Job Description

The Veterans Imagination Project at Arizona State University helps military veterans and transitioning service members envision futures in their chosen civilian careers with the tools of scenario planning, design thinking, speculative storytelling, and visual art.

In this process, participants collaborate with a concept artist who produces a keyframe illustration — a personalized rendering that places the veteran in their imagined career, 10–20 years from now. These images are not decorative. They are motivational artifacts that participants carry forward as concrete proof that a future is possible.

Learn more about the project at csi.asu.edu/veterans

The Role

We are seeking a concept artist to join an upcoming cohort as a creative partner. You will conduct brief intake conversations with each participating veteran, develop a creative brief from that interview, and deliver thumbnail concepts and one finished keyframe illustration for each participant in the program. Work spans portraiture, environmental and landscape design, and speculative world-building — all grounded in the real aspirations of real people.

Desired Qualifications

Interview-to-Brief Fluency

• Comfortable conducting short discovery conversations with participants and distilling what you learn into a clear, actionable creative brief driven by participants’ imaginings. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom or similar web conference software.

Landscape & Environment Design

• Strong command of setting and atmosphere. You can render a future clinical lab, a city block, a field hospital, or a professional kitchen with equal confidence. Environments carry as much narrative weight as the figure.

Portrait Likeness & Character Capture

• Ability to render a subject from reference photos or brief in-person interaction, capturing enough likeness that the veteran recognizes themselves in the final image. Precision realism is not required; emotional resonance is.

Tight-Turnaround Delivery

• Proven ability to move from brief to polished finished image within a compressed timeline tied to cohort schedules. Prior experience in commercial, games, or editorial environments is a strong asset.

Nice to Have

• Experience with digital compositing workflows (Photoshop, Blender, Lightroom or equivalent).
• Background working with underrepresented communities, service organizations, or in educational settings.
• An understanding of military culture or personal experience with veteran transition is a meaningful plus.

Applications from military veterans or veteran family members are strongly encouraged.

How to Apply

To apply, submit a portfolio link or PDF to: Bob.Beard@asu.edu

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