Production Artist

Job Title: Production Artist

Feature: Bad Fairies

Location: Central London Studio

Reports to: Art Directors, and Art Department Manager

Contract type: Full-time, multiple start dates available

Important Note: This is a London-based hybrid role, requiring three days per week in the Primrose Hill studio. Candidates must currently have the right to work in the UK.

About Locksmith Animation:

Locksmith Animation is an independent, global animation studio developing and producing high-quality features, series, and shorts for audiences of all ages. Based in London and Los Angeles, Locksmith brings together a team of accomplished industry leaders and world-class creative talent in a filmmaker-led studio. The studio tells contemporary stories that make people laugh, think, and feel.

Locksmith’s debut feature, Ron's Gone Wrong, was a critical and commercial success, released in partnership with 20th Century Studios. The studio’s follow-up, That Christmas, based on Richard Curtis’s best-selling children’s books, became the #1 original animated film on Netflix in 2024. It was longlisted for a BAFTA and nominated for six Annie Awards.

Currently, Locksmith has a non-exclusive first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures and is in production on Bad Fairies, an original animated musical. The studio is also developing The Lunar Chronicles, a trilogy of films based on Marissa Meyer’s bestselling novels, as well as an original animated short. With an exciting slate of projects in the works, Locksmith is committed to creating groundbreaking entertainment that resonates globally with audiences of all ages.

Key Purpose of the job:

As an integral member of the Art Department, this role focuses on designing, finalising, and organising set and prop assets - everything handled by characters or used to decorate environments. As a Production Artist you will bring inanimate world details vividly to life, ensuring visual coherence, narrative consistency, and production readiness.

You will report to the Art Directors of Bad Fairies and collaborate closely with a talented team of visual development artists.

Responsibilities:

Following the creative design brief to deliver production ready artwork that adheres to the style of the film.

Taking assets from brief through to delivery, with attention to detail, clear intent and direction for vendor studios to be briefed.

Answering to the Art Directors in accordance with your duties.

Position Requirements:

• Minimum 2–3 years of proven experience in animation production in a visual development role, with a focus on environment and prop design.
• Strong understanding of 3D production workflow.
• Experience preparing final artwork and turnarounds for props and set pieces, including clean line work, colour callouts, texture references, and scale charts.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop) is essential.
• Familiarity with 3D software such as Maya or Blender is a strong bonus — particularly for blocking out complex props or sets, or for working with layout and modelling teams.
• Comfort working within an established art style, adapting to direction or revisions from Art Directors.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Application instructions:

1. Submit a showreel or portfolio highlighting relevant credits, with an emphasis on clean execution of final art assets to careers@locksmithanimation.com.
2. Please include details of your availability or earliest possible start date.