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[Open] Artist Applications
Artist Applications - Open!
Role Description & Responsibilities

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.

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 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, self-motivated, and willing to collaborate with the team to meet artistic goals. 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.

General Expectations & Requirements

Listed below are our expectations for a Mycena Cave artist:

  • 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

 

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 be a part of a supportive team with opportunities for collaboration
  • Artist will receive compensation per completed task as an independent contractor of Mycena Cave (see sample compensation rates here)
  • Artist can give input on site direction

 

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
  • Staff are at an increased likelihood of being a target of harsh critique from the community due to visibility and position
Application Form

***You can review the content of the application below. Applications can be filled out and sent to Mycenangelo.***

Art Portfolio
Please select and link to at least 3 pieces of your artwork you feel exemplifies the quality of your work. When we look at the art portfolio, we are looking for styles and techniques that mesh well with Mycena Cave’s art style.

Application Questions

  1. Username and name you’d like us to use (if different than or an abbreviation of your username):
  2. Pronouns
  3. Are you at least 18 years of age?
  4. What country/timezone are you living in?
  5. What is the easiest way to contact you outside of Mycena Cave?
  6. How much time do you spend on Mycena Cave weekly? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)
  7. Tell us about your current responsibilities offline. Are you balancing a school or work schedule?
  8. How much time can you dedicate weekly to Mycena Cave, not including recreational use? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)
  9. List any art programs you currently own, and any programs you do not own but have experience with.
  10. Provide your current model of tablet and any additional hardware used for your digital artwork.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Are you more comfortable working on pieces with specific direction or pieces that permit more artistic freedom?
  14. In which areas (Site coats, custom queue, sprout queue, edit queue, site items*) of Mycena Cave artwork are you most interested as a potential site artist? Please provide as much detail as possible about your areas of possible interest, even if you aren’t 100% sure. Artists aren’t assigned to any particular area, but we like to have an idea of what the artist is likely to spend their time doing so we can make an informed decision based on areas where we need more help.
[h4]Art Portfolio[/h4]
(insert a link to your portfolio, or links to individual images, or insert the images here)
Code for link: [url=link goes here]Portfolio or image link[/url]
Code for image: [img]image link here[/img]

[h4]Application Questions[/h4]
[ol][li][b]Username and name you'd like us to use (if different than or an abbreviation of your username)[/b]:
[li][b]Pronouns[/b]:
[li][b]Are you at least 18 years of age?[/b]:
[li][b]What country/timezone are you living in?[/b]:
[li][b]What is the easiest way to contact you outside of Mycena Cave?[/b]:
[li][b]How much time do you spend on Mycena Cave weekly? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)[/b]:
[li][b]Tell us about your current responsibilities offline. Are you balancing a school or work schedule?[/b]:
[li][b]How much time can you dedicate weekly to Mycena Cave, not including recreational use? (Please provide an hourly estimate.)[/b]:
[li][b]List any art programs you currently own, and any programs you do not own but have experience with.[/b]:
[li][b]Provide your current model of tablet and any additional hardware used for your digital artwork.[/b]:
[li][b]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.[/b]:
[li][b]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.[/b]:
[li][b]Are you more comfortable working on pieces with specific direction or pieces that permit more artistic freedom?[/b]:
[li][b]In which areas (Site coats, custom queue, sprout queue, edit queue, site items*) of Mycena Cave artwork are you most interested as a potential site artist? Please provide as much detail as possible about your areas of possible interest, even if you aren't 100% sure. Artists aren't assigned to any particular area, but we like to have an idea of what the artist is likely to spend their time doing so we can make an informed decision based on areas where we need more help.[/b]:
[/ol]


*More information about each area:

Site coats - Site coats are usually artistic freedom in design. Coats can range from having no edits to heavy edits. Usually an upright and active version needs to be made for each coat. Our biggest need are for Out of the Shadow coats (unedited coats, 1 set/month, usually ineki base) and event coats (edited coats, 3 major events each year with multiple coats released for each). You may enjoy doing site coats if you enjoy artistic freedom, working with a solid deadline, don’t mind making the same design twice, and enjoy seeing your creations released to the community.
Custom queue coats - These are like commissions where you follow the client’s specifications and communicate back and forth with them. Custom coats range in editedness, but they usually have significant amounts of edits. The custom queue is first come first serve and it is one base per request. You may enjoy the custom queue if you enjoy doing commissions, communicating with customers, making edits on a template base, having a clear direction for a coat, and are self-motivated with good time management skills. Learn more about customs and the custom queue.
Sprout queue coats - These are artistic freedom no communication commissions where the artist makes a pet based on the geness image (i.e. a bit like a breeding mechanic). Sprout coats range in editedness, but they usually have a significant amount of edits. The sprout queue is first come first serve and each sprout has three stages: a flower, baby, and adult. You may enjoy the sprout queue if you enjoy artistic freedom with a prompt, creating a surprise for a client, making edits on a template base, and have good time management skills. Learn more about sprouts and the sprout queue.
Edit queue coats - These are commissioned edits to clients already existing customs and adult sprouts and require a back and forth between you and the client. These are smaller orders and you are typically working with files created by other artists. You may enjoy doing edits if you enjoy style matching and problem solving, making edits to a base, communication with a client, working on fast-moving and smaller orders, having a clear direction, and are self-motivated. Learn more about edits and the edit queue.
Site items - There is a wide range of needs for site items: Out of the Shadow items, items made for our events, items made for the crafting system, items made for our marketplace, items made for random encounters, items for the seasonal shops etc. Generally, each item needs to be fit to our 10 bases (active cat, fox, and dog ineki; upright cat, fox and dog ineki; upright and active drasillis; sea kelph and river kelph). Deadlines for many item-related tasks are flexible, whereas others have set deadlines. Items typically have a lot of artistc freedom, though we can provide more direction if that’s what the artist likes. You may enjoy doing items if you enjoy bringing more equippable items to life, would find fitting items to the various bases relaxing rather than tedious, are self-motivated, and like flexibility and range of options that item-making presents.

[/b]

Overview of the Application Process

Our process is broken down into several steps: application, questionnaire, order simulation, and interview. The application is open to all, and the questionnaire, order simulation, and interview are through invitation.

Application

Applications are open to anyone who is interested in being considered for the position. The application consists of three parts:

  • Art Portfolio - Examples of previous work
  • Application Questions - Set of questions to which applicants must submit answers
Questionnaire

If an application aligns with the qualities Mycena Cave is seeking, the applicant may be invited to fill out an additional questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire is to get a chance to ask some deeper questions in order to better gauge team fit before asking an applicant for the larger time commitment of the order simulation.

Order Simulation

If an applicant looks to be a good fit with the team, they may be invited to participate in an order simulation. This usually consists of staff making a specific art request from the applicant, which will go through stages of back-and-forth communication including critique and change requests. The art request may vary depending on the current needs of the site, but will commonly consist of creating an ineki mock custom to specifications with a few edits. The purpose of the order simulation is to gain a better grasp on the applicant’s artistic strengths and weaknesses, professionalism, ability to communicate, and ability to implement feedback.

Interview

After the order simulation, applicants may be invited to a short, live interview with some of the staff team using a text-based chat. The purpose of the interview is to meet and talk in real time and to ask and answer any remaining questions staff or the applicant have.

Application Status

Mycena Cave is trying something new and keeping artist applications open at all times. We hope this will provide more flexibility to bring on artists when we need them, make the application process more relaxed, give artists a much bigger window of time to apply, and allow us to bring on new artists more frequently. A downside is that we may receive applications at times when we are not actively seeking new artists, which could result in a delay of any definitive response. As such, when an application is submitted, the following will occur:

  • The staff team will review applications as they are received and will confirm receipt. If the applicant appears to be a good fit for the team, they’ll be asked if it is okay for their application to be kept on file for up to a year. Applicants who are not a good fit will be similarly informed.

  • When Mycena Cave is in need of another artist, staff will review any applications on file and reach out to those who best suit the site’s needs at the time with an invitation to continue the process.

  • Applications may be held for up to a year. After a year, applicants will be asked if they would like for their application to continue to be held, or if they would like their application withdrawn. Applicants are free to update their application details at any time or ask for the application to be withdrawn at any time.
Beyond the Application Process

The applicant becomes staff after they’ve made it through the stages of the application process and accept a staff position. Staff initially come on as trial staff before becoming full staff:

Trial Staff

Once an applicant has successfully gone through the application process, they are invited to join as trial staff. The purpose of a trial period is to make sure the new artist has support and training after joining, and to ensure that the position is a good fit long term.  Trial staff will:

  • Sign a contract, including an NDA
  • 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 Staff

After the trial period has been completed, Myla and glitch will give the artist a final evaluation. If they meet all qualifications and they feel that this role is well suited to them, then the artist will become a full member of the Mycena Cave staff. Full staff are free to pick and choose which art tasks they’d like to do and are required to make a minimum of one art contribution every quarter to stay on as an active member of the team.h

Questions?

If you have any questions about any part of this process, echo them to Myla.

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.

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.
Posted 08/31/21, edited 09/01/21
Best of luck to anyone who applies!
Posted 09/01/21
Good luck to everyone applying!
Posted 09/01/21
Hope to maybe apply in the near future once I’m more familiar with the site and art style. Provided these applications are still in fact open! :D
Posted 12/27/22
Paopu Our artist applications are always open, and we keep them on file for when we need new artists. You’re more than welcome to submit :)
Posted 12/28/22

Dash
Thank you so much for the info! I’ll prepare my portfolio soon in that case. ♥

Posted 12/28/22
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