First let me clear a few things:
There is no company this is simply a hobby
There is no website or previous projects
There IS a programmer and animator
There IS pay
If you see an * with a number, at the bottom you'll find more information on what I meant

I'm looking for a skilled spriter to help me envision an arena style game I've been wanting to make. All art work must (obviously) be original and have a consistent style. It's a medieval fantasy setting where I would like players to square off against one another. Below are details on the project:

Being developed for PC
Perspective of the game is similar to that of Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past
Characters require 4 directional sprites (up, down, left, right)
Characters must be sprited in an interchangeable manner*1
Characters must be sprited as male and female
Weapons and armor that can be equipped and viewed on characters (template for future additions required)
Sprites must be able to produce animations for the following:
Idle
Attack 1, Attack 2, Attack 3 *2
Running (possibly walking, we'll take it as it goes)
Rolling
Blocking
Throwing
Sitting

And possibly more as the game develops. Another graphical task to tackle is creating the tile set for the game. There is already a set template of 16x16 to use, and the themes of the arena are mostly conceived. If you would like to focus on just one or the other you absolutely may, just clarify in your reply to this.

As far as payment goes, well that really depends on two things. The quality of the work and the amount that's done. Since this is over the internet I can't pay you by the hour, but I can pay you by the sprite. It won't be a flat rate, clearly the larger and more intricate the sprite the better the pay. That being said I don't foresee too many large sprites, maybe intricate ones such as the rolling characters. As much as I wish it, it turns out I'm not made of money so don't expect to get rich off this. Payment can be sent by mail, or if you can receive it by Paypal. I plan on releasing this game for free, so as far as royalties go, sorry I won't be making any money off this either.

Addressing the issue of time constraints on the project, there really aren't any. As I stated before this is a hobby so if this gets done today, tomorrow, or next year that's fine by me. I work full time and well beyond that myself so my life doesn't focus around this project. As far as contact goes you will never not be able to get a hold of me.

If you're interested leave a reply, send me a message, or e-mail me at: funkemonkay@gmail.com

Be sure to include examples of your art work and the general style that you portray. If you have any questions I'm more than happy to answer them and I hope I can find someone who I can work with on this. Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to some replies!

*1 What I mean by this is the player should be able to pick from a number of heads and bodies to change how he or she looks (template for future additions required)
*2 What I mean by this is if the player swings their sword it shouldn't be the same animation repeated. I would like a horizontal, a vertical, and a forward thrusting motion

Thank you for everyone that replied, you are each very talented and I appreciate your time. The position has been filled BUT in the very near future I will be hiring again.