Graphics What is the best way / things to avoid in DMing pixel artists for commissions?

TheJoe

Member
I've been doing the one-man show for a couple years now making everything from art to code to music / sound and I tell ya - the art just kills my momentum every time.

I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking I'd just like to pay someone to do the art for me, but I've also seen a lot of pixel artists complain that people reaching out for commissions suck in general - I don't want to be that sucky person!

So, what do yall pixel artists want from a commission request?

What's useful vs whats too much?

Finally what's your typical asking price? Let's say for an 8 directional spritesheet (or any other thing)? I see a lot of pixel artists saying 'you're charging too little!' to other pixel artists.

The way I see it I'm all about supporting yall - we're all in this together - but I just want to understand what makes sense!
 

curato

Member
When I was ready to start that same process. I wrote up my game design document and listed everything I needed to finish and then broke that up into phases sense that is a lot of stuff, but at the end I had a list of ever art item with a description and resolution requirements for every item. Then I just posted in the jobs forum and let the ones that liked what they saw message me and of the responses I got I looked at the best quality price that was offered for the job and went with him. To me it is specifics. Know exactly what you want before you reach out.
 

TheJoe

Member
Thanks @curato that's smart. How many different artists did you end up working with? I was wondering about an angle like this before and thought the art consistency might not look right but that's coming from a non-artist šŸ˜„
 

curato

Member
I am just working with one artist. Consistency could end up being an issue. It really depends on how unique the style is. Mine is a classic RPG look. I am sure I could take art from different artists and it would look ok. Also it depends how big the project is. If you have a huge project with a tight deadline then you might need more than one artist. I currently am using one artist and one composer. I have my job broke into phases of development and it helps me spread out the cost a bit so when I am starting to wrap up one phase I reach out with a list of what I need so they are done by time I need the materials. Right now since I don't have a publisher I am able to determine my pace so that it suits me which helps a lot.
 

Mk.2

Member
So, what do yall pixel artists want from a commission request?
Just give a detailed explanation of what you're after. If you already have it all thought out, give any details that are relevant. If there are things you're not sure about, just mention that. Here are some examples of useful information:

- How much work you're looking to have done. Is it a single character sprite, multiple enemies with animations, a whole tileset, etc.
- Overall style. Giving examples from other games is extremely useful. If that's not an option, just do your best to describe what you have in mind. If there's a specific piece in the artist's portfolio that is close to the style you want, that's of course good information too.
- Dimensions. Are the characters going to be around 32 pixels tall, etc. This can be an important factor when calculating pricing.

There's usually some discussion between the client and the artist to make sure they're both on the same page before starting the work. Sometimes people don't have all the information ready, because they aren't sure what's best for the game and would rather the artist make some of the decisions. That's fine. I'm usually quite thorough with asking questions to make sure I have all the details I need, and if the client isn't sure about something I'll offer advice.

As for pricing, I calculate that after discussing the work. It ultimately comes down to how much time I estimate it will take me to complete it.
 
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