NOTE: For grant reasons, we are primarily seeking Canadian applicants. However, if you are not Canadian, we would still like to hear from you! Please read the “nice-to-have” section below for details.

Diorama Break is a special pixel-art tactics JRPG where you can talk directly to the Hero (whether he wants it or not). We are looking for an Art Director with previous professional experience to join the project full-time (32-40 hours per week). You will help define the game’s overall appearance and keep it cohesive and pleasing, maintaining and improving upon the style and standard of quality we set with the demo.

We are open to having you start anytime between October and January. We aim to offer a rate around the median for similar roles in Montreal, though this will depend on your skill and experience level.

About the Role

We are looking for someone to:

• Create character sprite models for pre-designed major characters as well as new minor characters from written briefs.
• Play an integral role in the design and feel of environments.
• Conceptualize and mock up lighting and other procedural effects in Aseprite, and work with programmers/technical artists to actualize them in-game.
• Help define the design and appearance of UI and menus.
• On all tasks, work closely with the game’s director, and translate his vision to other artists on the team. Synthesize direction, concept artwork, references, design documents, and existing assets to arrive at a final aesthetic vision for the project.
• Work with the producer to devise explicit artistic guidelines for the production and implementation of visual assets, as well as to communicate said guidelines to the team via written instruction, documentation, and visual explanations (references, diagrams, mockups, etc.)
• Consult on future art team hiring decisions.

Assets we would like you to contribute to, in ascending order of how much outside assistance you can expect to receive:

• Character sheets (a character’s in-game base sprite viewed from all angles, including props).
• Character dialogue portraits.
• Stage thumbnails, sketches, and finalized background and prop art.
• General environment concept art and mockups.
• UI art and design.

Everything here is expected to be in our painterly pixel art style, with the exception of general environment concept art.

Requirements

• Experience as an artist on a shipped commercial-quality game, ideally in some kind of leadership role.
• Extremely strong pixel art fundamentals, and ability to output artwork that matches the game’s existing quality standard and impressionistic aesthetic.
• Strong compositional ability; ability to conceive of bespoke, visually interesting/novel scenery and terrain.
• Ability to output expressive anime-style character art based on existing designs.
• Ability to translate high-res character designs into appealing pixel character designs, as well as create them from scratch, while considering animation costs.
• Comfortable working with Aseprite (or an equivalent art program, and willing to learn Aseprite).
• Comfortable working in a level editor to dress stages, validate ideas, and apply final polish changes.
• A portfolio demonstrating solid evidence of the above.
• An understanding of what is achievable with procedural visual effects, and ability to take initiative in conceiving of specific effects and integrating them into the overall aesthetic vision in a way that remains tasteful and properly stylized.
• Good communication skills and professional mindset. Comfortable using Discord for remote communication.

NOTE: While the ideal candidate is strong in both character and environment art, we are willing to consider exceptional candidates who may only be confident in one of the two categories, and encourage them to still apply.

Nice-to-haves

• Familiarity with similar games (JRPGs, tactics games, “meta” indie narrative games).
• Tax resident of Canada
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: For grant reasons, we are strongly incentivized to prioritize tax residents of Canada for the role. However, we will consider all candidates, particularly if you are willing to relocate to Canada and become a tax resident for the duration of the job, which we will do our best to assist with.
• Ability to produce character sprite animation directly.
• Good english skills.
• Familiarity with Git for source control.

About the Project

Diorama Break focuses on three main pillars:

• A science-fantasy narrative with meta elements woven into every facet, where the player interacts directly with the party and sees them respond to their attention and care. Inspired by games like OneShot and fiction like Worth the Candle.
• A unique turn-based tactical battle system that synthesizes elements of tactics games like Fire Emblem/Into the Breach/Transistor with mechanics inspired by fighting games such as frame advantage, footsies, and attack interruption.
• A vibrant, naturalistic world to explore, filled with unique semi-fantastical biomes and settlements, rendered in a high-quality impressionistic style.

Diorama Break released a free demo of its first chapter in April 2026, and ran a successful Kickstarter in May (over 158k CAD raised!). We’re currently gearing up for the full game’s development cycle, expected to start in earnest in January 2027. The full game is planned to release in 2029.

The game is being developed using a custom engine. We use a custom toolchain designed to minimize friction. Relevant to this role:

• The engine can read Aseprite files directly, meaning assets can be directly worked on in Aseprite without needing to export to a different format. They also retain all information such as frame timings and custom fields like the origin point and collision mask.
• A fully custom level editor designed specifically for the game.
• Asset hot-reloading, allowing you to modify art and see it reflected in-game immediately without needing to restart.

You can learn more about the project from our Website, Steam Page, or Kickstarter Page.

About the Studio

Diorama Break is developed under the “Diorama Break Team” label. Studio Massimo Gauthier inc. is the corporation which was set up in 2024 to handle the business end of things.

Work on the project is fully remote. Communication is handled primarily through Discord. Project files are shared via a repository on Github. We also use a Github wiki to share documentation, as well as a proprietary kanban-style project management app to track and assign tasks. By the way, for bonus points, include the phrase “this will truly be a Diorama Break” at the end of your questionnaire answers.

The current team consists of roughly 9 people. Massimo acts as the full time director, programmer, designer, writer, and studio head. The remaining team members are art contractors working part time, as well as our producer, music composer, and level designer. We plan to bring on a handful of additional people as the full game’s production ramps up.

Roughly half of the current team is based in Montreal, including Massimo. The remaining members are scattered around the world. Due to differences in timezone, we are pretty much maximally flexible with hours. As long as you put in the work, you’ll be free to choose your availabilities. You will, of course, never be expected to work on weekends.

About the Interview Process

Interviews will be conducted in 4 steps:

1. Initial call with the studio head to determine role fit and exact pay rate (~60 mins).
2. Art test where you produce some requested example assets (1-2 weeks part-time, paid).
3. Meet the team (~30 mins).
4. Finalizing contract terms (via email/text).

To Apply

Click 'Apply for this Job' below and fill in the linked application form.