Hi! We're Throwback Studios—a small, independent, fully-remote game studio with a twist! We're also an entertainment company that makes viral social videos inside our own games. The videos let us make a better game, and a better game leads to even better videos. That loop is what we live for. 

Our debut title is Derby Baseball, a social sandbox baseball game on Meta Quest. Thousands of new players jump in every day, and the videos we make inside it pull in millions of views every month. We've set the foundation for something big, and we're just getting started on what it can become.

That's where you come in: a scrappy, self-directed 3D artist with a strong sense of art direction. You're not afraid to own the art pipeline end-to-end, define what Derby Baseball will look like, and consistent ship content for our players to enjoy.

Responsibilities

• Establish and develop the art direction
• Deliver 3D assets all the way from ideation to final in-engine implementation. Including:
  • Environments
  • Characters (incl. Rigging & Animation)
  • VFX
  • Cosmetics
  • Props
• Set the quality bar for art assets
• Establish an efficient art pipeline and workflow
• Represent Art in planning meetings
• Work closely with Engineering to optimize frame rate, memory usage, build size, load times

What We’re Looking For

Requirements

• Portfolio w/ relevant artworks
• US Residency (ideally Pacific time zone)
• 5+ years of professional experience in game art
• Proven experience establishing a stylized art direction on a shipped title
• Strong proficiency with an industry-standard 3D package (Blender, Maya, Max, etc.) and additional tools like ZBrush, Substance, etc.
• Experience building high quality, optimized low-poly 3D assets and implementing them in Unity
• Deep understanding of effective Unity workflows and best practices—scene management, nested prefabs, project organization, etc.
• Proficiency at creating shaders, VFX, and animation in Unity
• Experience optimizing Unity assets and lighting for mobile/VR performance
• Confidence giving and receiving feedback, pitching art direction, explaining visual decisions to non-artists
• Ability to work autonomously and manage your time effectively

Big Bonus if You Also Have

• Experience with version control systems such as Git or Perforce
• Ability to quickly convey visual ideas with quick sketches, reference bashing, etc.
• Experience creating and implementing 2D and UI art in Unity
• Experience developing for or playing games on standalone VR devices, especially Meta Quest
• Experience making promo art, key art, etc.
• Knowledge of popular multiplayer games and their art styles
• Knowledge of YouTube gaming or streamer culture
• Curiosity for game development and educating aspiring young creators
• A passion for sports culture, especially baseball and ballpark snacks!

What We’re Offering

• Competitive salary, benefits, and equity
• Fully remote with flexible scheduling outside of core hours
• Budget to set up or upgrade your home workspace
• A workplace that values ownership and communication over bureaucracy

How to Apply

Send us an email and include:

1. A link to your portfolio or reel
2. Your most significant/relevant shipped titles and your contributions
3. Your resume
4. Anything else that can help showcase your skills and who you are

We are only able to consider US-based candidates that provide us with a portfolio.