Hi everyone! We’re GlowDrift Studios, a small but ambitious indie team working on Merchanteer, a semi-realistic open-world merchant & privateer simulator built in Godot.
The Role
We’re looking for a 3D artist to work with geometry nodes in Blender to create island terrain efficiently using noise, color ramps, and similar methods, then paint blendmasks that feed into our custom Godot island-generation pipeline. Our tools automatically populate terrain masks with meshes such as rocks, grass, and foliage, but the artist will shape the final look and layout of the islands.
The role also includes island layout design. This covers placing docks, cargo stations, and NPC merchant houses, designing areas for props and environmental storytelling, developing the main island into something elaborate and alive, and keeping smaller islands simple but functional.
Scope of Creative Control
The position provides creative freedom within prebuilt tools and workflows. The artist will define how the islands are structured, how locations are connected, and how exploration flows, while staying within the established gameplay loop and art style.
Other team members are already working on ships, NPC houses, unique buildings such as a blacksmith and tavern, characters, and props. The work in this role will bring these assets together into complete islands.
Our Progress & Team
We have multiple completed assets and most core systems are already functional from a technical perspective, with coding work ongoing since the summer. The team also includes dedicated members handling legal and marketing, video editing, graphic design and UI, music and sound effects, as well as several 3D artists.
Compensation
We can pay either revenue share or cash-per-task. Revenue share is preferred for this role due to the level of creative influence it carries, but it is not required. All interested artists are encouraged to reach out regardless of payment preference. Please note we are a moderate-to-lower budget studio.
Communication
Voice calls in English will be required for training on the tools and for weekly team meetings.
Interested?
If this sounds like a role for you, please reach out to me on discord directly (username bnt12) or through email at dillon@glowdriftstudios.com. Please share a few samples of your work, especially anything procedural, terrain, or layout related.
Come help us shape the islands of Merchanteer and leave your creative mark on the world!