Pixel / Sprite Animation Artist

Job Description

For a new project, Chillhop Music is looking for a pixel / sprite animation artist to bring the project to life through small animated character sprites that fit our normal style. Characters are tiny: roughly 14-24 pixels tall at max zoom, shrinking to near-dots (5px tall) when zoomed out. The animation is subtle and ambient. We're known for our organic and relaxing artstyle, so the small movements need to feel natural and alive.

What you'd be doing

• Translating character designs (provided by our illustrator) into sprite sheets at very low resolution
• Walk cycles, idle loops, and activity-specific character animations
• Multiple animal species, each needing to read as distinct at small scale
• Working within a warm, organic color palette. Not retro, not arcade, not neon.

What we're looking for

• A portfolio showing sprite animation at very low resolutions where characters have personality despite the size
• Walk cycles and idle loops that feel natural, not mechanical
• Warm, grounded color sensibility. Our world is chill but not cute, real but not gritty.
• Comfortable working from existing character designs and a defined art direction
• Indie game sprite experience is a strong plus

Working style

• Work-for-hire, project basis, with continuous chunked worked as we expand.
• Work is largely async. A few hours of overlap with CET for feedback rounds is enough.
• Slack for communication

Pricing

We'd start with a paid test assignment (one species: walk cycle, idle, and one activity animation) to validate style fit and see how the sprites look in the project. From there, we'd scope the initial project as a defined chunk for the first iteration of the project. After that, ongoing work on a flexible rate as things come in.

Timeline

We'll collect applications for 1 week, then get back to selected candidates for a paid test assignment in the week after. We'd need to have roughly about 30 animations (10 characters each with 3 animations on average) done by the start of June, with a first batch done by end of April. After a first iteration of the project is done in June, if there's a good fit there will be new batches of animations to be done every month or few months.

Skills

• Pixel art and sprite animation at very low resolutions
• Sprite sheet output (PNG, consistent frame dimensions)
• Eye for what reads at small scale: silhouette, motion, personality in minimal pixels
• Can match a defined art style rather than imposing your own

If you specialize in pixel animation but don't do illustration or character design, that's fine. This role is specifically about the sprite craft.