Looking for a Harry Potter sprite artist [free]

[Raie]

Hello,

I am a fan of the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. I want to sort of give back to the awesome experience I had years ago with the books. I want to do this through a visual novel game since the experience of both platforms are quite similar.

I am no stranger to non-linear stories as I made a "gamebook" (choose your own adventure) before in Twine. Nothing special but proof that I can start and finish a project.

The tentative working title of the VN is, "Harry Potter and The Pieces of The Dead." The player will play as Harry in first person perspective. There will also be a simple turn-based battle system.

The story has been completed. What's left to do in terms of writing are the branches and different endings. But the base story is finished. Basically there are 2 main plotlines the player can experience. The first one has more horror and more action. Harry, Ron and Hermione are in possession of the 3 hallows (elder wand, invisibility cloak, and sorcerers stone). Since the owner of the hallows becomes the Master of Death and immortal, they must keep the hallows from falling into the wrong hands.

The second plotline is more on relationships with some action. Harry, Ron and Hermione decide to return to Hogwarts to complete their 7th year. But an old nemesis is plotting revenge for Voldemort's death. Both plotlines are set after the events of the last book. They also stick to canon.

The scripting of the game is going well. So no problem there. The music and sound effects are also going smoothly. I can handle the writing, programming, and audio but I need help on the artwork. I began to learn how to draw, but it will take me months/years to get to a decent level. And I want to finish this VN before 2013 ends.

So I need a background artist or sprite artist with an anime style. Something like this: http://www.danielyerelian.com/blog/wp-c ... _anime.jpg The artist will also have creative freedom as I will be working on the other aspects of the VN anyways.

This will also be a long project. The VN is around 20% complete and I estimate I'll probably need 100+ backgrounds. So maybe I just need a sprite artist and try to learn to draw backgrounds myself.

I want to pay but sadly I can't as I am still looking for a new job. I consistently work on the VN 3-4 times a week.

As you can see in the attached screenshots below, I have started to storyboard the backgrounds. I will storyboard the sprites next so I can give an exact number.

Finally since this is a fan made VN, issues on copyright might be encountered. Only time will tell I suppose.

I also like to thank the makers of Ren'py. It takes tremendous time and effort to make a game engine then give it away for free. So at the very least I would like to express gratitude by sticking around the forums.

[merdeamour]

Whoa, looks and sounds amazing. I'd love to do something for this (I like the idea of anime-ish sprites for Harry Potter and his friends), but since I'm just getting reacquainted with my tablet, and uni's pretty hectic this coming term, I can't commit to something that has a deadline like this. Good luck on this, though! (:

P.S. --in the link you posted, I love Ron's look, and also the portayals of James Potters' gang xD

[Raie]

No problem. I understand. If only we live in a world with no school or work. So we can focus on the things we enjoy.

P.S. --in the link you posted, I love Ron's look, and also the portayals of James Potters' gang xD

I know right. The artist was pretty amazing. If only I could draw like that. Darn...

[Katta]

Are you planning to revive Sirius?

[pickle131]

If I felt my art was up to par and I had more time I would definitely offer to help out, but this seems like the project will be a bit too big for me. Good luck though, I'd love to see it when it's done!

[TrishaYuu]

I really, REALLY wanna be part of this!!!! *gets shot by clients*

Eherm! What I meant was, I'm currently swamped with commissions but I would LOVE to be part of your team as Sprite and CG artist - if you think my artworks are good enough and after I'm done with the commissions I'm currently working on! ^^;" I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and I've actually drawn Harry, Ron and Hermione as anime characters before so I think working on this project would really be a very enjoyable experience!

Btw, my samples can be found in the link on my sig (the one in SWF format).

I have a few questions about the story though:

Isn't the third Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone? The Sorcerer's Stone was a different stone created by Nicholas Flammel - it makes people immortal/live longer, but the Resurrection Stone supposedly brings back the dead.

Also, you mentioned that that both plotlines happen after the events of the seventh book (before the epilogue) and that it sticks to canon, but in the end,

Harry broke the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone was lost in the Forbidden Forest, and only Hermione actually goes back to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year. Harry immediately gets hired as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, I think, and Ron works for George at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes for a time before becoming an Auror himself.

