Dealing with slow character artist...

[briannavon]

Due to my character artist's computer problems, it's been a month and my game only has the main character's art (and not even all her sprites or a single CG!). I have a lot coded in my game and while backgrounds have just began and maps are going good, that's all from other artists.

I don't want to lose what I have given her now (I pay her is Devainart points and I gave her about $12 in them so far) by firing her, so what do I do?

[Kato]

Are you able to use placeholder sprites for characters and just swap them out or we talking about a reeeeeeeeeeally slow artist?

In previous works when I didn't have such a large budget as I do now I was concerned with a similar problem. I had invested a sum into an artist who lost interest half way through. I ended up having to accept the loss (artists aren't animals so we can't get mad of they don't work) and found another artist. Using the halfway sprites I already had as concepts meant less work for the new artist and ultimately a cheaper experience, albeit not as cheap as it would have been with the single artist.

Tl;dr - Kato's advice: 1. Placeholders, placeholders, placeholders. 2. Maybe your artist is having some troubles and needs help with something? 3. Accept the loss and find a new artist, using what you have as concepts if need be.

Hope I helped, or got some gears moving!

[briannavon]

Are you able to use placeholder sprites for characters and just swap them out or we talking about a reeeeeeeeeeally slow artist?

In previous works when I didn't have such a large budget as I do now I was concerned with a similar problem. I had invested a sum into an artist who lost interest half way through. I ended up having to accept the loss (artists aren't animals so we can't get mad of they don't work) and found another artist. Using the halfway sprites I already had as concepts meant less work for the new artist and ultimately a cheaper experience, albeit not as cheap as it would have been with the single artist.

Tl;dr - Kato's advice: 1. Placeholders, placeholders, placeholders. 2. Maybe your artist is having some troubles and needs help with something? 3. Accept the loss and find a new artist, using what you have as concepts if need be.

Hope I helped, or got some gears moving!

This does help. For now, placeholders will have to do

[SundownKid]

That sounds like it won't get very far without finding another artist. They probably underestimated the workload as many artists tend to do. Usually, I pay people via escrow to avoid these problems. Stick the entire payment for the job in there, and if they don't finish it, they don't get the money. I would generally expect at least a character sprite every couple of days.

[TsukiShima]

I was never commissioned or open a commission due to this. I fear that I might disappoint my commissioner and lose their trust. It's a different question if it was free, of course.

I say try to ask her properly and give her several chances and deadlines. If she couldn't make it in time even after that, then you could go on searching for another one, but of course tell her first so she won't be offended.

Later on, you should pay half the price first to make the artist work, and pay full after the artist has finished. At least that's how mostly the artists work in dA from my view.

( It's actually an irony for this coming from someone like me. )

[leon]

That sounds like it won't get very far without finding another artist. They probably underestimated the workload as many artists tend to do. Usually, I pay people via escrow to avoid these problems. Stick the entire payment for the job in there, and if they don't finish it, they don't get the money. I would generally expect at least a character sprite every couple of days.

That'a great idea! I never thought about using escrow for this... I read about escrow services, but never used one; I figured it would be too much hassle to write the contracts and whatnot. Could you maybe explain a little how exactly does that work? Which service do you use? How do you write down the agreement/contract(?) and stuff like that?

[ghostbunnies]

Is your game only 33% written, as it says in your thread? Because I have to say, writers are just as unreliable as artists... :/

Keep going with placeholders is a good suggestion; finish everything you can, and then seriously worry about your artist. In the time it takes to finish, they might have come back around (fix computer issues, personal issues, artists' block, etc.) and be encouraged by your side being secure. If not, having a near-finished game would be a huge draw to get another artist.

[SundownKid]

If you're paying an artist enough, the amount of writing shouldn't be a problem Anyway, I wouldn't hire off of a random message board for a VN, I'd find a professional through Elance and then the site handles the rest. Don't really know much about using it with random artists, but I prefer knowing the previous feedback of others who hired them. Then, whistle away while watching the horror stories of other devs

[ghostbunnies]

True enough, whether or not the game will ever be finished doesn't matter so much when you're being paid real wages; when you're working for "free" (or almost for free, like the OP's artist), you're really getting paid in a different way. I think it can be trusted that most free artists around here want to see their work in a game.

[nyaatrap]

Same opinion with ghostbunnies
Arts are generally faster than writing. It's usually writing which stagnates game development in most, so unless payment are payed steadily, artists tend to avoid working on un-finished scenario. The first job of amateur writer is finish all writing.