Per request, added the following short version:

Here's the short version, so you can make a quick determination if the project is right for you before delving into the whole spiel. ;)

What: Humorous fantasy RPG, 200-300 total tiles and sprites, non-animated. The ever-elusive "Zelda-esque" and "FF-esque" style.
How much?: My budget is around $1000 to $2000, and is negotiable.
By when?: The work would start upon award of the project, and would be completed within 1-2 months.
Experience?: Not strictly necessary. A portfolio or other example is good. Failing that, an optional art test is described in the detailed version.
Where?: http://www.pseudoquest.com - even though it's not done, you can try it out if you like!

The project will be awarded on or about February 6th.

Contact me either here, in a PM, or via email at xaroth [at] utimegames [dot] com.

Though, if you're interested enough to contact me, please take the time to read the whole description below, as it should answer most basic questions about the project.

Thanks!

[end edit]


Hi, all!

I'm currently developing a web-based humor-centric RPG that is nearing its initial public release, and I feel the time has come to get some *real* art for it.

The game itself is over at http://www.pseudoquest.com, if you'd like to get a feel for what the game is about. Anyone who reads this post is welcome to try it out prior to the public release, even if you're not interested in producing art for it. ;)

As you can see, I've got some very amateur art in as a placeholder for now, and the design of the page is very.... blue. Hence why I need some help.

I will require something on the order of 200-300 tiles (non-animated), though many of these can prove to be pallette-swapped duplicates, and larger art pieces cut up into the standard tile size. In fact, I will do the color-swapping/tweaking myself once I have a good base tile, and will slice up trees or houses or whatever into smaller tiles on my own. I have a list of basics that I'll require, though there will be a lot of freedom to branch off of that list. The base list includes everything from outdoor terrain tiles to monsters to items to interior (houses, dungeons, etc.) pieces and so on.

The art style I'm going for is a 2d-overhead cartoony, retro-ish feel, with an emphasis on visual pun where possible. (eg: a kobald - it's a kobold with no hair on his head). The primary subject of the artwork at this point is 8- and 16-bit fantasy RPGs, though if the work proves agreeable for all parties involved there will be the opportunity for future work with different themes for new areas. Good examples of the desired style are the SNES and GBA Zeldas, the DS version of Harvest Moon, and so on. Bright, playful colors with hard cartoonish outlines - that sort of thing.

Currently, the tiles are 32x32 full-color gif's, and player sprites are built up in a paper-doll fashion. However, I would also appreciate taking some time with the selected artist to discuss improvements to the look and feel of the game, including whether or not 32x32 is really the optimal size for these tiles for what I'm going for, or if there's any realistic need for using .png's (with all the cool alpha-blending for shadows and the like that that enables) instead of .gif's. Any changes to the size of the tiles will require me to re-tool the interface, which I would also appreciate input on/mockups for.

Furthermore, the tiles are layered up in the game, so a focus on interchangable parts will be appreciated. For example, a house that's made separately from the doors and windows that would go on it, so as to allow for a greater variety of looks in the game with less up-front work on the tiles. Clever opportunities for re-use of tiles is also appreciated (eg: water edging that would be set on a beach when outdoors might be re-used as a puddle when the scale has changed and the player is in a dungeon).

Finally, character sprites would be done as two paperdoll sets: a "high res" (96x144 or whatever) version for showing off to other players, and a "low res" (32x32 or whatever) version for moving around in the game.

If you are interested in this project, please point me to your portfolio of similar work, or simply post samples here if you like.

If you do not have similar work available but are interested in the project, please consider submitting the following three items as an art test (certainly not required, but appreciated in leiu of or in addition to portfolio examples): a 32x32 over-sized snake with a "forked" tongue, a 96x64 log cabin exterior, and a seamless grass tile (all 3 on the scale of 1 tile = ~6' square).

Here's the nitty-gritty, for easy checking against your skills and needs:

Project type: Freelance, off-site
Budget: My initial budget is on the order of $1,000 to $2,000. This can be negotiable.
Additional compensation: in-game goodies for the artist, including unique items and items that would normally cost a player real cash to get (if interested in such a thing - this would strictly be icing and would not substitute for real money)
Rights: All work to be completed on a "work-for-hire" basis.
Timeline: work to start immediately, completion of base set in 1-2 months.
Quote request: Please offer a cost and time estimate for 200 unique tiles as described above, with an hourly rate for pieces in excess of that. Do not include in your estimate any color-swapped items (ie, just a master "potion" template, not the plethora of colors as I would be tweaking those myself).
Qualifications: I have no experience requirements, just that your art is of sufficient quality and in the style I require. Unfortunately, due to the nature of puns (primarily that they don't translate to other languages well), the artist must be completely fluent in English. A good sense of humor and a penchant for visual pun are big plusses.
Current Team Structure: I am the sole programmer/developer of this game. As a result, additional help with look and feel suggestions/interface mockups will be appreciated.
Tools: Anything that can produce 32-bit images with transparency (read: NOT MS Paint) will be satisfactory.
How you will be paid: I'll do my best to work with you on this, and can do anything from paypal to checks sent in the mail. Payment will come regularly as artwork is completed, as negotiated upon award of the project.
How to contact me: I can be contacted via posts in this thread, PMs on this forum, or you can send email to me at xaroth [at] utimegames [dot] com. I will post in this forum when the project has been awarded.

I will be making a decision on or around Feb. 6th, so if you're interested, please contact me before then.

I'm hoping that this has been thorough enough to answer any questions that might arise, but please feel free to ask me anything. I prefer - but don't require - that you ask them in this thread, so that others who might have the same question will be able to see the answer as well.

Thanks for your help, and I look forward to working with you!

--Geoffrey Benson
µTime Games, Inc.

Edit:Tweaked subject, since I noticed it was cut off from what I'd originally put in.

Edited by xaroth - 01 February 2007 at 10:25pm

Done! (And added to the original post.)

Thanks for the tip!

Edited by xaroth - 01 February 2007 at 7:46pm

Setzer:

I have sent you a response via email. Thanks!

I'm interested too.

I've sent you an email. Thanks :)