2D Animator / Artist

Role Title: 2D Animator & Game Artist (Spine + Assets)

Role Summary

We’re looking for a talented and versatile 2D Animator / Game Artist to join a collaborative mobile team building a 2D Idle RPG + Tower Defense game. This role is split between producing high-quality animation and creating game-ready 2D assets that support gameplay, UI clarity, and overall presentation.

You will animate characters, enemies, towers, UI beats, and VFX using Spine 2D , After Effects , and/or PNG sequences , while also creating and polishing 2D assets such as icons, UI elements, small props, companions, and presentation visuals. You’ll work closely with designers and developers to ensure assets are consistent, cleanly exported, optimised for mobile, and smoothly integrated into the game engine.

This position suits someone who is self-sufficient, process-driven, and comfortable working at pace in a live production pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

• Create high-quality 2D animations for:
• Heroes, enemies, bosses, companions
• Towers, projectiles, deployables
• UI motion and gameplay feedback (win/lose, rewards, upgrades, transitions, popups)
• Rig and animate using Spine 2D , and produce PNG sequence animations when needed.
• Create 2D game art assets when required, such as:
• Icons, badges, frames, buttons, simple UI illustrations
• Small props/environment pieces for levels and menus
• Companion/tower visuals and variations
• Presentation visuals for features like summoning, upgrades, rewards, and events
• Prepare artwork for animation and integration:
• Layer clean-up and PSD discipline
• Sprite sheets/atlases, pivots, naming conventions
• Export packaging and handoff notes for developers
• Integrate assets into the game engine for testing and final delivery, ensuring correct states, loops, blending, and events.
• Conceptualise and storyboard simple animation sequences to lock timing and intent before production.
• Optimise assets and animations for mobile performance: atlas sizes, compression, overdraw, and readability at small screen sizes.
• Own tasks end-to-end: estimate, prioritise, deliver, and iterate based on feedback without sacrificing quality.
• Contribute to workflow improvements: templates, export rules, naming standards, and pipeline stability.

Requirements

• Strong portfolio showing both:
• 2D game animation (character/object/UI motion)
• 2D asset creation (icons/UI elements/props/character-related assets)
• Proficiency with:
• Spine 2D
• Photoshop (layered asset production + rig-ready prep)
• After Effects (UI motion/presentation beats)
• Solid animation fundamentals: timing, spacing, weight, anticipation, impact, follow-through.
• Strong art fundamentals: silhouette/readability, composition, and color discipline for game assets.
• Ability to work within an established art style and maintain consistency across a large volume of content.
• Comfortable working with task/project tools (Jira/ClickUp, Notion/Confluence, etc.) and managing multiple priorities.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills with designers, artists, and developers.
• Detail-oriented, organised, and dependable under deadlines.

Nice to Have

• Unity experience (Spine runtime setup, state machines, events).
• 2D VFX experience (hits, glows, trails, elemental effects).
• Experience shipping mobile F2P games, especially idle RPG or tower defense.
• Ability to do quick concept sketches or mood boards to support new content.

Animation is the core of this role, but you may occasionally be asked to create game-ready 2D assets depending on production needs.