Well, if you have sponsors and theyre not willing to pay for art it tells me one of two things:
1) The sponsors don't exist. Or.
2) The sponsors don't have enough faith in the project to put their money up front to pay artists.

If its going to be a success, they'd be better off to pay for artists up front rather than fork over 30% of profits.

Just my two cents.

Don't misunderstand me, I certainly wish you the best. But when people are "Genuinely interested" I find they actually contribute to making a project a success from the start.

To me, it sounds like good business smarts on their end. To your sponsors its zero risk, free advertising, and if the game makes no money its the artists and private funders who end up in the red.

Too many people (who have never made a game before) believe they have a guaranteed hit which 'everyone' will want to play. I see it daily at GameDev.net with "Hey, im making a new super cool IPhone Game/MMORPG" when really its just a new fad/obsession that only a handful of people are passionate about.

I'm only issuing a word of caution. I wouldn't begin actively looking for recruitment (for artists) until every facet of the game is completely thought through. This includes scripting, a list of needed elements, art resources, number of characters, frames, GUI, etc. Folks down at AGS (AdventureGameStudio) and GameDev have a few topics dedicated to "Where do I start". If all you have really " some code a bit of graphics and a fantastic idea" I would suggest you recruit team members to assist you with the creative and planning steps of your project first.

Its not up to a hired artist to be your creative leader. That's the job of a Project Manager. That said, truly good luck.


Edited by Da_Duke2000 - 20 December 2009 at 12:33am

If I may chime in here a little. Speaking as an artist who has years of experience in the industry, I strongly urge you to work on your presentation. I am not trying to be critical but offer up some helpful advice.

We can all certainly appreciate the position that you are in ..not having a budget to hire people. I suggest you share more about yourself to the community at large and offer up points as to why it is worth the artist's time and energy to dedicate him or herself to your project. A vague promise of being paid sometime in the future is not a convincing argument. You need to support your position as project leader, as game designer, and so on.

You stated that this is not your first game. Tell everyone what the first one was ...was it a hobby project or perhaps a commercial one? Did you create it all on your own or were you involved in a team? Regarding your sponsors who are controlling the cash purse, how did you pitch your project to them? Did you share/present your previous game with them? What sort of budget are they looking to give you once you provide them with a demo of your game?

All of Duke's points are valid and I can speak for him, he is a stand up guy who knows what he is talking about.

I saw your post last night and immediately moved on. Why? It simply struck me as many job posts do. It was generic, unorganized and really offered no tangible information. Again, I am not trying to be harsh but sharing my point of view as well as my first impression of the original post. Let's face it, if you want to be taken seriously (and this applies as much to artists as it does to potential clients) you need to present yourself as a professional and not just "some guy" who wants to do X,Y, Z.

I hope you take this as it is intended, as an education and not as a lecture. Best of luck with your project!