For the past few months I have been coding a new game for the Android platform. Like most Indie Game Developers I’ve been using placeholder art (programmer art, borrowed art, call it what you will) but I’m at the point where I need to start adding real, licensed, and highly polished professional artwork. Trolling free/low cost art websites and trying to kludge together different art from different artists with different styles would simply make the game look like Frankenstein; not exactly the look I want to achieve. It was clear that I needed to find an artist to produce the art with the look and style I envisioned for the game, but how?
Finding A Freelance Artist
Finding a freelance artist turned out to be quite difficult. For a month I broadcast requests on Twitter while one of my partners queried facebook friends. One or two artists showed interest but later declined due to other obligations or we simply never heard from them again.
So I decided to do some old-school face-to-face networking with people in my local community. I joined MeetUp groups and started talking to friends and acquaintances; I used my mouth instead of my keyboard. Before long I found two artists in my community and both were very interested in the project.
How To Pick Just One
But how do you choose an artist? Many questions passed through my head. Here are some of them and the answers I arrived at:
Is one artist as good as any other?
The term ‘good’ is a highly subjective term. A good work of art to one person is an eyesore to another. Additionally, it would be silly to look for a faithful Impressionist if I want Pop Art.
It’s reasonable to assume that an artist will fill her portfolio with works that she is particularly proud of. The portfolio will show me the range of art styles that she most likely enjoys producing. If there is a piece of art in her portfolio that comes close to the art style envisioned for the game, then she’s probably ‘good’.
How do you judge an artist’s ability to produce?
Conventional wisdom says to check the artist’s references. But think about it, in your own professional career would you provide a potential employer with a reference who has a less than stellar opinion about you? The answer is probably an emphatic, NO! Being able to provide a list of references does, however, show that someone has a high opinion about you, but talking to the references is probably a waste of time; all you’ll hear is happy talk anyway.
To judge ‘ability to produce’ I again returned to the artist’s portfolio and looked at the depth, or how much art, he has produced. Of course, an artist with 40 years of experience is going to have a massive portfolio, and a young artist might have a very thin portfolio so I balanced years-in-the-industry with portfolio thickness. Admittedly it’s not a perfect measure but it shows the artist enjoys producing art.
How do you judge an artist’s reliability?
An artist’s reliability is trickier. I couldn’t rely on the artists references so I returned, again, to his portfolio and counted how many unfinished works are shown. Yes, yes, I know, I can hear you screaming “How do you define unfinished? Maybe the artist intended the art appear that way!” Yes, I get it. The answer is to talk to the artist, pick up the phone, call him, and ask. Chances are there is an amazing story behind that seemingly half-finished chalk bust of Alfred E. Neuman.
That’s interesting but it doesn’t really answer the question.
Since I chose to find local artists I arranged to meet with them (in all but one case) to discuss the project. But the project itself was secondary to the meeting; my primary concern was punctuality, a measure of reliability.
Do I care how well the artist knows color theory or the artist’s knowledge of anatomy?
That’s easy, I only care about what’s important for the art in my game and a quick pass through her portfolio will generally provide the answer.
Which artist is best for my game?
This is the question I’ve been trying to answer all along. Answering the other questions helps to develop a short list of artists, but to put it bluntly there can be only one. So I went to Twitter and asked how to evaluate the artists. The first couple responses were funny
@twonjosh: “Tell them to draw a unicorn sh***ing rainbows. Whoever is least offended wins!”
@KeefJudge: “Ask them to draw a horse.”
Both were funny, but got me thinking that maybe there is something to that; asking the artists to draw something. To probe further I asked one of the most vocal and opinionated bunch of people I know, my AltDevBlogADay peers, if it’s reasonable to ask the artists to draw something. Once the dust settled in the discussion thread the answers seemed to fall into two camps: 1) Test them (draw a horse, model something, etc) and 2) Testing is pointless and annoying since the candidates have impressive portfolios.
Indeed, the artists have impressive portfolios but none of them display the exact style of art I want for my game. Some of the art in their portfolios is close, but not exact. Still lacking a direction I went back to Twitter and asked the artists I follow for their candid input. I received three answers that made a lot of sense:
@heathermdecker: “I would say attitude and ideas play a big role. Working with someone pleasant and creative really helps. Plus, it helps if their portfolio shows examples that indicate they can execute what you’re looking for.”
@weheartgames: “… I’d get them both to draw something in the style you’re looking for.”
@mysterycoconut: “have you ask them for some quick samples for your game idea?”
While I respect my AltDevBlogADay peers, direction from the artists trumps all y’all :P. So I did as @heathermdecker, @weheartgames, and @mysterycoconut recommended, I asked both artists to draw a quick sample for the game idea.
And The Winner Is
The results were astounding. One of the artists ‘just got’ the style I envisioned, blowing the other out of the water. I’m sure the other artist could produce the envisioned style after a second or third pass, but the one who nailed it made the decision a lot easier.
In conclusion, to pick the artist that’s right for your game
- View the artist’s portfolio. Is there something in the portfolio that comes close to the art style you desire?
- Talk to the artist and try to meet in person, if possible. Is the artist punctual, pleasant, and creative?
- Politely ask for a sample of something from your game in the art style that you envision. Don’t go overboard, keep it small and simple.
Please take a few moments to tell me your story in the comments below. How do you approach freelance artists? Do freelance artists approach you? How did you find the perfect artist for your game?
What Did The Winning Sample Look Like?
I’m glad you asked:
"Chef" - Character in Flowerpot Games' upcoming Android game "Pancakes!!!"