Astral Sync is an original anime universe spanning a crossplay game (Astral Sync: Callisto) plus a Webnovel and Webtoon (Astral Sync: Voidborn). In this world, humans form bonds with creatures called Evomon. Callisto is a level-based, story and combat focused action RPG with a main lobby hub for team management.

• Art style: Semi-realistic with stylized elements (anime-inspired, readability-forward, strong visual identity).
• Start: Immediately

The role

You will become the visual anchor for Astral Sync: Callisto, responsible for creating a consistent, high-quality art direction across characters, environments, VFX, animation look, and shaders/materials, aligned with the broader universe direction from Voidborn.

Your top priority is the Gamescom demo: unify the current inconsistent look across departments, establish a practical style guide, and implement a review and feedback workflow that works with both outsourced asset production and the inhouse team.

Key responsibilities

1) Define and document the visual direction

• Establish clear visual pillars: shapes, proportions, silhouette language, materials, color, contrast, detail density, and readability.
• Create and maintain an Art Bible / Style Guide (v1 for demo) that covers:
• Character look rules (faces, hair, skin, eyes, outfits, accessories)
• Environment and prop language (biomes, architecture, set dressing density)
• Lighting rules 
• Shader and material rules

2) Build a review and feedback workflow

• Set up a repeatable review cadence and criteria with the existing leads.
• Provide direct, actionable feedback (including paintovers when helpful).
• Own the quality bar and ensure assets converge to the target style.

3) Coordinate concept artists

• Coordinate concept development across characters, environments, props, and key VFX where needed.
• Ensure concepts clearly communicate the style guide targets (shape language, materials, color, readability) and are production-ready for 3D and VFX.
• Maintain a clean concept library with approved directions, callouts, and do and don't examples.

4) Art direct outsourced production

• Create briefing packages for outsourced character and environment production.
• Review iterations, keep consistency, and prevent style drift.
• Ensure outputs fit mobile-first AA budgets and production timelines.

What success looks like (first weeks)

• A clear one-page set of Visual Pillars plus a curated set of reference boards that removes ambiguity.
• Art Bible v1 for the Gamescom demo scope (characters, environments, lighting, shaders/materials, VFX, animation look).
• A working review cadence (for example 2 scheduled reviews per week plus async feedback).
• A reusable outsourcing briefing template and first asset briefs for demo priorities.
• A defined quality bar demonstrated via at least one representative scene and hero asset set.

Requirements (must-have)

• Proven experience as Art Director, Lead Artist, or Visual Director in games (or equivalent shipped experience).
• Strong ability to create consistent art direction across multiple disciplines.
• Experience building style guides / art bibles and translating vision into production rules.
• Confident in reviews and feedback workflows, with clear, actionable communication.
• Comfortable with fast decision-making under time pressure (demo milestones).
• Solid understanding of production realities: outsourcing, iteration loops, quality control, and deadlines.

Nice-to-have

• Experience with large-scale outsourcing art direction.
• Technical art awareness (shader/material constraints, lighting tradeoffs), even if you are not building the systems.
• Experience with anime-inspired IPs and cross-media consistency (Webtoon/Webnovel to 3D game translation).

How to apply

Please send:

• Your portfolio (with clear role and contribution per project)
• Short note on your art direction process: how you establish a style guide and keep multiple disciplines aligned
• Any examples of style bibles, moodboards, paintovers, or review documentation (if available)
• Your availability (full-time start, then flexible), and yearly salary expectation