Double Trilogy of Long Novels - Need BG Artist!

[sbester]

Hello all,

I've been thinking about this for quite some time now. I'm extremely happy with how my visual novels have been turning out, but haven't spent any real time or effort in advertising or marketing them to readers. With the increase in popularity of VNs over the last couple years, I've started wondering how well they'd perform in the market if they were spiced up with original art, being that they are thematically much different than the typical romance type of VNs that are so prevalent right now. I understand it's a risk, but I truly believe in my writing and am beyond excited about where the series is headed.

Many of you have probably seen them already around this forum - the Mafiosi series. They are crime family dramas that follow the main characters at different stages in their lives, from childhood to old age. Two full kinetic novels in the series have been completed thus far (the first is over 60k words long, the second is over 90k). I'm working hard on the third one right now, and have thus far released the first quarter of it to the public (it will be over 120k words long when completed).

My aim is to form a small team (with profits split equally between us when we enter the commercial market). I need an artist who would be willing to recreate all sprites and backgrounds, or maybe an artist for the sprites and another one to do the backgrounds (because this *is* a huge endeavor). My friend is a graphic designer (he designed the original Mafiosi title screens) who would be handling the marketing and advertising side of things. I also already have a music composer in mind. Because the original versions are already released for free, the other part of the plan is to re-brand the series under a new and much more appealing title, and add some branching routes along the way to keep readers on their toes (which would further differentiate them from the originals and make the commercial versions more worthwhile).

I want to package the first three novels in a trilogy set, with the hopes of getting them on Steam or some other similar sites, and sell it at a fairly cheap price. With each subsequent novel from there, they would be sold on their own for a slightly higher price (Mafiosi 4 will be around 150k words and includes a short prequel novel in the mix). As stated in the title of this post, there will be 6 complete novels in all. I've spent the last 2 1/2 years of my life dedicated to writing these, and the only way I'll stop is if I die suddenly, so this is not something that may or may not get finished. It will absolutely be completed.

Lastly, I suppose the advantage of having the first couple novels available already is that you can all go read them and judge for yourself whether or not it's something you would want to get involved with. They have a very small following at the moment, but I've got some enthusiastic fans who have been quite encouraging.

[Aviala]

If you haven't found a character artist yet, could you answer these questions: How many characters are there in each VN? How many sprites are needed? How many CG's?

I'm definitely interested because majority of the writing is already done so the risks are relatively small. It really depends on how much work needs to be done and how fast because I need to work on other things (mainly my own game) too.

[sbester]

Thanks for the reply, I will send you a pm now!

[sbester]

UPDATE:

So I'm working with an amazing character artist right now, but we're still in need of a background artist and music composer. Please inbox me if you are interested in either position!

[Modern Sapphire]

Yo sbester,

I've been writing music for a long time and I really like the concept behind your visual novel series, so I'd like to help you out

If you're still looking for someone I can send you a couple of completed songs I've produced?

Sapphy

[sbester]

Absolutely! Send me a private message and we'll talk

And thanks for the response!

[Ferdokki]

Did you still need a background artist?

[sbester]

Indeed I do!

[Ferdokki]

What kind of workload and dedication do you expect for the by artist?

[sbester]

It's a huge workload, but it is work at your own pace. The most important thing to me is that the team is able to keep in close contact with one another and updating on progress.

[Ferdokki]

What about the art style? How detailed did you need it?
Cuz some of the stuff you previously used from BassNovel assets looks a lot better then what I'm capable of. >~<

[sbester]

I'll pm you

[Mireielle]

Hello,

Id be interested in being a background artist if you are still looking. Here's my info: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 07#p404207

[sbester]

Working with a new character artist now, but still looking to fill a permanent BG artist soon. Slowly but surely, things are moving along

[Lodratio]

I had a feeling this was going to be higurashi/umineko-esque based on the setting and the fact that you use nvl textboxes . . . and then the talking homicidal teddybear showed up.
Since you're polishing everything up and giving it a commercial release, I'd recommend going over some of the writing again as well. I've only read the first novel so far. The structure is pretty solid, but some of the wordings feel just a little bit clunky. I'm sure you'll notice those instances if you go over them again.

Your project is pretty interesting, and I respect your dedication, so I'd like to help you out with it, though I'm unsure about the amount of work I'd be willing to commit myself to, considering I have a project I'd like to finish as well. In the first novel alone there are around 50 backgrounds (though some of them are just variations with different lighting conditions), and I imagine that more locations are introduced in the 2nd and 3rd novel. I'd be happy to talk with you, either through pms or skype.