Job Posting: Illustrator Position

 

Depiction is expanding our Pittsburgh illustration studio. We are looking for applicants for a full-time 3-month apprenticeship, with the possibility of the offer of a long-term position at the end of that period. This is an exciting opportunity to learn the craft of architectural illustration and to help create vibrant visual stories through architectural renderings. This job will provide you with a rare opportunity to hone both your traditional and digital illustration skills.

 

The selected candidate will have a chance to work on an interesting range of projects, like innovation districts, water parks, urban infill, and master planned communities. We serve an impressive client base of architects, landscape architects, theme park designers, developers, urban designers, advertising agencies and movie studios.  Our work helps people imagine how buildings and public spaces are used, so you must be interested in and adept at understanding and communicating those experiences through your art. We will help you develop your ability to identify the narrative of a place, compose a rendering that reinforces that narrative, and to develop the skill to execute your vision in a beautiful manner.

 

 

A little about us:

 

Depiction is a collaborative illustration studio.  We create and conceptualize evocative imagery that conveys the narrative of the built environment.  Serving as one of only a few traditional media studios in the country, our artists work hand-in-hand with design professionals, developers, cities, and other organizations to tell the story of their projects. Decades of experience allow us to identify and craft the visual narrative and present it through artful, engaging imagery.

 

The founders have been working collaboratively for years and officially formed Depiction, LLC in August of 2017.  We are located in Lawrenceville, a vibrant, thriving city neighborhood a mile from downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Click here to learn more about Lawrenceville, and click here to see why TIME Magazine ranked it among one of the coolest places to live in the U.S. The studio itself is in the Ice House, an historic old ice factory that is now home to a wide variety of businesses and artists in the area.

 

 

 

Job Requirements:

 

1. Skill knowledge
   1. Strong understanding of Photoshop
   2. Sketchup - A full working knowledge would be greatly beneficial.  Knowledge from another 3d software program could be used to slingshot the applicant’s Sketchup learning.
   3. Hand drawing skills
   4. Understanding of design principles, which is key to creating the composition of the rendering
2. Personal Character

1. 1. Natural curiosity about the work – specifically, the built environment and how people interact with it
   2. Ability to work and learn quickly
   3. Ability to work well with a team
   4. Self-motivated
   5. Confident about their work while receptive to critique

 

 

 

Illustrators will learn and have responsibilities in all three phases of production:

 

1. Set-up work - The initial phase is the foundation of our illustration process and is a crucial element to reaching a successful rendering. This will be a primary focus until quality and efficiency are achieved.
   1. Understanding pleasing view angles and proportions
   2. Creating SketchUp models
   3. Matching Camera angles with Google Earth
   4. Adding entourage (cars, people, trees, etc.) through SketchUp and Photoshop
   5. Manipulating Photoshop layers for “masking” prior to rendering
2. Drawing skills - This second drawing phase is vital to creating the illustration. This will be an on-going learning objective.  These skills will be developed in both the short term and long term engagements.
   1. Understanding of perspective drawing
   2. Understanding of architectural proportion and styles
   3. Invention of place
   4. Invention of architecture
3. Rendering - This is the final stage of the process and takes place almost entirely in Photoshop.  This skill will be developed similar to the drawing process.  Once an acceptable level of mastery has been achieved at this phase…BOOM!  PAY RAISE!
   1. Selecting and working in a color scheme
   2. Understanding value, color, and light
   3. Applying local colors
   4. Adding textures and paint strokes and final touches