The Cartoon Recruit Blog

At ease, recruits! And welcome to CartoonRecruit.com’s weekly 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. This blog is where I collect job posts from the past week and reflect on hiring trends across the animation industry.

This week, we collected 88 job listings — including 12 remote positions. In our job highlights, we examine recent posts at Disney Television Animation in Burbank, Brown Bag Films in Toronto and Blue Zoo Animation Studio in London. Ready to take a closer look?

Studio highlights and analysis

Disney Television Animation is the division of The Walt Disney Company responsible for producing animated television series and direct-to-video films. This studio, based out of Glendale, is best known for their acclaimed series, Big City Greens, The Owl House, The Ghost and Molly McGee as well as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The studio is currently hiring for two roles in Burbank and one in Glendale, California.

• Production Coordinator (Multiplatform) (Burbank)
• Production Coordinator (The Proud Family) (Burbank)
• Location Designer (Glendale) 

Brown Bag Films is an Irish animation studio founded by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O'Connell, with locations in Dublin, Toronto, Los Angeles and Bali. The studio was founded by Cathal Gaffney and Darragh O’Connell in 1995 and acquired by the Canadian production company, 9 Story Media Group. Brown Bag Films is best known for their short films Give Up Yer Aul Sins and Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty as well as series work like Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum and Ada Twist, Scientist. The studio is currently hiring four roles in Toronto, Ontario and one remote role in Ontario.

• Assistant Director
• Animation Revisionist
• Scene Planner
• Scene Planning Supervisor
• 2D Harmony Animator (Remote in Ontario)

Blue Zoo Animation Studio, founded by Adam Shaw, Oli Hyatt and Tom Box in 2000, is a London-based animation studio. The studio is best known for their work on 2D and 3D children’s series, including The Adventures of Paddington, Lego City: No Limits, as well as Millie and Lou. Blue Zoo is currently hiring four roles in London, England and one role in Brighton.

• Lead Character Modeller
• Set & Prop Designer (Experienced)
• 3D Character Animator (Experienced)
• 3D Character Animator (Entry Level)
• Junior Background Artist (Brighton) 

Hybrid and on-site highlights

Want your next production to be inside an animation studio? Like, corporeally and not through a zoom call or astral projection? The jobs in this category include listings that are either entirely on-site or require a set amount of time collaborating with peers in-person throughout the week. 

USA:

• Sony Pictures Animation is hiring a Visual Development Artist (Culver City, California, USA): “Artists in this role will work closely with a hardworking team of directors, art directors, producers, and visual development artists to visually explore and design all aspects of feature animated film projects.“ 
• Blind Squirrel Entertainment is hiring a Senior Character Artist (Irvine, California, USA): “You have a deep understanding of the character artist pipeline, complemented by a refined skillset, honed through experience on numerous AAA titles.“ 
• Blizzard is hiring a Principal 2D Generalist Artist (Irvine, California, USA): “As a Principal 2D Generalist you will help provide the art needed to realize the vision for the game from the concept phase to the in-game models.“ 
• DreamWorks is hiring a Art Director (Feature Film) (Glendale, California, USA): “The Art Director is one of the most senior artists on the film, and works under the Production Designer in carrying out the look of the film through various departments in production.“ 
• Industrial Light and Magic is hiring an Effects Technical Director (All Levels) (San Francisco, California, USA): “The Effects Technical Director generates FX animation, procedural simulation, dynamic simulation, particle and fluid systems for feature film visual effects.“ 

Canada:

• Electronic Arts is hiring a VFX Artist Intern (Iron Man) (Montreal, Quebec, Canada): “Our VFX Artist Intern will report to our Lead VFX Artist, joining our Iron Man team.“ 
• Mainframe Studios is hiring a 3D Keyframe Animation Artist (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada): “Under the guidance of the Supervisor, Leads and/or Principals, on a CG animated project, the Keyframe Animation Artist creates animation that supports the overall creative vision for the story.“ 
• Mainframe Studios is hiring a 3D Lighting Artist (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada): “Under the leadership of the Lighting Supervisor and/or Leads, the Lighting Artist lights shots/sequences based on the rigs created by the Principal, Lead or Supervisor.“ 
• Scanline VFX is hiring a Senior Compositor (Montreal, Quebec, Canada): “As a Senior Compositor, you will integrate all layers and elements to produce final and complete shots for feature film or episodic shows.“ 
• Ubisoft is hiring an Art Team Lead (Modeling and Textures) (Montreal, Quebec, Canada): “As an Art Team Lead at Ubi MTL, you will lead a small graphic team for which you will create and distribute tasks. You will also oversee its productivity and make sure it meets the deadlines and quality standards defined by the Project Lead (CP)/Production Manager (PM).“ 

UK:

