On what stage do you prefer doing art?

[Shad12ow]

Hello there!
I've been lurking in the recruitment page for quite some time. And I see a lot of request for artist there, and I mean , A LOT!
Well, I've just wandering. On what stage do you prefer to join a project, assuming that you are interested on the idea, story, and such?
A. Idea Phase
Maybe you also work together with the artist creating the character, background, GUI, and such. You put your idea for the character, maybe even idea for their story, suggest one thing or another.

B. Story is done
You will work with a set of character, story, and background that have been set by the writer and their team. No change or maybe only minor change on the character, story, background, CG, and such.

C. Script and VN is almost done
The team used placeholder for their art. So you have to fill that place, no change could be made since the story and the overall game are mostly done.

D. Between A-B, B-C, or other.
Well, just not the choices I gave. Hehehe... Do tell your reason.

Ah, I am just curious since I've seen some recruiter on the forum that recruit when they only have an idea, script is less than half way done. Something like that. I know that in the recruitment board there is already a "suggestion for recruiters" thread that everyone should have read before posting. I just want to know each of your own preference.
Well, thank you for reading, hope this will be of use for us. If there is already something like this, I apologize.

[KomiTsuku]

I have a system for how I produce my games.
1. Design the world and characters/ outline what assets I'll need
2. Commission the sketches of the characters/ begin writing
3. At 20-25% (depending on length) I'll commission the sprites.
4. At 35-50% (depending on how many are needed) begin commissioning CG (I do it in chunks, based upon story already completed)
5. At 75% I'll commission music
6. At 85%, I'll commission editors
7. At 95%-100%, I'll find testers

Step 1 is the biggest. If I don't know what I'm going to do, I'll end up wandering around aimlessly. Having all that laid out at the start and then sticking with it will make all the other steps go smoother.

Also, it realistically depends on the length of the story. If I'm only writing something that is maybe 5k word count, then I'll skip the sketches and commission the sprites at that point. I prefer having a visual of the character before I begin writing them, so I will almost never do that stage any later. However, I won't bother with any other asset until the script is completed. If the game is going to be a lot longer, than I want to start commissioning earlier to prevent lengthy delays. That being said, there's no point in looking for resources until you have your foundation first. That really is the key point.

[Shad12ow]

Step 1 is the biggest. If I don't know what I'm going to do, I'll end up wandering around aimlessly. Having all that laid out at the start and then sticking with it will make all the other steps go smoother.

I agree with you 100%! This is one of the thing I always prefer to do. If the foundation is built, the rest can follow on smoothly.

That being said, there's no point in looking for resources until you have your foundation first. That really is the key point.

Ah, very good ,sir! A word of wisdom everyone could use.
I've only try to recruit someone after I've built the story, the overall script, and also the character sheet and image sheet.

But then , correct me if I am wrong, this is a viewpoint from a recruiter, right?
How about the one being recruited? I mean the artist.
Where do you feel comfortable enough to join a project?

[Anna]

Mh, although I write both the story and do the art, I always finish the story first. Doing the story first ensures I can focus on the art completely later, get consistent artwork and won't have wasted my time if a sprite ends up not being used or if a character needs to be adjusted. I hate finding out I still need to draw new sprites if I'm already in the sprite-colouring phase or a later one.

[Pyonkotchi]

B or C, I like to know exactly how much work i need to do before I do it
that being said, when I'm writing, I'm a stage A, I like to see the characters before I write them

[Amorphous]

I've only ever collaborated with others for music, although my process for art would be largely the same.

The stage I'm willing to join a project depends largely on the track record of the person or group that's making the visual novel; if it's their first one, then I'll probably only be willing to join in at about halfway between the B and C stage, in which the story is done, and some parts of the final game have been made. If the person or group has already shown that they can complete a VN though, then I'm willing to join a bit earlier than that, probably a little before B (story not 100% finalized is okay, but setting and characters set) or A for small projects (especially if I personally like the idea).

But I'm also writing this from the perspective of someone who's still learning, and therefore my thought process is for unpaid work (since I'd want to at least make sure the work isn't wasted). For paid projects, or different artists, it'd probably be different.

[SundownKid]

The steps KomiTsuku mentioned sound like the right way to go about things - the appearance of the characters sometimes influences the story, so I would like to have the character designs done before I do the entire story. Well, everything except the "editor" part, since I am an editor myself

[KomiTsuku]

The steps KomiTsuku mentioned sound like the right way to go about things - the appearance of the characters sometimes influences the story, so I would like to have the character designs done before I do the entire story. Well, everything except the "editor" part, since I am an editor myself

So am I, but it always pays to have someone look over your own work.

[Shad12ow]

The steps KomiTsuku mentioned sound like the right way to go about things - the appearance of the characters sometimes influences the story, so I would like to have the character designs done before I do the entire story. Well, everything except the "editor" part, since I am an editor myself

Ho? This is interesting. So you prefer the design of the character done first before finishing the entire story?
Ah, sorry. Is "design" only meant the overall trait, characteristic, and such or the art as in the character sprite, CG, and background itself?

Mh, although I write both the story and do the art

You don't know how envious I am reading that, hahahaha...

[nyaatrap]

If I join someone's project, I choose C. Otherwise, it can be unfinished or unpayed - the result will be waste of time.
Though in my project, I always done character sketches in the earliest stage, then start plotting.

[Auro-Cyanide]

Depends who it is for, doesn't it?

For Camille I would do concept work even if it's just a vague idea and full work as she writes.

For someone I trust who has proven themselves I would work from where they begin writing.

For someone who is unproven I would need a finished script and proof they know what they are doing.

And I wouldn't work with people I don't know :B

[nyaatrap]

Depends who it is for, doesn't it?

very true

[Shad12ow]

Depends who it is for, doesn't it?

For Camille I would do concept work even if it's just a vague idea and full work as she writes.

For someone I trust who has proven themselves I would work from where they begin writing.

For someone who is unproven I would need a finished script and proof they know what they are doing.

And I wouldn't work with people I don't know :B

Ah, true, true.
A very objectively subjective view, uhm I mean, rational and logical. Yeah, that's it. I like it!

[Roiya]

definitely C since ive had people pull out the last second when they realize just how much work a VN really is. Unless you have a great track record or i know you irl its hard for me to be certain a project will be finished. I might be ok with somewhere between B and C but only if someone is paying me and is consistent with payment.

[mirelle]

B for character design and backgrounds, and C for the spriting/ cg itself. my point is already expressed by everyone else who posted here.