Those among us who have followed the development blog may recall the time when we put out a call for artists, aptly titled, “Calling All Artists”. We didn’t specify why we were looking for artists, but in the coming weeks you’re going to see why we did and what the artists who responded created in the form of fan art.

Continuing towards Cave Story’s March 22nd (2010) launch we’re going to be showing some of this fantastic artwork and while asking these very talented artists questions about themselves and how they created these works.

Michaela Clisson is responsible for some of the artwork you'll soon see in Cave Story on Wii. Prior to working on the game she had no knowledge of the game, but, as you'll soon read, she quickly feel in love with the game. As a new fan of Cave Story and an able artist she combined her God-given talent and newfound love for the game. She's now moved onto doing online games, but made time to put a painting together.

What is your day job?
I work as a 2D artist for Facebook games.

How did you get involved in artwork?
I've always wanted to be an artist, ever since i can remember. My mother and father are both artistic and they fully supported my interest in being an artist. I decided to pursue game art as a career when i was in high school.

What are your tools of the trade?
My handy dandy Wacom is probably my favorite "tool of the trade." As far as applications go, I usually stick to Photoshop and Flash.

What kind of advice can you offer someone interested in getting
involved with artwork and digital media?
As far as artwork in general, you want to constantly study and observe form, color, light and perspective in other pieces of art as well as in life. As far as digital art goes, get a Wacom and learn your hotkeys!

What is your experience with Cave Story? How did you learn about it?
What do you think of the game?
I was an artist for the Cave Story remake to WiiWare. I actually learned about it when I started working on it. I completely fell in love with the game. Every aspect of Cave Story is charming.

Can you tell us about your choice for the painting. We have the main character with a puppy on top of his head. What made you choose this as your painting?
I thought the whole puppy on the head part of the game was just super cute and fun. I like when I'm surprised by silly things in games, and this surprised me, so i decided to paint it!

How long did it take from start to finish?
Originally, I wanted the painting to actually be in a cave, however i quickly changed my mind and decided to have the background blend in with the hat and the pants.

What kind of look where you going for with the painting?
The style and look was mostly inspired by a painting of megaman. I'm very happy with the final result.

What's your latest painting?
My latest finished painting is my version of the shoe from the nursery rhyme "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe." It was originally for a sketch blog, now its part of a flash toy complete with funky sounds and animations. (coming soon to my
website!)

Where can people find your work?
Most of my work is up on my website! www.michaelaclisson.com