A Mycena Cave artist creates art assets for the site which can include art for site events and activities, coat and item sets for monthly or seasonal release, sprout, custom, or edit queue orders, and game-related art. Much of the time, artists are creating either equippable items or unedited or edited pets. Artists are carefully selected based on their experience, artistic ability, ability to execute the Mycena Cave style, and on conduct and professionalism. Artists are expected to create art contributing to the overall feel and look of Mycena Cave, and extending it with their own personal and professional touch to the site.
At this time, we are looking for general artists with excellent communication skills who are interested in helping out in various different areas, including queue and event artwork. A willingness to collaborate on projects with other artists is also preferred.
General Expectations & Requirements
Listed below are our expectations for a Mycena Cave artist:
Artist must be at least 18 years old
Artist conducts themselves in a professional manner
Artist exhibits confidence with their artistic ability
Artist responds to and incorporates critique into their work
Artist has the time and the motivation to work on Mycena Cave regularly
Artist meets deadlines and follows instructions
Artist communicates effectively and professionally with Mycena Cave players and staff
Artist is willing to use echoes, staff forums, and staff discord to communicate with staff
Artist is friendly and gets along with Mycena Cave players and staff
Artist keeps staff-only information in confidence
Artist mimics the Mycena Cave style willingly and effectively
Artist uses SAI, SAI2, Photoshop Creative Suite, or Clip Studio Paint Pro/Ex
Artist is familiar with clipping, masking, layer effects, group folders, and .psd and .png file formats
Responsibilities and Duties
A site artist has access to a variety of art-related tasks consisting of different levels of creative input from the artist. Coat and item creation will form the bulk of an artist’s weekly work. Periodically, an artist will have an opportunity to create other, miscellaneous site art and graphics as needed during events and activities. Some art tasks allow for artistic freedom—for example, designing an Out of the Shadows set is usually done by the artist who claims the slot. Other art tasks have more specifications—for example, an artist may take a custom order with a mock-up attached, and the artist strives to make the custom to those specifications.
An ideal candidate will be flexible and industrious, willing to collaborate with the team to meet artistic goals and often balancing multiple projects at a time. Creation of event, seasonal, and queue related work will have hard deadlines which will need to be met. In addition to artistic ability, effective time management will be a valued skill in a potential candidate.
Incentives & Drawbacks
Before you apply, be sure to ask yourself why you want to be a part of the Mycena Cave team. While Mycena Cave is a fun hobby for many of you thinking about applying, it’s important to realize that joining the staff team would lead to a dramatic change in the way you interact with the site and community, making it much more like a job — and as with any job, there are both positives and negatives to consider.
Incentives:
Artist will bring their coat and item ideas to life
Artist will be matched with a staff artist mentor to help guide them and integrate them into the team
Artist will receive compensation per completed task as an independent contractor of Mycena Cave (see sample compensation rates here)
Artist will become part of a close-knit staff team
Artist will help glitch and Myla make informed decisions about site policies and site directions
Potential Drawbacks:
Artist may feel a strain on relationships with non-staff friends because they will know information that they can’t share
Artist may feel more stressed because they may have Mycena Cave art deadlines on top of a busy schedule
Artist will be held to a high standard of conduct. This includes forums, chats, and echoes, as well as anywhere else they are recognizable as part of the Mycena Cave staff
There is an increased likelihood of being a target of harsh off-site critique by the community because the artist is more visible
Overview of the Application Process & Trial Period
Our hiring process is broken down into several steps:
Application Round One: Open to anyone who is interested in being considered for the position. The application consists of three parts:
Art Examples - Examples of previous work
Mycena Cave Style Request - Artistic freedom item drawn in the Mycena Cave style
Application Questions - Set of questions to which applicants must submit answers
Application Round Two: Up to six artists will be picked out of the first round entries and will be asked to complete the second round. This consists of two parts:
Further written application questions
A mock custom order incorporating the item created in round one
Discussion and critique of the mock custom
Application Round Three: Up to four artists will be picked out of the Application Round Two entries and will be asked to move to the third round. This consists of two parts:
Short live interview using a text-based chat
Trial Period: Up to three artists will be selected for a three-month trial period. Trial artists will:
Sign a contract
Gain access to Mycena Cave art resources
Start receiving compensation for their work
Meet a staff mentor to help guide and orient them
Read and apply staff information with the assistance of their mentor
Meet the staff team
Create site items and coats and save them in upload-friendly formats
Trial artist should be producing artwork regularly during this period, with an expectation of producing a minimum of 6 new official art contributions during these three months
Trial artists will receive and incorporate art style critique during production stages of these items
Use staff interfaces to upload and modify their coats and items
Full Artist: After the trial period has been completed, Myla and glitch will give the artist a final evaluation. If they meet all qualifications, then the artist will become a full member of the Mycena Cave staff.
