I have a set of miniatures rules I plan to publish and I am wondering about art work for it. There are three rule books total and if I were to have a picture for each unit type I would need about 63 images just for that alone. Add in filler art, cover art for the three books and another 60 some images for the magic section. With that in mind, how do I deal with art? Do I pay an artist per image with the understanding that the images are mine to publish? Do I need to pay a comission based on sales? Not sure where to go with this or if I should just scrap any thoughts of art in the books because I don't want the cost of art to kill the project. What are your thoughts and experiences in this area?
Art
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 13:32
Thu, 02/03/2011 - 14:14
#1
"How do I deal with Art?"
As an artist my first response is "Ask me to do it", and "how much are you looking to spend?" but also... the cost will depend on the experience of the artist. For an artist like myself... you might not spend much. You have to decide how much you want to spend... if you want to spend very little look for a talented high-school student you know... Or a recent college grad (Like myself ;-). If you want to pay per-image, or per-hour, per-project or per-sale that is totally up to you to decide. However, making art is a big time investment, and if you want to attract good artists - so make respectful offers. Some artists might offer to do it for free just for the experience, to get their name out.
However, it really comes down to an issue of how you are publishing the game. For example, if Z-MAN Games, or Fantasy Flight is publishing your game, they will more than likely make all decisions regarding art for your game. Many publishers also have in-house artists who work on their games. If you are self-publishing it might help to know an artist who knows some printers and has experience making boxes, books, cards - whatever it is you need. Self - publishing is tricky because you are managing not only a game's design but also managing the costs of production, distribution, marketing... Art is one of the production costs. Some people really like the control they have when self-publishing, and once you publish, you will likely do it again... and again if you are at least marginally successful, then people will start to come to you to publish their own games. I've heard people say... "Don't print 3,000 for your first run because, if you don't sell them where will you keep them all?"
Art can be a deciding factor for most people when they buy a game. Depending on how the box looks people will decide if this is a game for them.
Good luck on your project, and ask if you have any other questions.
Regards,
Matthew Kiehl
See some examples of my work:
http://mdkiehl.wordpress.com
Sat, 02/05/2011 - 21:36
#2
You are talking about board
You are talking about board games in general. But he is onley looking to publish 3 rulebooks so he can publish them and sell them as pdf so he could do this with no printing at all. Manny indi rolplaying games are done this way.
Sat, 02/12/2011 - 14:49
#3
I saw your post, and figured
I saw your post, and figured I would throw out a line. I'm a recent graduate with a degree in Game Art and Animation. Samples of my work can be found at
MichaelAckermanArt.com
Feel free to contact me if you are interested and still looking for an artist, good luck on your art hunt!
