Job Description
Help define the pixel-art combat style players will recognize at a glance.
Kuri Kuma Games is building an original anime-styled game for mobile and PC, and we are looking for a Pixel Artist / Animator to shape how its characters, enemies, and attacks come alive in battle.
As an early member of the art team, you will do more than translate finished illustrations into sprites. You will help establish the visual language for the game's pixel-art sequences, make key decisions about scale, readability, timing, and effects, and create combat animation with personality and impact.
Our goal is to make every character feel recognizable and expressive even at pixel scale. If you enjoy combining strong pixel-art fundamentals with exciting animation and want to define the look of a new original game IP, we would love to hear from you.
Applicants must currently be located in Japan.
Responsibilities
- Create high-quality pixel-art sprites for playable characters based on character illustrations and design sheets.
- Design original enemies, creatures, attacks, effects, and other combat assets.
- Animate characters with readable poses, expressive motion, satisfying timing, and a strong sense of impact.
- Translate each character's personality and abilities into distinctive combat animations.
- Help establish the game's pixel-art direction, including scale, proportions, palettes, shading, outlines, and animation standards.
- Collaborate with character designers and game designers to make sure visuals support both the character fantasy and gameplay.
- Build reusable workflows and production guidelines that help the pixel-art pipeline scale as the game grows.
Qualifications
Requirements
- A strong portfolio of original pixel art and animation.
- Experience creating sprites from existing character designs or illustrations.
- Strong animation fundamentals, including posing, timing, anticipation, follow-through, readability, and impact.
- The ability to create appealing work within technical constraints such as limited resolution, palettes, frame counts, or memory budgets.
- A good eye for silhouettes, color, effects, and visual clarity during combat.
- The ability to take broad creative direction, develop ideas, and improve them through collaborative feedback.
- Good communication skills and the ability to work closely with artists, designers, and engineers.
Nice to Have
- Experience working on mobile games, RPGs, action games, or character-collection games.
- Experience creating combat effects, spell effects, hit effects, or other pixel VFX.
- Familiarity with Aseprite or comparable pixel-art and animation tools.
- Experience preparing sprite sheets and production-ready assets for a game engine.
- An understanding of Japanese anime and game art trends.
- Interest in enemy design, creature design, or visually communicating gameplay mechanics.
About the Company
Kuri Kuma Games is an indie studio focused on creating intriguing worlds with engaging gameplay and lovable characters.
We're a small team based in Japan, building our first title from the ground up — where art direction, character design, and moment-to-moment joy come before everything else.
We give people genuine ownership over their work, and we believe the best games are made by people who truly care about what they're making.
Why Join Kuri Kuma Games?
- Define the pixel-art style of a new original IP from the beginning.
- Create highly visible characters, enemies, attacks, and effects that players will see throughout the game.
- Work with a small team where your artistic and production ideas can directly shape the final product.
- Take ownership of both individual assets and the broader visual language connecting them.
- Join early and grow with the studio as the project develops.