So if the plotlines follow what's in the books, I think there might be some discrepancies between your story and the events in the book... ^^;"

[Raie]

Are you planning to revive Sirius?

Sadly no.

[Raie]

If I felt my art was up to par and I had more time I would definitely offer to help out, but this seems like the project will be a bit too big for me. Good luck though, I'd love to see it when it's done!

No its okay. I'm also an amateur anyways and since there's no pay involved, I can't demand for professionals. Beggars can't be choosers as they say.

[Raie]

Sorry I don't know how to multi-quote hence 3 replies.

Isn't the third Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone? The Sorcerer's Stone was a different stone created by Nicholas Flammel - it makes people immortal/live longer, but the Resurrection Stone supposedly brings back the dead.

Also, you mentioned that that both plotlines happen after the events of the seventh book (before the epilogue) and that it sticks to canon, but in the end,

Harry broke the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone was lost in the Forbidden Forest, and only Hermione actually goes back to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year. Harry immediately gets hired as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic, I think, and Ron works for George at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes for a time before becoming an Auror himself.

So if the plotlines follow what's in the books, I think there might be some discrepancies between your story and the events in the book... ^^;"

Sorry I meant resurrection stone.

I think in the movies Harry broke the wand but in the books he returned it to Dumbledore's tomb. The story is set hours after the battle of Hogwarts and will end before the canon ending. (where they all get married and have kids). Sort of, what happened during those 20 years.

Actually I've been thinking of extending the deadline. I think 1 year is too unrealistic. I read that it takes 2-4 years to make a professional VN. And those guys are pros who work on it 40 hrs. a week. So a hobby VN should take longer.

Or maybe follow what this fan-made VN did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi_DNHWlnB8

Release in increments. Like a chapter every 3 months and keep going until the VN is finished.

[TrishaYuu]

Ah, yes! How could I mix that up?!

Yes, Harry did return the Elder Wand to Dumbledore's Tomb and when Harry dies the Elder Wand's magic will be broken! Still wondering about the part where only Hermione goes back to Hogwarts though... ^^;"

I was really curious about the possibility that someone else could steal the Elder Wand and overpower Harry the same way he did with Draco - without actually killing him! Also, someone could actually find the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest by accident!

Would your VN be exploring this possibility or is it going to be something entirely different?! Either way, I think it will be very interesting to know what happens between the last chapter and the epilogue!

And I think releasing in increments would be a great idea. Also, would you be coding all this by yourself?

Ah, then again, I think it wasn't actually written on the book that only Hermione returned to Hogwarts... I think I just read that from Pottermore or something...

[Raie]

Ah, yes! How could I mix that up?!

Would your VN be exploring this possibility or is it going to be something entirely different?! Either way, I think it will be very interesting to know what happens between the last chapter and the epilogue!

And I think releasing in increments would be a great idea. Also, would you be coding all this by yourself?

Let's just say some people want to use the Hallows the wrong way and Harry being Harry wants to make sure that doesn't happen. This storyline is darker and takes on resurrecting the dead. The 2nd storyline is lighter and just tries to wrap things up. Mainly romantic relationships between the characters and why the ending turned out that way.

About the scripting, the turn-based battle system is already done. The only thing I couldn't implement yet was the action timer. But there are tutorials around about timers, so I can handle it.

So just PM me once you're free.

Or anyone else who wants to help just PM/reply to this thread. Doesn't matter what skill level / gift you have. Any help is always welcome. I better get back to the VN then. I'll just focus on the 1st chapter and finish it this week. Sprites who will appear on chapter 1 by the way are: Hermione, Ron, Charlie, Bill, a Death Eater, Viktor, Kingsley, Kreacher.

[TrishaYuu]

Yay!

Okay then, I'll let you know when I'm free! I'm really excited about this!

[Raie]

Just an update:

We need help with the backgrounds. If there are any background artists out there who can volunteer, PM me or reply here.

We also decided to release in increments. Instead of finishing the VN in 1 year, the focus is to finish 1-2 chapters in 2013. It's also a great way to test the waters first on how the fans would react.

You can watch a video of the VN's current status / progress here: http://vimeo.com/67121220

And below is a concept poster for the VN. (not official and will not be used) Hope it would inspire other fans to help out.