Assistant Head of Art

Job Description 9 Story Media / Brown Bag Films is a leading creator, producer and distributor of award-winning animated and live action content for audiences around the world. From development right through to consumer products, 9 Story Media Group is one of the world's leading kids and family content companies. We are looking for an Assistant Head of Art to join our creative team at Toronto studio.

Role Title
Assistant Head of Art

Reporting to
Head of Art

Purpose
Why you're here at Brown Bag Films

To support and collaborate the Creative Directors and Head of Art in developing the studio's artistic vision, design excellence, and visual innovation across all productions, ensuring the creation and delivery of world-class artwork while balancing creative ambition with production realities.

The Assistant Head of Art Department champions a diverse range of artistic styles, develops talent, and provides strategic artistic leadership to productions requiring artistic guidance, intervention, or support.

Delivery
What you produce

Exceptional artistic output across all studio productions.

A sustainable, high-performing Art Department.

Strong visual development pipelines, workflows, and creative standards.

Effective artistic support systems for productions across varying stages of development and delivery.

A culture of creative growth, mentorship, and continuous improvement.

Measurements
How we measure it

Creative outputs meeting artistic requirements within agreed scope, budget, and schedule.

Consistency of quality across productions with varying visual styles.

Team performance, engagement, and development.

Success of productions supported through artistic intervention and guidance.

Delivery against quarterly operational and strategic goals.

Efficiency and effectiveness of departmental workflows and creative reviews.

Key Responsibilities
Creative Leadership

Managing the team of Art Directors and ensuring they achieve the creative vision within the scope and required standard for their productions.

Guiding productions across a broad range of visual styles, genres, and audience demographics, ensuring artistic authenticity and excellence in each project's unique design language.

Partnering with Show Directors and Episodic Directors to translate creative vision into achievable artistic solutions.

Resolving creative conflicts related to production design, visual development, and artistic execution.

Maintaining studio-wide standards for design quality and visual storytelling.

Production Support & Intervention

Providing hands-on artistic support to productions experiencing creative, design, or workflow challenges.

Identifying productions that may benefit from additional artistic guidance and proactively partnering with leadership to develop solutions.

Conducting creative reviews and assessments to identify risks, opportunities, and areas for improvement.

Supporting productions through visual problem-solving, draw-overs, paint-overs, notes, and targeted creative direction.

Art directing pilots, tests, proof-of-concepts, and special initiatives as required.

Department Leadership

Overseeing the Art department's leads ensuring design teams meet artistic, technical, and workflow requirements.

Overseeing the development and implementation of departmental workflows, methodologies, and best practices including:

Visual development

Concept design and exploration

Style guides

Breakouts and call-outs

Production design documentation

Design reviews and feedback processes

Collaborating closely with CG management to ensure effective delivery to upstream and downstream departments.

Talent & Development

Leading recruitment, artistic casting, and resource planning for Art Directors and design teams across productions.

Identifying emerging talent and fostering career growth within the department.

Establishing mentorship, training, and professional development programs.

Promoting artistic versatility and encouraging the development of skills across multiple visual styles and design approaches.

Quality & Review

Establishing clear review structures and feedback methodologies across the department.

Providing high-quality visual notes, draw-overs, paint-overs, and design feedback to ensure clarity of creative direction.

Monitoring artistic complexity and scope to ensure creative ambitions remain aligned with production realities.

Championing continuous improvement in visual quality, storytelling, and creative execution.

Key Requirements
Key Requirements Knowledge

Expert understanding of a wide range of artistic styles and their application across animation productions, including preschool, comedy, action-adventure, feature, stylized, and hybrid aesthetics.

Strong understanding of 2DD and CG animation workflows and cross-departmental production pipelines.

Strong knowledge of production design, visual development, colour scripting, shape language, and visual storytelling.

Understanding of colour management, colour profiles, and their application in animation production.

Knowledge of current industry trends,…