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Digital Matte Painter Jobs (NOW HIRING)

AI Artist

Los Angeles, CA

$100K - $160K/yr

A background in compositing, digital matte painting, LookDev, animation or another relevant production art discipline. * Experience delivering visual assets within feature film, VFX, AAA game, or ...

AI Artist

Los Angeles, CA · On-site

$100K - $160K/yr

A background in compositing, digital matte painting, LookDev, animation or another relevant production art discipline. * Experience delivering visual assets within feature film, VFX, AAA game, or ...

Paint & cleanup * Matte extraction * Color grading * Digital photography principles * Render pass integration Color Management * ACES * OCIO * Linear workflow * HDR imaging Emerging Technologies * AI ...

Paint & cleanup * Matte extraction * Color grading * Digital photography principles * Render pass integration Color Management * ACES * OCIO * Linear workflow * HDR imaging Emerging Technologies * AI ...

Paint & cleanup * Matte extraction * Color grading * Digital photography principles * Render pass integration Color Management * ACES * OCIO * Linear workflow * HDR imaging Emerging Technologies * AI ...

Restoration Technician

Santa Monica, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The Restoration Technician will perform digital image restoration on scanned film and digital ... matte painting, compositing, dailies and production services, color grading, post-production ...

New

Vault Technician

Santa Monica, CA · On-site

  • Medical

  • Retirement

  • PTO

... and digital media assets (ie. Invoice, order, equipment specs). They will be calm and personable ... matte painting, compositing, dailies and production services, color grading, post-production ...

Production Operator - Batcher

San Leandro, CA · On-site

$19.50 - $24.75/hr

  • Medical

  • Retirement

Blend custom paint orders and make blends of paint as directed * Match colors within facility color ... 2 - Digital Interview Upon review of your application, qualified candidates will be invited to ...

Digital Matte Painter information

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$11

$21

$33

How much do digital matte painter jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 16, 2026, the average hourly pay for digital matte painter in the United States is $21.82, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.55 and $24.04 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a digital matte painter?

A Digital Matte Painter (DMP) is a visual effects (VFX) artist who creates realistic or stylized environments, landscapes, and backgrounds for films, TV shows, and video games. Using software like Photoshop, Nuke, or Maya, they paint or enhance digital scenes that would be too expensive or impossible to film in real life. DMPs collaborate with VFX supervisors and 3D artists to seamlessly integrate their work into live-action or CGI footage. Their goal is to create immersive, visually cohesive worlds that enhance storytelling.

What are the daily responsibilities of a digital matte painter?

As a Digital Matte Painter, your daily responsibilities typically involve creating realistic or stylized environment backgrounds by digitally painting over 2D and 3D elements to extend sets or create entire new worlds. You’ll collaborate closely with visual effects supervisors, 3D modelers, lighters, and compositors to ensure your matte paintings integrate seamlessly into live-action footage or animated sequences. Reviewing dailies, incorporating feedback, and adjusting your work to match evolving creative directions are common parts of the routine. Your role is both creative and technical, requiring you to balance artistic vision with practical constraints, making each day dynamic and engaging.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a digital matte painter?

To thrive as a Digital Matte Painter, you need advanced skills in digital painting, composition, color theory, and a strong portfolio demonstrating visual effects or environment creation, often supported by a degree in art or a related field. Proficiency in tools like Adobe Photoshop, Maya, Nuke, and sometimes 3D modeling software is typically required, with certifications in these programs being an advantage. Attention to detail, collaboration, and effective time management are valuable soft skills for integrating seamlessly with VFX teams and meeting tight deadlines. These abilities are essential for producing high-quality visual backgrounds that align with the director’s vision and the project’s technical demands.

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Who are the top companies hiring for Digital Matte Painter jobs?

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Infographic showing various Digital Matte Painter job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 60% Full Time, 20% Temporary, and 20% Contract. Highlights an 60% In-person, and 40% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $45,394 per year, or $21.8 per hour.

$100K - $160K/yr

Full-time

Posted 17 days ago


Job description

Magnopus is looking for an AI Artist to create high-quality, photorealistic imagery and motion content for a major new project.

As a spatial design and innovation company, we work at the intersection of technology, creativity and emerging experiences. Our teams bring together artists, engineers, designers and producers to create visionary work using both established production techniques and rapidly evolving technologies.

In this role, you'll combine a strong artistic eye with hands-on experience using generative AI tools to create and refine characters, environments and motion assets for production.

You'll work with image and video generative AI tools, node-based workflows and more conventional creative techniques to take work from initial generation through iteration and refinement to production-ready output.

