Commission artist for game projects

Let's say you're strong at programming, but weak at artwork. Where do you go, to find talented artists? 

This is a simple guide to the feeling out process. It's one of the first things every developer has to do, before committing any resource on the project. By just scanning art designs, one can piece the puzzle together, and form a better strategy on how to go about the project.

I did a quick search on 'pixel' and came up with a few results. The one above by ivanmercenario looks interesting. Nice, so we now have an artists who knows how to draw cool planes.

Next, background maps. Let's seach for 'tilemap' or 'tileset'.

Perfect, we found another artist who could do tilesets.

What about concept art? Let's seach for the word 'concept' and see what we come up with ...

Perfect. Although it's not pixel related, we know there are artists that can make concept artwork. This could be important for early, conceptual design.

What about character development? Do a quick search on 'character' and we find this:

This artist apparently is able to create a pretty cool female character, in front and back orientation. Nice.

Let's summarize what we have now

Now you know, that if need to pull together a project, that it's quite possible given the timeframe and cost. Now, if only we could find a well-rounded artist to help with an end-to-end project.

For now, pat yourself on the back! You've just done some basic research and mental exercise, that puts you ahead of the curve.

Stay tuned for the next post! I'll try to document how exactly an artist project should be structured, the pitfalls to projects, and hidden gems to nurturing long lasting relationships with artists.

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