Where can I contract visual artists or buy art to be displayed on a fantasy based web site game?
Question by stevesquires42: Where can I contract visual artists or buy art to be displayed on a fantasy based web site game?
We (some friends and I) are in the process of creating a fantasy based web site game. Though the game will be largely text based, we are going to need a fair bit of art for the various characters in the story, the locales of the world that people will travel to, and the various monsters and enemies that the heroes will fight against.
We are looking to pay a single, one-time, up front price for the art, and would like to be able to use that art on the site, royalty free. I do not care if other people are allowed to do the same thing with the same piece of art… I am not looking for an exclusive contract with someone at this point. I am hoping to pay between $ 25 and $ 50 maximum for most pieces, with no single piece costing more than $ 100, except for a few pieces of digital art that we will be using for our index page.
Based on the success of this game, we would be willing to continue business relationships with talented artists for several years.
So my question is, are you someone who can provide this service, or do you know a good place to go to find someone and/or browse galleries where I can buy/lease/license art to use on a web site royalty free?
Thanks so much everyone ahead of time for your answers.
Best answer:
Answer by Ralfcoder
Not sure if this will help you, but it might be worth a shot…
I needed some artwork to advertise an event a couple of years ago. I went to the art department of a local university, made an appointment with an instructor, and got the names and phone #s of a couple of students she recommended for this kind of work. We negotiated a bit for price, type of work, delivery date, etc, and who would own the rights to the work. It worked out very well for both sides, and if I needed to do this again, I’d be happy to go this route.
One thing that would make this go easier for you – be sure that you lay out as many of your requirements up front. You’ll save your time in the long run, and you’ll save work for your artist. That should make things easier for you. Give your artist details like:
size, colors, themes, details that need to be in the finished pieces, if any, samples that you might already have, dates, formats, prices, payment methods, how to handle work that needs to be changed, time deadlines, delivery methods, and anything else you can think of.
I did all my negotiation via e-mail, but for something this complicated, you may well do better to meet in person if you can.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!