IMPORTANT: In order to keep the application process as fair as possible, please do not post or otherwise show off the contents of your application during the initial application period to community members or staff publicly or privately. Once we have posted that we’ve moved to the application round two, submissions may be shared.
You can review the content of the application below, but you will need to complete the application using the Google Form. Any applications received via other means will not be looked at.
Art Examples
Please select and link to 3 pieces of recent (within the last year) work you feel exemplifies the quality of your work.
Mycena Cave Style Request
We will be looking at your creativity and ability to mimic Mycena Cave style, follow directions, and organize your .psd. For reference, here is a sample .psd of a Mycena Cave item (this file also includes all of the bases for item making). We also encourage you to use the Magic Puddle to take a critical look at our items.
Follow these directions closely:
Draw an equippable item and display it on one pet base of your choice (e.g. the upright cat)
Use this .psd to create the item—this file also includes an example item.
The item can be any category of equippable item (pet, weapon, clothes, wig, tail, accessory, etc.)
The item should be selected and made with the intent of showcasing your creativity, skills as a colorist, and ability to mimic Mycena Cave style. This means whatever you select should show off your lineart, shading, and ability to select a cohesive palette and color design—we recommend staying away from a smaller item unless it is part of a larger set (e.g. a bracelet is okay if you’re also doing a matching hat or scarf to go with it).
Submit a .psd of the file by uploading to dropbox/google docs/firefox send/etc and linking or e-mailing if none of the uploading options works for you
Here are some specific aspects of your art we will be focusing on:
Lineart width
Lineart color
Contouring of pattern (if applicable)
Shading style
Shading color/intensity
Highlight style
Highlight style/intensity
Perspective of the drawing
How well all the colors/shapes work together
The item selected (does it work well as a display to the techniques listed above, is it creative, etc.)
Organization and layering of the .psd file
Ability to follow request directions
Application Questions
Are you at least 18 years of age?
What country/timezone are you living in?
What is the easiest way to contact you outside of Mycena Cave?
How much time do you spend on Mycena Cave weekly? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)
Tell us about your current responsibilities offline. Are you balancing a school or work schedule?
How much time can you dedicate weekly to Mycena Cave, not including recreational use? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)
List any art programs you currently own, and any programs you do not own but have experience with.
Provide your current model of tablet and any additional hardware used for your digital artwork.
Please list any relevant experience you may have, and any associated references. This may include but is not limited to: commissions or freelancing, operating an art shop or adoptables shop, or working as a staff artist or contracted artist elsewhere.
Please list any current art-related engagements. This may include but is not limited to: commissions or freelancing, operating an art shop or adoptables shop, or working as a staff artist or contracted artist elsewhere.
Are you more comfortable working on pieces with specific direction or pieces that permit more artistic freedom?
In which areas (e.g. site coats, customs, sprouts, site items, etc.) of Mycena Cave artwork are you most interested as a potential site artist?
Questions?
Feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding our application process or expectations in this thread! You may also echo Myla with questions.
FAQ
Can a joint account apply / Can two potential artists file a joint application?
We require that applicants apply as separate individuals. A player from a joint account may apply, but we do require that staff not have joint accounts and so the applicant would need to separate into their own account at the trial artist phase.
What does the full application timeline look like?
We expect that we’ll be selecting trial artists in early October. That gives applicants a full month to apply to round one, two weeks for round two, and two weeks for round three with some extra time between the rounds for the selection process.
Do I need to be an active member of Mycena Cave to apply?
No, though applicants should be willing to make it a part of their routine since we expect staff to log in regularly.
Yeah good luck, I would probably attempt if it wasn’t thank to my art-laptop showing colors off ( screen got an odd blue hue to it o matter what I do to light and color settings making it hard to draw something that doesn’t look bad on other screens ) ^^;
I checked my files today and realized one of the images had the art I did mirrored correctly, and the other one did not, so I hope I sent the right one in. It’s been a minute, so I’m not sure ; O ; But I just wanted to come by and say good luck to everyone <3
All applicants should have received an echo from Dove and me confirming that we got their applications. We’ll let everyone know when we’ve made selections and moved onto round 2. :D
We’ve sent out messages to all the applicants and will move onto round 2 this week. Thank you again to everyone who applied—the selection process was tough due to all the high quality submissions!
UpRhyse Unfortunately applications closed at the end of Auguest and we’re currently deep into the application process. Thank you for your interest and I hope you will apply when we have applications open in the future! :D
