Should I just finish it and release? My dilemma...

[ShiraiJunichi]

I have a bit of a dilemma... I don't think my artist will be able to finish the art I need for my project. They may be able to do it eventually, but not now. And I've been sitting on this almost complete project for quite some time. I greatly respect the artist I've been working with, and I really wanted them to finish this game with me- but I don't know that will be possible anymore.
So, what to do...

I could release the game minus a few images that I had wanted. I'm only missing a few things, so this wouldn't be too terrible of an idea.

I could attempt to draw the rest myself, and use my current placeholder graphics. But I have very limited drawing abilities, and worry that the difference between drawn BGs and Photo edited BGs I use as placeholder graphics would be really distracting.

I could try to find another artist to finish everything. But then they'd have to try to mimic the style (not that my artist was using an unconventional style by any means). Plus, I don't want to disrespect my artist.

I could wait, and hope that my artist will be able to finish it someday. But I don't know when or even if that day will ever come.

So, any advice?

Thanks~

[DaFool]

If you are talking about BGs, something slow and moderate to high quality can take about one piece a week (especially if the person has a day job and can only sit down during weekends).

Does this artist send a constant stream, or are you waiting for a bulk which never came? When was the last update -- one month, two months ago? If more than 2-3 months, then that could be a clue for project abandonment. Have you tried contacting the artist and what was the response? It's best to clear up the status with your artist first.

Next, how many pieces do you still have left? Can you attach a sample or two regarding the style? I might actually be interested, since it is only finishing something instead of starting something new outright, though that would mean another month delay as I finish my game and work on SOA first. So if your artist can turn-around and return by that time, that would be preferred. (Otherwise, for reference, look for my work in Colorless Day, Tomorrow, Magical Boutique, The Question, and Starlit Sky -- notice I do not really have that consistent a style and could probably adopt others.)

[ShiraiJunichi]

After some consultation with another artist friend of mine, and some deliberation on my own part, I've decided it would be best not to find another artist- I respect my artist too much, and won't risk offending them.
So, what to do... ^^

[chronoluminaire]

Ah, in which case my advice won't help. I was going to mention the case of Elven Relations, which sat unfinished for about 2 years (with over half the script written) waiting for an artist who was getting increasingly busy. It was only after that long wait that I eventually decided to finish the game for NaNoRenO and ask SunKitten to do the art.

I think my original artist was a little disappointed, but recognised that he had had no time to get the artwork done, so I don't think he minded.

[monele]

Well... if you don't want to get another artist... you'll just have to wait ^^;... But are you still in contact at least? Are you *sure* the rest will be made? I mean, respecting the artist is cool, but if it takes two years to get your pictures (more likely... never), there's no need for respect anymore, right? Of course, it's up to you to decide when you think there's no more hope ^^;

[Alessio]

Why would the artist be offended? If (s)he is too busy to finish the assignment (and nobody blames him/her for that since we all understand how busy one can be), then whatever option you chose would be just as offending: Not releasing the VN at all, releasing the VN with incomplete art, or choosing another artist.

Of these, not releasing the VN is probably the worst option since the artist gets no credit at all... The other two options are the same from the artist's point of view. In my very personal opinion, if the VN is otherwise finished, take another artist on board. Style differences do also exist in commercial VNs, they shouldn't bother too much.

[DaFool]

Is there really a need to have a single artist credit?

Most commercial VNs have multiple artists.

The important part is that your primary artist is still credited for almost all of the work.

I can't really make a judgement though unless you know how many artwork pieces you currently have, and how many total you need.

I don't get the mindset of your artist friends. They may have not worked in commercial animation studios, where the point is to adopt to a specified style at the sacrifice of one's own. The only reason why artists don't want to share the load is that they do not have confidence that the other artists will not corrupt the style that they have.

[mikey]

ShiraiJunichi >> Well, you could also take it easy and release the game with what you have (complete it with what's available), and should snowshine (I may have been hallucinating in the morning when I saw some screenshots in this topic which are now gone that I could have sworn were her style) return at some point, she can decide to finish the game. This should be no drama if you have, as you said, most of the assets.

In that case, I'd go for the option of limited assets if it's not hurting the game terribly. Only if that would not be sufficient would I consider a second artist to fill in the blanks with some adaptive drawings as daFool suggested. This way however, the returning artist would not get a chance to finish work anymore.

2-3 months are the limit - if you tried to contact your artist actively during this time without any response, then it's alright to go on without her. Even though if this is really snowshine, it's such a huge pity.

