Who we are. Mortlake is a one-person game studio. We're making Grim Card March, a roguelike deckbuilder for PC (Steam), in Godot. The cards are beasts from a medieval bestiary - wolves, owls, rats, serpents - shown at the moment they decide to attack. The bosses are darker figures: some human, some mythic.
What we need. Card portraits, 180×141 px each, drawn by hand at native resolution: about 40 for the demo, 110-125 for Early Access. Only the portraits are required. Sigil icons are similar work and can come your way when there's time, within the same monthly pay. The UI, backgrounds (the battle table and a few screens) and the Steam capsule - only if you can and want to. Sigils, the UI and backgrounds raise your sales bonus.
Timeline. Start: late November or early December 2026. The first contract runs to the end of June 2027, full-time at least until May: the goal is a demo for Steam Next Fest in June 2027. If the demo does well, we plan about 5 more months of full-time work, to Early Access.
Style - "grim mythic realism". Real anatomy and real proportions, no cartoon distortion. "Mythic" is the mood, not the anatomy: the beast as someone who met it at night remembers it. Low key - most of the picture in shadow, one warm light. The beast comes out of the dark and looks at the player. Most cards are dark and brutal; some are neutral or even cute - we'll always say which. No landscapes.
References for mood: Darkest Dungeon, Salt and Sanctuary, medieval bestiaries and engravings. For pixel technique and light: Blasphemous, Fear & Hunger, Death's Gambit, Dead Cells, Eitr.
You:
- draw pixel art by hand at native resolution (no downscaled paintings);
- can do convincing animal anatomy, human and mythic figures, and dramatic low-key light;
- can keep one style across a long series;
- deliver layered source files - Aseprite preferred, other pixel editors are fine;
- don't use generative AI at any stage.
Content. The game is dark: predators, blood, death. A few cards - about one in ten or fewer - are fan service: female characters, or creatures with a feminine figure, in form-fitting or revealing clothing (or fur, feathers, scales). They stay at a teen level: suggestive, never explicit - no nudity, no sexual acts. Each of these cards is drawn in two variants, open and covered, on separate layers, so the covered version can be swapped in. Please tell us upfront if that's not for you.
How we work:
- a paid test first: one card portrait, $200, about 12-16 hours;
- a monthly contract: full-time at least until May 2027;
- a written transfer of rights for the work; your name in the credits; portfolio use once our Steam page is public;
- a sales bonus on top of the monthly rate, by copies sold;
- we never use your work to train AI or to generate images.
To apply, send:
- 5-10 pieces at native resolution (PNG files or links; clean integer upscales with nearest neighbour are fine in addition, but not instead);
- your monthly rate in USD for full-time work;
- your earliest start date, your time zone and your country of residence;
- one sentence about the piece you're proudest of, and how many hours it took;
- optional: a timelapse or a few work-in-progress steps of one piece.
Contact: jobs@mortlakegames.com