by paulyforfun
Because I'm not there yet. Nor will I ever be, I suspect.Hopefully the below description is helpful; if it's not or I missed something please let me know. I tried to estimate how long it would take on my own but then I looked at the pen in my hand and realized my only point of reference was my skills. The problem with that is whereas if you put 50 monkeys in a room with a typewriter you could potentially get Shakespeare in 50 years, you could put 50 of me in a room with a pencil for 50 years and get at most a semi-correct set of arms on a stick figure...so I need professional help.
Feel free to message me with any questions! Thank you!
Overview
This request is for artwork for a fantasy-themed card game. The scope consists of approximately 55 unique images, suitable for use on a custom trading card game card (2.5 x 3.5 inches) and/or a small box (3.5 x 7.5 inches). The images are of four main types – Hero (humanoid), Monster (beast, humanoid, elemental, etc.), Item (sword, shield, gold, etc.) and Area (room, piece of forest, swath of desert, etc.).
Currently the delivery timeframe is open; a feasibility study is being done on the marketability of the design, the gameplay, etc. (i.e., how much will people pay for it and, in the end, can we make enough money to justify the artwork/production investment?). Once that’s done we’ll It’s possible the cards could change a little before commission, but overall unique card designs would almost certainly stay below 60.
Style
The design style skews more towards realism – closer to a “picture” than a “cartoon”, if that makes sense. Definitely not anime. Much closer to what you find in the DnD Monster Manual, Players Guide, etc.
Some good examples of “YES”:
http://noiprox.deviantart.com/art/Daximus-Shadowborne-the-3r...
http://anthonyfoti.deviantart.com/art/DnD-Silverstars-288424...
http://fstarno.deviantart.com/art/Waterfall-Castle-matte-art...
http://www.deviantart.com/art/Cavern-383515969
http://anthonyfoti.deviantart.com/art/DnD-Shara-of-Winterhav...
http://www.acrosstheboardgames.net/wp-content/uploads/oconno...
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1b/4b/29/1b4b29b7c...
Some good examples of “NOT SO MUCH”:
http://sleepdepjoel.deviantart.com/art/TF2-DnD-Pyro-12317967...
http://hangemhigh13.deviantart.com/art/Generic-DnD-329153373
http://dragoncid.deviantart.com/art/DnD-Rave-181568885
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1857546138/little-dunge...
A good example of “NOT A CHANCE”:
http://xxxanimerockstarxxx.deviantart.com/art/anime-1-282498...
Those are just examples of the general style we’re after, not necessarily the final product we want (although if those fit the images we’re after they could be). We want the game to lean more towards a later M:TG-style look than a Munchkin look, but it doesn’t have to be photo-quality.
With all that being said, we are also open to suggestions/recommendations. If you have a style that is somewhere between “YES” and “NOT SO MUCH” and you think it makes sense pitch it.
All images would need to be able to fit on a small box as well as a card. We can provide a template if that would be helpful (it’s still being designed, but we can get you something to look at).
Theme-wise it's definitely not a light-theme (not all rainbows and unicorns), but at the same point it's not dark, either. There would be some specific images that would lean one way or the other (we're not envisioning a generically-neutral-themed Demon of Darkness), but the overall theme is neutral, with the images themselves driving the theme.
Timeframe
As mentioned in the Overview timeframe for commission is still open; timeframe for delivery would have to follow that. We’d expect a phased approach – since this will be a Kickstarter campaign having some good, solid artwork up-front will be key (nobody wants to invest in a game where the card says “insert cool Wizard image here”, I expect) but it’s not critical to have all the images done for the start of the campaign.
Pricing
We’re looking for a pricing structure that can accommodate not just the core but any potential expansions. So the core is 55 images, but we’d like to also know what it would take to expand it if we elected to add 1 or 2 or 20 special cards to a deck (or an expansion deck, etc.). As such, it’s HIGHLY preferable to have a per-image price beyond the initial. We have zero desire to seek another artist for other components of the game (consistency is pretty important), but given the stages we’re at the question of how many/what kind of cards would fit the next step is still open.
Is price important? Sure – to 99.13% of the population it is important to varying degrees, and anyone in that group that says “no” is lying to you. That being said, it is not the most important thing to us. This is our first foray into the gaming market (first game; three more sitting in the wings), so being able to find a reliable artist that does good work is pretty dang important. Flexibility is key, and being able to deliver is critical. But in any business decision all the factors come together – someone who can deliver 55 images that are 90% of what we want in one month for $1,000 will probably come out ahead in the comparison against someone who can deliver 99% of what we want in one week for $5,000.
Alternatively, we would consider a “rev share” or hybrid sort of arrangement. For example (just illustrative numbers) perhaps it’s $1.05/game sold or $1,000 + $0.50/ game sold or 3% of the gross revenues or something else. We have no problem being creative to find a solution that works for both of us – that’s the key to a good partnership.
Miscellaneous
We’re open to discussions around artwork ownership, etc. Our expectation is you could use the artwork for self-promotion; from our standpoint it would be used for the card game and related (i.e., cards & small boxes for sure, but perhaps the opportunity exists beyond that for something else we haven’t considered but is related to the game).
For any items we missed please let us know what you’d prefer or what input you need from us.