Role Call Roundup: 2D roles at Sphere Animation, paid internships at DreamWorks, VFX support at ILM and more

Hello recruits! And welcome to CartoonRecruit.com’s first Role Call Roundup! On the main page, I monitor and curate links to job posts (updated daily) from an ever-expanding list of animation studios.

Due to how easy it can be to miss these opportunities, our Role Call Roundup is where I will focus on critical job posts that could otherwise go overlooked. This is also where I permit myself to take a closer look at hiring trends from the past week and reflect on this whole project. Care to join me?

2D animation jobs roll into Ontario, Canada

Sphere Animation posted calls for multiple roles in Toronto and Ontario this week, which include options for remote and hybrid work. The studio is best known for their service work on 2D animated television series like Arthur, Curious George and F is for Family as well as for producing offbeat originals like Red Ketchup.

Keep in mind: Due to the nature of Canadian film and TV tax incentives, production roles in television animation at Canadian studios are typically only available to residents of that province.

Dreaming of a career in Glendale, California

Want to get your start in animation at the studio behind The Bad Guys, The Wild Robot and Shrek? DreamWorks Animation posted multiple open calls for paid internships on both features and series at their Glendale, California studio.

Paid internships give students and recent graduates hands-on experience at animation studios and often lead to additional work.

As part of our curation policy, CartoonRecruit.com will never share links for unpaid internships or other forms of spec work. You can learn more about our policies on our FAQ page.

Making magic in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Sydney

Industrial Light & Magic is a VFX studio that was founded by George Lucas and acquired by Disney. While the studio is best known for their work on Star Wars, they also contribute VFX to countless blockbuster movies including Deadpool & Wolverine, Alien: Romulus, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. ILM is currently hiring coordinators, support staff, and technical directors at four of their studios.

We recommend keeping an eye on studios that are hiring for senior and support roles, as they tend to hire for these roles before ramping up on productions. You can find ILM’s job board here.

Looking for group in Guildford, UK

Are you familiar with Baldur’s Gate 3 or Divinity: Original Sin? Larian Studios are currently hiring an Animation Director to work on their next game. The acclaimed Belgian game developer is seeking an applicant with game animation leadership experience at the director, lead or principal level to manage a team of animators at their UK studio.

Even if you are not an animation director, it’s often worth keeping an eye on studios that are expanding their senior staff. You can find Larian’s careers page here.

More job highlights from the past week

United States:

Canada:

United Kingdom:

Australia:

Community portfolio review

Last month, I posted an open thread on LinkedIn inviting animators and industry artists to share links to their portfolios. I honestly did not know what I was expecting but that thread received more than 350 comments from artists in our community.

It can be difficult to apply for jobs in the animation industry at a time when fewer studios than usual are hiring. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to reply to three portfolios in that thread with positive constructive feedback. While there's a time and place for tough love, kind words from colleagues can be helpful for morale. You might make a difference in an artist's career.

Always research the studio before you apply

Andy Poon is the head of visual development at Bardel Entertainment. Bardel is a Canadian studio known for their work in 2D and CG productions, including Carol & The End of the World, Solar Opposites, and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. On Friday, Andy posted on LinkedIn sharing a common issue with job applications at his studio.

I’ve been reviewing a lot of portfolios and resume lately and there are an alarming amount of applications that are not relevant to the job posting or misused of their title or job positions. Be respectful with the time of the people who are reviewing and read through the job posting to ensure that your qualifications are in the right category and department.

The upshot of Andy’s post: If you tailor your application to the role that you want, you have a decent chance of standing out from the crowd. Recruiters and hiring managers have limited time to spend reviewing each applicant, so if you put your best and most relevant work at the front of your reel and the top of your portfolio that can make it easier for them to hire you.

And always be sure to read the job post twice before you apply!

While you’re here, follow Andy on LinkedIn. We appreciate when decision makers at studios share candid information to the public about their hiring process. Recruiters can’t read the minds of applicants, and vice-versa, so it’s useful for candidates to have more information going in.

Help keep this production going

CartoonRecruit.com is a website designed for industry artists and professionals searching for their next production in animation, game development or VFX. Our directory will always be provided to the community as a free service.

That said, if you find our project useful and want to see what we can do with more resources, you can contribute by becoming a Patreon Supporter. If you contribute at least $1 to our Pay What You Want tier, you gain full access to our Discord server and help cover costs associated with running the last website on earth not covered in autoplay video ads.

Are you responsible for hiring decisions at your studio? Get in touch with us on LinkedIn! I would like to host Q&A discussions on this blog, and participating could put you and a link to your studio's career page directly in the inboxes of talented animation professionals looking for work.

Signing off

That’s all for this week! Have thoughts or feedback about this week's roundup? Feel free to message me by email at mike@cartoonrecruit.com, on our LinkedIn page or @cartoonrecruit.com on Bluesky.

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