2D Artist / Animator

Job Description

• Type: Freelance
• Company: Hand Rock Studio Ltd. (https://www.handrockstudio.com)
• Location: Malta preferred; remote applications also welcome
• Start date: As soon as possible
• Date of job post: 20 August 2026

Hand Rock Studio is looking for a freelance 2D artist and/or animator to collaborate with our team on Nanuka: Secret of the Shattering Moon, our upcoming pixel-art action platformer.

We are looking for candidates with strong frame-by-frame animation skills. Broader experience as a versatile 2D generalist would also be highly valued.

Previous pixel-art experience is an advantage, but it is not essential. Strong artistic and animation fundamentals, together with the ability to understand and adapt to an established visual style, are more important to us.

We would especially like to hear from freelancers based in Malta, as this would make occasional in-person collaboration easier. However, we are also happy to consider remote artists based in other countries.

About the role

Depending on your skills and interests, the work may include:

• Creating and refining characters, enemies, bosses, environments, props and visual effects
• Producing expressive frame-by-frame animations for characters, enemies and gameplay actions
• Adapting artwork and animations to the game’s existing visual style and technical requirements
• Preparing sprite sheets and other game-ready assets
• Collaborating with our artists, designers and programmers to develop and iterate on visual ideas
• Responding to feedback and refining assets throughout development

What we are looking for

• A strong portfolio demonstrating 2D art and/or frame-by-frame animation skills
• A solid understanding of animation principles, including timing, movement, posing, weight, silhouette and readability
• The ability to understand and adapt to an established visual style
• Creativity and attention to detail
• Good communication and reliability
• The ability to work independently while also collaborating with the rest of the team
• Openness to feedback and iteration

Nice to have

• Previous experience creating or animating pixel art
• Experience with Aseprite or similar software
• Experience working on 2D games, particularly action games or platformers
• Experience preparing sprite sheets and game-ready assets
• Experience with character design, environment art or visual effects
• Broader experience creating high-resolution 2D artwork or animation

Although this is a pixel-art game, future Hand Rock Studio projects may use high-resolution artwork and animation designed for Full HD or 4K. Experience working in these styles would therefore also be valuable and could lead to further collaboration on future games.

How to apply

Please fill in our short application form here.

Please include:

• A link to your portfolio, showreel or other examples of your work
• Your location and time zone
• Your current availability
• Your preferred hourly or daily rate
• A brief introduction and an indication of whether you see yourself primarily as a generalist artist, animator, character artist, environment artist or another type of 2D specialist

As this is a freelance collaboration, applicants should be able to invoice for their services.

Please also feel free to share this page with anyone who might be interested.