Graduate 2D Animation Rigging Jobs in Staten Island, NY

We're building a small, senior team to create exceptional real-time, web-first interactive experiences across our portfolio. Work that pushes what WebGL can do and sets the bar for high-craft fan engagement. We blend the creative sensibility of top interactive studios with the technical ambition of game development, and we're hiring the founding members who will shape everything that follows.

We're looking for a Principal Visual Artist to lead the visual identity and art direction of our interactive work. You'll partner with the Creative Director to define the look and feel of each project, set the visual standard for the team, and drive that quality from early concept through to production-ready assets across 2D and 3D. As the team grows, you'll lead and mentor artists, shape workflows, and own the visual direction of features end to end.

You care about craft at every stage. You understand that great real-time art starts with smart decisions made early, and you're comfortable taking ownership across disciplines in a small team where your judgment sets the quality bar.

What you'll do

• Lead the visual direction of features and projects, translating creative vision into clear production direction through concepts, style frames, and visual references
• Define and maintain the visual language, tone, and quality standard across all output as the team and portfolio grow
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of artists, providing feedback, direction, and career development support
• Produce concept, illustration, and 2D art assets (textures, surface detail, iconography, UI elements, graphic work) that integrate into 3D and interactive environments
• Model, UV, texture, rig, and animate 3D assets to production standard, working within defined real-time budgets
• Use motion and animation tools to produce motion references and effects concepts that guide technical implementation
• Collaborate closely with the wider creative team to ensure clean, well-structured handoff for runtime, iterating based on how art behaves in-engine
• Shape art production workflows, asset pipelines, and standards as the team scales

What we're looking for

• A portfolio that spans disciplines: concept and illustration, texture and surface work, 3D modelling, and asset production, showing both range and depth
• Proven experience leading visual direction on features or projects, with the judgment to make art decisions that serve the overall experience
• Experience leading, mentoring, or growing artists on a team
• Strong visual development skills: style frames, mood boards, colour theory, and composition thinking
• Proficiency in Blender (or equivalent) for 3D modelling, UV layout, texturing, rigging, and animation
• Strong 2D skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, or equivalent, with a focus on texture creation, graphic design, and illustrative work
• Understanding of real-time asset constraints: poly budgets, texture resolution and atlasing, material complexity, and what makes assets performant at runtime
• A collaborative approach: you hand off cleanly, communicate constraints clearly, and take technical feedback without friction

Bonus

• Background in game development (highly preferred) or experience producing assets for a real-time engine
• Experience with motion design, animated asset production, or creating animation references to guide a technical team
• Familiarity with glTF pipelines and well-structured, runtime-ready exports
• Experience with shader authoring or authoring tools

Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don't fall victim to fraud.  Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Feel free to ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of communication for interview, and ensure your communication is coming from a Fanatics email address (including @collectfanatics.com).  For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.fanaticsinc.com/careers