This is first and foremost an artist role. We're looking for someone with excellent visual judgement who can use generative AI effectively as part of their creative toolkit, working within innovative workflows to deliver consistently high-quality results.

Contract
This is an initial fixed-term project hire through the end of September 2026, with an anticipated extension through February 2027, subject to project requirements.
Location
This role requires working onsite at our Downtown Los Angeles studio five days per week. The project is highly collaborative and fast-moving, with the team working closely together in person throughout production.
What you'll do
  • Create feature-film quality character elements, environments and motion assets for use in production.
  • Use generative AI image and video tools to create, explore and iterate visual ideas against a clear creative brief.
  • Work within node-based generative AI workflows to generate and refine production assets.
  • Use conditioning and control techniques to shape composition, pose, character consistency and overall visual style.
  • Create and refine image-to-video, video-to-video and other generative motion outputs, maintaining visual quality and consistency across sequences.
  • Adjust lighting, perspective, composition and other visual elements using multimodal editing tools and established creative techniques.
  • Identify and correct artifacts, inconsistencies and other visual issues in generated content.
  • Perform light compositing, paint and finishing work where needed to deliver polished, production-ready assets.
  • Collaborate with other artists, technical artists and production teams to maintain the creative vision and quality of the project.
  • Test emerging tools and techniques, providing feedback to help improve the workflows used by the wider team.
What will help you succeed in this role
  • A strong artistic foundation and excellent visual judgement, particularly when creating photorealistic imagery.
  • Strong professional experience creating high-quality visual content within film, VFX, animation, games or another relevant creative production environment.
  • Hands-on experience using generative AI tools to create and refine high-quality, photorealistic imagery.
  • Experience using node-based generative AI workflows such as ComfyUI or similar graph-based tools.
  • Experience using conditioning and control techniques within generative AI workflows to manage composition, pose, character and stylistic consistency.
  • Strong hands-on experience with generative video tools, including image-to-video and video-to-video workflows.
  • A strong understanding of composition, lighting, color, perspective, camera and lens characteristics, continuity and visual consistency.
  • The ability to critically evaluate generated output, identify visual issues and iterate efficiently towards a clear creative target.
  • Experience refining generated assets using multimodal editing tools, compositing, digital painting or similar techniques.
  • A strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality visual work across generative imagery and motion content.
  • The ability to collaborate effectively with artists, technical artists and production teams in a fast-moving production environment.
 
Even better if you also have
  • A background in compositing, digital matte painting, LookDev, animation or another relevant production art discipline.
  • Experience delivering visual assets within feature film, VFX, AAA game, or another high-end production environment.
  • Experience working with rapidly evolving generative AI tools and adapting established creative workflows as new capabilities emerge.
Think you could be a great fit?
If you have strong artistic experience, hands-on expertise with generative AI image and video workflows, and believe you could make an immediate impact on the project, we'd love to hear from you.
$100,000 - $160,000 a year
Our posted salary ranges reflect the range of experience and skills we may consider for the role. Individual offers are determined based on relevant experience, skills, and internal pay equity. To support fair and equitable compensation practices, as well as ongoing growth within the role, most offers will not be made at the top of the advertised range.
About Magnopus

Magnopus is an experience-focused technology company founded by a team of Oscar-winning artists, designers and engineers from the worlds of film, games and immersive media.

We create experiences that bring together storytelling, creativity and technology in new ways - from immersive attractions and interactive installations to virtual production, spatial computing, AI-powered experiences and emerging technologies. Our work helps some of the world's most recognisable brands and organisations connect with audiences in ways that weren't previously possible.

We've built experiences for millions of people around the world and continue to explore what's possible at the intersection of creativity, technology and human connection.

Though we've delivered a lot of incredible work, here are just a few examples you can explore yourself:

 
Metallica: Music Experience in UEFN
Mission: ISS
Alo Moves XR
World of Fallout
Daft Punk Experience, Fortnite
The Wizard of Oz at Sphere

We're proud of the work we create, but we're equally proud of how we create it. Magnopus is built around collaboration, curiosity and respect. We believe great ideas can come from anywhere, and we strive to create an environment where talented people can learn, grow and do some of the best work of their careers.

You'll join a multidisciplinary team of artists, designers, engineers, producers and technologists who specialise in bringing ambitious ideas to life. Studio work at Magnopus is varied, collaborative and often unlike anything you've worked on before, giving you the opportunity to contribute to projects that push creative and technical boundaries.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process - for example, to transcribe interviews and generate summaries. These tools are not used to review applications or analyse resumes, and they do not replace human judgement. All hiring decisions are made by people. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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