Look Development Artist - Lighting & Compositing

Look Development Artist | Lighting & Compositing 

Location: New Orleans, LA - Onsite
Studio: Swaybox Studios
Department: Look Development
Reports To: Look Development Lead
Employment Type: Full Time

We're building a small, versatile Look Development team dedicated to exploring, defining, and refining the visual identity of our film. We move quickly, experiment often, and believe the best creative solutions come from talented artists who aren't afraid to step outside their specialties.

Job Summary

Swaybox Studios is seeking a creative and technically skilled Look Development Artist with a specialty in Lighting & Compositing to join our team.

This role focuses on bringing characters and environments to life through lighting, compositing, and the seamless integration of live-action footage with CG elements. You'll play an important part in establishing the visual language of the film, helping translate creative direction into compelling, screen-ready imagery.

We're looking for an artist with a strong understanding of color, light, and composition who enjoys solving creative challenges, experimenting with different approaches, and refining their work through collaboration and iteration.

While lighting and compositing will be your primary strengths, this is a generalist position that requires curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to contribute wherever your skills can make an impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and refine lighting and compositing approaches for characters, environments, and other visual elements to help establish the overall look of the film.
• Integrate live-action footage and CG elements, ensuring visual consistency and a cohesive final image.
• Experiment with lighting, color, atmosphere, and composition to explore and establish creative direction.
• Create and iterate on look development tests, presenting visual solutions that support the storytelling and artistic goals of the project.
• Collaborate with artists across modeling, texturing, technical art, and other disciplines to develop and execute visual concepts.
• Troubleshoot creative and technical challenges related to lighting, rendering, and compositing.
• Incorporate creative feedback quickly and thoughtfully while maintaining a high standard of visual quality.
• Support additional look development tasks outside your primary specialty as project needs evolve.
• Help identify opportunities to improve workflows and streamline the creative process.

Required Qualifications

• Professional experience in lighting, compositing, look development, or a related CG/VFX discipline.
• Strong proficiency in Nuke and familiarity with relevant CG and rendering workflows, including Houdini, Arnold, and/or Unreal Engine.
• Strong artistic eye with a deep understanding of color theory, lighting, composition, and visual storytelling.
• Experience integrating CG elements with live-action footage.
• Solid technical and creative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to interpret creative direction and translate feedback into effective visual solutions.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with evolving creative priorities.
• A versatile, hands-on approach and willingness to work across multiple disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with camera tracking and matchmoving workflows.
• Familiarity with both real-time and traditional rendering techniques.
• Experience developing visual styles for characters and environments during early look development.
• Knowledge of additional 3D applications and the ability to work across multiple software packages.
• Experience with hybrid productions combining practical and digital filmmaking techniques.