Here's what I would do. After 3 months of no responses, I'd release the game with what I have, doing my best to make use of whatever I have. Then, if later on my artist would appear, she'd always be free to complete her part if she wanted.

I'd go with someone new only if I could not do a sufficient release with what I have - but it would be a very hard decision based on many circumstances, because one should always respect those who are willing to draw for you and your project.

[musical74]

Yeouch, that's a tough decision.

For me.....I agree with mikey on this. So long as you are keeping in contact with your artist, it's OK to wait...just don't want too long. If by 3 months there's nothing...would your artist be upset if you finished the game? It sounds like you are just waiting for a few BG photos and everything else is done...

[Wintermoon]

Experience tells me that if you don't hear from an artist for a month, you'll probably never hear from them again. At the very least, try to get a confirmation from the artist that he or she still exists, still remembers about your project, and still intends to work on it.

If your artist is no longer able or willing to work on your project, then you're not doing them any favors by waiting.

[F.I.A]

I think this problem surfaced due to a slight misplanning for both part. Perhaps the artist is not accustomed to do "a lot" of artworks upon voluntering, or let's just say that he/she has not predicted that life would inevitably clash in here and there.

As an artist myself, I knew firsthand of the ordeal to go through an unholy marathon of 100 cgs-in-two-months for Winter Shard alone. Had I not in a blissful vacation, I doubt I can finish them in a year myself...

My advice is try to contact the artist before you proceed on publishing the game. Ask him/her if he/she thinks he/she has the time to work on those pictures or not. That way, both of you can come into a mutual agreement to put out a game, then add those missing pictures in ver 1.1 and so.

[ShiraiJunichi]

mikey pretty much hit the nail on the head- on all accounts. Indeed, snowshine is my artist for this project. And yeah, I had posted some of her images in this thread- but that was when I was still contemplating asking another artist to finish the rest of the art I needed. After I decided that I didn't want to find another artist, I deleted that post.
I've been saying that I don't want to disrespect my artist, but that's not exactly it... snowshine and I... got to be really good friends. So, to find someone else to finish the art feels almost like I'm forgetting about her, and abandoning the friendship- something I just really can't do.
I'm only missing a few BGs, one (and the only) special event CG, and possibly a few other minor things. So I had decided to release the game just somewhat incomplete- just as mikey had suggested. My thinking was, that this way snowshine could complete it later if she became available again (which I'm hoping will be the case)- exactly mikey's reasoning.
I had planned to try and release the game this week, but it's only been two months since I last heard from snowshine- and three months seems to be the designated waiting period. So I will wait a little while longer.
If another month goes by, and still nothing, then I'll be releasing a 0.9 version of my game. An incomplete version to reflect that the game will always be incomplete until snowshine can finish it.

I'm not exactly sure what the least distracting way to deal with the missing background images. A black screen? Filtered photos? My own attempt at a bit of a sketch? That last one seems best to me... Any opinions?

I really didn't want to hype this game or anything- I hope this little publicity isn't raising expectations very high. The game isn't very long, and has quite a few rough edges. Even the amount of art (despite this thread) is actually quite small. And because of the content, it won't be for everyone (no, not THAT kind of content >_< ). But I have poured quite a bit of heart into it, and hopefully that will show.

[DaFool]

Good decision. Keep it all snowshine's work, and fill in the missing areas with whitescreens and blackscreens. I had thought that it was some random artist picked off the internet, but since it's the working kind of relationship, yes that does change the dynamics.

[mikey]

It's hard for me to judge the state of the game, but I would still aim for a 1.0 feel, rather than releasing 0.9.

For instance you could rework some scenes (like a second date would not take place in a location that isn't drawn, but it would take place in the same location as the first time) and really use writing to make up for the missing graphics. That might even be a nice challenge.

Of course if there is a critical graphic missing, you will probably not get around a black screen or a shot of the sky. But still, unless an artist explicitly leaves, I'd still treat them as part of the team - and make extra effort to bring the project home while keeping the spirit that made the team what it was when it was working fine. It's a nice idea to think that if it was you who'd go missing, the rest of the team would have tried to do the same. I would.

[ShiraiJunichi]

I don't want to edit the game content to accommodate missing graphics. I want to be able to upgrade to the complete version simply by adding the missing graphics. I almost want to aim for the incomplete look for now. Because that's how I will always view the game until snowshine finishes it.
Plus, the two missing backgrounds that I can't simply reuse art for are necessary elements. I mean, I guess I could change them, but definitely not into anything that I already have... As I previously said, despite this thread, I actually don't have a lot of art- it's a small, simple game.