Need tips for finding artists

[Vin Howard]

So my first visual novel is almost complete. I have the writing done [besides some additional proofreading], the music is in, and the thing is basically ready for release.

The problem, though, is that I am clueless when it comes to finding an artist.

Some things you might want to know:

1. This is a non-commercial project to be released under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC licence.
2. I have a budget of $0 (this is a non-commercial project)

What I would like to know:

1. Would I be able to find an artist willing to work for free?
2. If so, where could I find them?
3. What would they expect from me? And what can I expect from them?
4. If not, where could I find a good collection of cc/free-use art assets?

[rumili-a]

Write something about what your story is about and make a post about that. Or look/pick someone which already offers his/ her service, there are some here. Some do it for free i think.

to make it short:

1.)Yes, there are always some people which are willing to work for free.
2.)Lemmasoft or Deviantart
3.)Be sure to really make your project, not cancel it. If you would cancel it later on, you would waste their effort.

[papillon]

I suspect that a lot of people would be annoyed by being contacted privately to be asked to work for free, unless they'd previously indicated they were looking for such work. Which isn't to say you should never, ever do this - but expect to be ignored by a lot and possibly yelled at by some.

There are sections in many art boards to openly advertise your project so that people who ARE looking to do free collaborative work can find you.

[miraiparasol]

As an artist who has received PMs about working free for a project, I highly discourage going down that route (I completely agree with papillon)

PM'ing an artist about giving their services for free makes you come off as cheap as if you don't consider the time and effort put into the craft. Now you may not feel that way but that's the message you're giving. Most often times when being pm'ed there is little to no detail on the project for the artist to make a judgement is difficult and often times artists don't have free time to offer up to projects.

My advice is to contact those you know without a doubt give services for free, I would recommend checking out the recruitment form and post a thread there, artists who are looking for work will also have a thread you can check out

as for question 4 check out the creative common's section of lemmasoft

[trooper6]

Have you made a post on the Recruitment thread asking for an artist to work for free? I've seen quite a few posts like that already.

[Vin Howard]

I already tried a topic here, but it got almost no attention ((not sure why; gave a detailed description of the project and even included a wip version of the game)). I did get one person interested, but then some irl things popped up for her and she couldn't continue.

And I have absolutely no familiarity with Deviantart or anything like that. So I would need a crash course on using those sites.

[trooper6]

You could try bumping your thread.

But I would say, that I imagine getting people to work for free might be a bit difficult.

[Rozume]

Finding someone to work for free is difficult because a lot of us can't afford to work for free. Of course, there's always someone out there willing to offer their services for free.

Since you don't have a budget, perhaps you can try offering a skill trade? That's what I do (all though I get no one that bites when I offer my skills up).

[Taleweaver]

So my first visual novel is almost complete. I have the writing done [besides some additional proofreading], the music is in, and the thing is basically ready for release.

The problem, though, is that I am clueless when it comes to finding an artist.

Some things you might want to know:

1. This is a non-commercial project to be released under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC licence.
2. I have a budget of $0 (this is a non-commercial project)

What I would like to know:

1. Would I be able to find an artist willing to work for free?
2. If so, where could I find them?
3. What would they expect from me? And what can I expect from them?
4. If not, where could I find a good collection of cc/free-use art assets?

4. Here, on our forums. We even have one specifically dedicated to free assets.

In my experience, the best way to recruit artists is to find someone whose style fits what you're looking for and then asking them nicely in a PM or e-mail, telling them why you'd like to work together with them. Works quite often.

[Tyrantauranox]

I agree with some of the others that have indicated that the unwillingness to pay is the main problem. It creates two major barriers:

1) Unpaid gigs are generally put behind even the cheapest paid tasks, and nearly anything else that the artist needs or wants to do. I'd expect an artist to put aside unpaid work for a chance to go out and have some fun. I'd bet that most artists won't respond to solicitations for unpaid work at all.

2) Creators seeking unpaid art give the impression that they don't really care much about getting their projects done. The prices I see on this forum are very cheap, often in the ballpark of $30 for a complete head-to-toe character in full-color with complex shading. In my area, mowing a couple of lawns would net about $50, which'd be enough to get a character with a bunch of facial expressions.

