other media. Their work involves conceptualizing and illustrating characters based on story requirements, often working closely with writers, directors, and animators. Character designers develop everything from facial expressions and costumes to body shapes and color schemes, ensuring each character is visually appealing and communicates the intended traits or emotions.

What does a character designer do?

As a character designer, you create the look and animation of a cartoon character in a film, TV show, or video game. Your responsibilities are to develop physical features, design costumes and clothes, pose characters, and collaborate with team members from concept to production. Your duties include working with mouth charts, expression sheets, shadow and color indications, and marketing artwork. You sketch, draw, illustrate, and animate by hand and through computer software. You also work with different drafts and copies and maintain artwork storage. To be successful in this field, you must be able to balance creativity with the needs and requirements of the project.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a character designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Character Designer, you need strong drawing and illustration skills, a deep understanding of anatomy, color theory, and character development, often supported by a degree in art or design. Proficiency with digital design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Procreate, and 3D modeling software like ZBrush is typically required. Creativity, strong communication, and the ability to accept feedback help designers collaborate effectively and bring unique characters to life. These skills are essential to create compelling, visually distinctive characters that resonate with audiences and fit seamlessly within projects.

What are some common challenges character designers face when collaborating with other departments during production?

Character Designers often collaborate closely with animators, modelers, and directors, which can present challenges such as aligning on the visual style, ensuring designs are animation-friendly, and accommodating technical limitations. Balancing creative vision with practical constraints—like simplifying details for animation or adapting designs based on feedback—requires strong communication and flexibility. Successful Character Designers are proactive in seeking input, open to revision, and skilled at translating character concepts into workable assets that serve the story and production pipeline.

What is the difference between Character Designer vs Character Artist?

AspectCharacter DesignerCharacter Artist
Primary FocusCreating original character concepts, designs, and visual stylesRendering and illustrating detailed character artwork based on designs
Skills & ToolsConcept art, illustration, creativity, design software (Photoshop, Illustrator)Digital painting, rendering, shading, software skills (Photoshop, Painter)
Work EnvironmentGame studios, animation, film, advertisingGame studios, animation, film, freelance projects

While both roles involve working with characters, a Character Designer focuses on creating original character concepts and visual styles, whereas a Character Artist specializes in bringing those designs to life through detailed illustrations and rendering. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify career paths and job expectations in the industry.

How to get a job as a character designer?

To become a character designer, build a strong portfolio showcasing your drawing and conceptual skills, often using digital tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Gaining experience through internships, freelance work, or art courses can improve your chances, and understanding the specific style or genre of the industry you want to work in is beneficial.

What qualifications do I need to be a character designer?

To become a character designer, a strong portfolio demonstrating artistic skills and creativity is essential. A background in art, illustration, or animation, often supported by a degree in fine arts or related fields, is common. Proficiency in digital tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator and understanding of character anatomy and storytelling are also important.
More about Character Designer jobs

What are the most commonly searched types of Character Designer jobs in New York?

The most popular types of Character Designer jobs in New York are:

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For Character Designer jobs in New York, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What job categories do people searching Character Designer jobs in New York look for?

The top searched job categories for Character Designer jobs in New York are:

What cities in New York are hiring for Character Designer jobs?

Cities in New York with the most Character Designer job openings:

Character Designer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Character Designer job openings in New York as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 95% Full Time, and 5% Part Time. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $72,006 per year, or $34.6 per hour.

Character Designer

Manhattan, NY • On-site

2K
PC Games • 1 - 5K employees
Learn more about 2Kexternal

$133K - $140K/yr

Full-time

This job post has expired 2 days ago. Applications are no longer accepted.

Job description

Who We Are At 2K, we create some of the most iconic and culture‐shaping video games in entertainment, including NBA® 2K , one of the top‐selling franchises in the world, and legendary titles like BioShock® , Borderlands® , Mafia , SidMeier's Civilization® , and XCOM® , as well as fan favorites WWE® 2K , TopSpin® , and PGATOUR® 2K . We build unforgettable experiences by pushing the boundaries of creativity, authenticity, and innovation across every genre. Our portfolio is brought to life by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Visual Concepts, Firaxis Games, Hangar 13, CatDaddy Games, 31stUnion, Cloud Chamber, Gearbox, HB Studios, and 2KSportsLab create world‐class experiences across platforms. But what truly powers 2K is our people. We believe the best ideas come from teams that feel empowered, supported, and inspired. As an equal‐opportunity employer, we are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace where people are encouraged to come as they are and do their best work. What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our artists thrive while creating world‐class characters. The ideal candidate brings a people‐first approach, loves building teams, and adapts easily to challenges in a constantly evolving industry. This role will be key in shaping the next generation of game development at 2K Shared Development Studios. What You'll Do Build and grow our Character Artists through career development, performance reviews, and hiring, always setting the right conditions for our artists to succeed. Work closely with Production and Directors to align on schedules and project priorities, structuring the work so our teams own their craft. Partner with Tech Art, Animation, Concept Art and other teams to address challenges, making sure everything remains technically sound without compromising the vision. Drive the adoption of new Character Art technologies, pipelines, and workflows by challenging what isn't working. Partner with fellow Character Art Leads to unify the broader art team, bringing internal and external together as one cohesive team. Stay hands‐on when needed, stepping into the craft to uphold our highest quality bar. What Will Make You A Great Fit Proven experience leading Character Art teams through full development cycles with shipped games in their portfolio. Enjoys growing and mentoring others, helping artists level up and take full ownership of their craft; brings deep game‐dev experience from early concept stages through shipping. Clear and effective communicator, able to navigate challenges with different teams. A natural problem solver, questions what is not working and refines it to improve outcomes. Sees the bigger picture within a production, has senior‐level craft, a great sense of how Character Art impacts gameplay and task prioritization, and proven engine knowledge. Brings a builder's vision to help shape our team's future. As an equal‐opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation. Please note that 2K Games and its studios never use instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and, when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts. #J-18808-Ljbffr

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