• Aardman is hiring a Stop Motion Rigger (Bristol, England, UK): “We are looking for a Rigger who will be very competent in the design and Production of mechanical support systems (Rigs) for Puppets, Props and Sets and will take responsibility for the development and implementation of all Rigging solutions on units assigned.“ 
• Bulkhead is hiring an Art Manager (Derby, England, UK): “As an Art Manager at BULKHEAD, you'll play a crucial role in managing the creation of art assets, ensuring quality and timely delivery.“ 
• Framestore is hiring a Realtime Technical Artist (Expression of Interest) (London, England, UK): “Technical Artists within our pre-production department sit at the intersection of art and technology, working closely with developers, visualisation, and VFX teams to create high-quality real-time content for feature films and episodic productions.“ 
• Coffee & TV is hiring a Compositor (Mid-Level) (London, England, UK): “Coffee & TV are looking for a mid-compositor artist to join our team. The ideal candidate will be confident in Flame or Nuke – ideally both.“ 
• Playground Games is hiring a VFX Artist (All Levels) (Leamington Spa, England, UK): “As a VFX Artist, you will create high-quality VFX, elevate the visuals of Fable and deliver strong creative ideas, while communicating and collaborating with the wider team.“ 

Australia:

• Luma Pictures is hiring a Matte Painter (Senior Level) (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia): “Work with live action footage, digital still photography, rendered cg elements and digital paint to create believable environments that will be seamlessly integrated into the film.“ 
• Alt VFX is hiring a Senior Houdini Lookdev & Lighting Artist (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia): “Alt VFX, one of the Australias most accomplished VFX studios, is on the hunt for two exceptional Senior Lookdev/Lighting Artists to join our Brisbane office on a freelance basis.“ 
• Alt VFX is hiring a Previs Artists & Animator (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia): “Alt VFX is a world-leading Australian visual effects studio with a global presence across film, TV, and commercials.” 
• DNEG is hiring a Senior Lighting TD (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia): “A Lighting Technical Director at DNEG is someone who possesses a thorough knowledge of 3D Computer Graphics.“ 

Remote work highlights 

Looking for productions which offer the flexibility to work from home full-time? CartoonRecruit.com sorts remote jobs into two categories. “Remote” is for jobs that can be performed within a wide geographic area, while “Remote (Local)” only allows for remote work in a specific city or region.

These distinctions can be important, as it’s not unusual for TV and film productions to be supported by tax credits which incentivize hiring employees in a particular region.

Remote highlights:

• DreamWorks is hiring a 3D Modeler (USA): “Modelers are depended upon to create sophisticated models of the highest quality, including characters, environments, and props in a variety of styles.“ 
• Insomniac Games is hiring a Character FX Artist (USA): “Insomniac is looking for a Character FX Artist. In this role you will be responsible for creating character setups and simulating anatomy, cloth, and hair for both offline and real-time applications, and utilizing shot-specific finaling techniques.“ 
• Insomniac Games is hiring a Design Management Director (USA): “In this role, you will be responsible for building, managing, and mentoring a world-class Design Department to achieve Insomniac's vision of Best Developer.“ 
• Insomniac Games is hiring a Senior Character FX Artist (USA): ”Insomniac is looking for a Senior Character FX Artist. In this role you will be responsible for character setups and simulating anatomy, cloth, and hair for both offline and real-time applications, utilizing shot-specific finaling techniques, and contributing to the design, implementation, and maintenance of the simulation and CFX pipeline.”
• Digital Extremes is hiring a Technical Artist (Canada): “As a Technical Artist on Soulframe, you’ll work closely with a talented team to ensure art assets are both visually stunning and technically optimized.“ 
• Digital Extremes is hiring a Principal Environment Artist (Canada): “You will work with a proprietary engine across multiple platforms, creating everything from sweeping landscapes to intricate, fantastical interiors and otherworldly designs.“ 
• Luma Pictures is hiring a Matte Painter (Senior Level) (Australia): “Work with live action footage, digital still photography, rendered cg elements and digital paint to create believable environments that will be seamlessly integrated into the film.“ 

Remote (Local) highlights:

• Brown Bag Films is hiring a 2D Harmony Animator (Ontario, Canada) “Producing animated quota up to the expectations of the Animation Director. Assessing the Leica Reel/Storyboards, Animation Director launch notes and bringing creative/characterful ideas and solutions to further elevate scene.“ 
• Guru Studio is hiring a 3D Animator (Undisclosed Project) (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): “Understand the assigned scenes and their purpose in the story then create animated character performances to effectively serve that purpose. Animated performances are to meet the quality standard of the studio while also meeting given deadlines.“ 
• Framestore is hiring a Senior Compositor (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia): “Framestore's Melbourne studio is looking to hear from experienced Senior Compositors to seamlessly integrate all elements and layers of a shot, whether live action or computer generated.“ 

Help us keep this production going

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Want to be featured in an upcoming issue?

Are you responsible for hiring decisions at your studio? Get in touch with us on LinkedIn! We are currently working on Q&A discussions with recruiters at studios, and participating could put a link to your studio's career page directly in the inboxes of talented artists searching for their next production.

We believe that the best thing that artists applying for a job can do is to research the studio they are applying to, and we want to help provide specific advice for artists applying to a wide variety of studios.

Signing off for now

That’s all for this week, recruits! Have thoughts or feedback about our project? Feel free to message me by email at mike@cartoonrecruit.com, or send a DM to our LinkedIn page or @cartoonrecruit.com on Bluesky. I will do my best to reply to every non-spam message I receive.

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