Lead Concept Artist

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform, offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, collect physical and digital trading cards, and bet as the company expands its Sports book and iGaming platform.

Fanatics Collectibles operates at the intersection of collectibles, culture, and technology. Backed by world‑class investors and partners, we are building the global leader in next‑generation collectibles and the next generation of trading card games.

The Lead Concept Artist will serve as a senior creative leader within the Fanatics TCG studio, defining the visual identity of original IPs across characters, worlds, factions, environments, cultures, and key moments. The role goes beyond creating artwork; it requires conceptual thinking, artistic taste, strong world‑building instincts, and the ability to guide visual development at both strategic and executional levels. You will partner closely with Creative Leadership, Design, Product, Narrative, and external artists to shape foundational imagery and visual storytelling that will influence entire franchises for years to come.

Define the visual identity of original worlds and drive creative vision & artistic excellence.

• Lead the visual development of original TCG universes from earliest exploration through established franchise direction.
• Create concept art that defines tone, atmosphere, visual language, emotional resonance, and world cohesion.
• Help establish iconic characters, creatures, factions, environments, props, symbols, and visual motifs that become foundational to the franchise.
• Push visual exploration beyond expected genre conventions to create distinct, memorable, and ownable worlds.
• Help establish and uphold the artistic quality bar across the studio, influencing visual direction through strong creative authorship, taste, and storytelling instincts.
• Develop foundational artwork and visual targets that guide both internal teams and external partners.
• Ensure consistency and cohesion across multiple visual initiatives and evolving franchise needs.
• Partner closely with Creative Directors, Game Designers, Narrative, Product, and Brand teams during early ideation and world building.
• Translate abstract ideas, themes, and gameplay pillars into compelling visual direction.
• Participate in high‑level creative discussions influencing the future direction of original IP development.
• Help align visual storytelling with gameplay, player fantasy, emotional engagement, and collectible appeal.
• Provide guidance, feedback, mentorship, and artistic direction to internal artists and external partners.
• Support external vendors and freelance artists to ensure alignment with franchise quality and direction.
• Contribute to the development of scalable visual development pipelines and workflows.
• Drive rapid visual ideation and concept exploration across multiple creative directions.
• Balance highly polished presentation work with fast iterative sketch and exploratory workflows.
• Bring curiosity, experimentation, and fresh perspective into the development process.
• Continuously push for stronger originality, emotional impact, and artistic differentiation.

• An exceptional portfolio demonstrating world‑class concept art, visual storytelling, taste, and originality.
• Expertise in one or more areas such as character design, creature design, environment design, costume design, or visual world building.
• Deep understanding of composition, shape language, lighting, color, mood, cinematic storytelling, and franchise visual development.
• Strong understanding of how concept art translates into scalable production pipelines.
• Ability to lead visual exploration from ambiguity into clear and compelling creative direction.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills within highly creative and iterative environments.
• Strong mentorship instincts and ability to elevate the work of others.
• Genuine passion for fantasy, sci‑fi, games, trading card games, and immersive world building.