[Taleweaver]

I'd bet that most artists won't respond to solicitations for unpaid work at all.

Not in my experience. Most artists I've asked to work with me freely have either agreed or, politely, declined. Guys that don't even bother to respond are really, really rare.

[hiko27]

1. Yes, there are some free artists for hire that have threads over at the recruitment section.
2. Recruitment section. Some on Deviantart. You can post in the DA forum (I forgot where) but I managed to snag a colorist there before, though it fell through because of things.
3. As an artist myself, I expect you to go through with the plan. I'd want to have the whole story, or at least half or close to half of it done by the time you recruit. Nothing frustrates a free artist more than when a creator tells you to change tons of things, and when some of the art you made won't be used in the game. Being respected is something I need to work in a team environment, or just working with anybody really. We are human beings as well, so we'd like to be treated like one, not just some machine that vomits art when you say so. And what can you expect from them? Well, art? And maybe a new friend if you like. And when you become friends with them, you can totally hit them up later on for another game. For free. Again. Also connections and networking (unless you're mean/bossy to them).
4. Creative Commons section of the forum. Tons out there.

I've actually seen tons of free artists over at the recruitment thread (that's just about the only other forum I frequent), but you say no one seems interested in your game? Well, what you can do is reply to their threads, or PM those artists that will work for free. That's just about the only way you can go, unless your game is really interesting, then I would think that artists would flock to your thread, asking to draw for it. From experience, though not with art, if your game is interesting and you've shown work on it in your recruitment thread, then they'll go for it. I know I would. Also be informative in your first post, but not so much that you give out the whole story. If you have writing done, show an excerpt. Correct grammar and spelling also helps you show off your game. Think of it as selling a product, you have to make it look all nice.

And in regards to the whole PMing thing, if you kindly ask them if they WANT to join, then no harm done. Give them the chance to decline if they want to. Also, don't be cocky. It IS free work, so be nice about it. You don't have to lower yourself to them, but rather just ask them as if you're asking for directions. Some decline just because they're really busy (me lol), while some just don't see your game as interesting. Either way, sooner or later, someone's going to help you out, you just gotta be patient. While you wait for an artist to respond, you can go ahead and work on other aspects of your game.

Hey, if I wasn't so busy right now, I would love to help you out since you look like you're in a pinch. But yeah... Currently busy. I'm drowning in commissions halp ;A;

[Sharm]

Most artists I've asked to work with me freely have either agreed or, politely, declined.

I don't know how it is with other artists, but I actually find the private requests for free work very stressful. There's a feeling of obligation that comes with someone soliciting me specifically and I'm afraid of the backlash that might come for even considering saying no. I say no anyway because I'm far too busy to spend my time on things that don't pay (actually I have to say no to a lot of paid stuff too lately) but I imagine that it's harder for someone who isn't as established as a professional artist. Just because someone is polite about it doesn't mean that it wasn't a big imposition for even asking in the first place. I'd suggest if you're going to PM an artist out of the blue that you do a little research into past projects and forum posts and see if they've made any indication what their opinion is on working on free projects. Even if you can't find something specific you can get a better idea of the types of things they're interested and what sort of workload they have by doing that.

[fioricca]

I feel that it's better to make a game with public domain/copyright-free art if a creator has an $0 budget. While it is true that paid artists can disappear as well, free artists are much, much more likely to drop your project and give everyone on the dev team a hard time. It can be a demoralising experience too. The best artists are paid artists, but they tend to have work chasing them instead of the other way around (they're that good after all) -- so it becomes even more difficult for me to recommend free projects to other artist friends.

The Creative Commons section of the forums is a great place to find decent-looking resources for use. Uncle Mugen's Sketchup BGs are gorgeous and free for any kind of use (apart from redistribution I believe). Recently Alte's been cross-posting a lot of Japanese resources with terms that are explained and clarified in English. There are also a lot of artists offering free sprites there.

Best of luck with your project!

[Taleweaver]

There's a feeling of obligation that comes with someone soliciting me specifically and I'm afraid of the backlash that might come for even considering saying no.

Um, backlash for declining to give someone free services? Has the world really come to this? That would be like not donating to charity and, in return, have the Salvation Army picket your house because of that...