Howdy all,
The progress of my card game is making rapid improvements and I'm in the process of securing a very talented artist for it. However, as I'm looking at the overall picture, I'm hitting a few snags. I should just point out first that I live in Ireland and as a result, KickStarter isn't an option to me. I intend to raise funds for the project through an Irish site that is similar to KickStarter, but lacks the great traffic of KickStarter.
Firstly, I'm trying to figure out the logistics of paying my artist. I am a college student and in the dauntingly terrible economy over here, I've no luck landing a job that is flexible around my classes. So my funds are virtually non-existent as they go straight on living expenses. We're still trying to settle on how much he'll do and what the cost will be (he's a college student, too), as there are a lot of variables and they often come back to the money element. Ideally, he'll be doing the images for 80 cards, which my graphic designer will then work into the overall card design.
Secondly, and more frustratingly, I have no idea how much the rest of the manufacturing will cost. I'm currently looking at Panda Game Manufacturing but in order to get an estimation, my game has to be ready. It needs to be fully designed and sorted. So without an estimation, I have no idea how much I need to raise.
Without knowing the manufacturing cost I cannot raise funds. And without raising funds I cannot pay my artist. The only solution I've come up with is to raise funds for the art first, and then do another campaign for the manufacturing. However, the likelihood of this working is slim, as I can't see people parting with money for a project that - in theory - might not reach the manufacturing stage. (It will, but they've no guarantee other than my word.)
So I'm in a bit of a rut! And I'd rather not wait far longer for the art because I can't even pay the artist peanuts, with the risk of him getting sidetracked or even taken off to another project.
Anyone got any ideas that might help the situation? I'm struggling to see a way around this.
I really like the artist I'm working with and he's a long time friend, so I'm quite comfortable with him. There's a chance he'll settle on a cost over the next week or two after he's done up a few images.
I haven't thought of using free art for mock-ups, actually... The only thing is if I were to do that, I'd get my quote and then it would be months before I'm ready. The actual art would take a good while, longer if I can't guarantee funding (which I can't really without the overall picture), and then there's the actual funding campaign which is another 1-2 months. I doubt Panda would be sitting on an open quote for 6 months.