howdy Pixeljointers!

Background
We are a group of five human-interface, computer science, and economics graduate students who are conducting an extensive project on the development of community software. Our chosen software is a small, community-based game centered around a few mechanics we believe are interesting and innovative. The project will start this summer.

Most of the objects you'll be asked to draw are mundane, everyday items from a medieval fantasy setting (swords, shields, flora, fauna, and so on). We're counting on you to add the appropriate flair and your own personal pizazz within the technical parameters, although we understand that's not always feasible given the medium. You'll also be drawing a number of creatures, about two or three dozen, which have more complex requirements (see below).

We use a paper-doll layering format to build more complex structures from their component pieces, so for some items you'll probably be asked to draw the components rather than the whole. For instance, rather than asking you to draw, say, a car, we'd ask you to draw a wheel, and then a car without wheels. The game's engine is capable of intelligently compositing and layering these pieces into a single image.

The Deal
This is an advertisement for a paid position for contract and on retainer. You will sign a simple, legally binding document that states, in effect, your consent to create a set body of artwork for a fixed dollar amount. "Set body of artwork" means that we describe the technical parameters (e.g., "isometric PNG graphic of a medieval villager"), and that you exercise a creative process to come up with and construct the artwork itself.

In addition to this negotiated amount, the contract will contain an option clause that takes effect after the initial contract is completed. If exercised, you will be placed on retainer for another fee. "On retainer" means that you bill time at an hourly rate (also negotiated) against the retainer fee that we set aside to pay you.

Our budget for the contract portion is in the neighborhood of $1,500 for approximately 80-120 POWs in varying detail. The budget for the on-retainer portion has not yet been determined.

What You Deliver
A "piece of work" (POW) is the complete artistic/visual representation of an in-game object. Most POWs are static, just a single image (e.g., a rock, a window, a dirt path). For dynamic tiles (e.g., flowers waving in a breeze, moving water) you'll be asked to make 6 frames of animation.

For dynamic objects, you'll also be asked to make 6 frames, except that one frame will be a "broken" frame indicating a destroyed object, and one frame will be a "special" frame for certain objects. (For most objects the special frame will be blank.) You may reuse "broken" frames between objects you deem sufficiently similar.

For moving creatures (e.g., knights, jellies, skeletons) you'll be asked to make 6 frames of animation for each of the four primary directions (a total of 24). For each direction, one frame is a "dodge" frame (the creature leans to one side), one frame is an "attack" frame (the creature lunges forward), and one frame is a "stand" frame (the creature stands straight and still). The remaining three frames are "move" frames, showing the creature walking or crawling or whatever its means of locomotion is.

You may flip the artwork for symmetrical or amorphous (jellies, slimes, oozes) creatures as needed. However, if a creature has hands it could hold things in, you may not flip the creature.

You're responsible only for the images themselves; we'll take care of the actual animation portion.

You'll be delivering in the neighborhood of 100 POWs. The breakdown is approximately as follows:

-- 25-30 creatures
-- 25-35 dynamic objects
-- 30-55 static objects

Your Copyright
You retain copyright to your work. However, you give us the right to use it in an unrestricted, royalty-free fashion, and you further agree that we may publish it under the Creative Commons license found here. You have express permission to present the artwork in such a way that makes it clear it's being used in our project in a "live" setting.

How You Get Paid
Fees will be paid by certified cashier's check or money order, at your preference. One-third of your fee is paid up front once you return the signed contract. The second third is paid when we receive 70% of the submissions and have a reasonable time to review them, and the final third is paid on successful completion.

Accounting policies prohibit us from disbursing money through PayPal or similar third-party escrow-like or transaction-management services. If you prefer, however, we can arrange for a direct deposit into a checking account of your choice.

Requirements
We will need two recommendations from previous contracts you have worked on, and we will also need to see some of your existing work. If you have no previous contract experience, please be prepared to present a compelling and interesting portfolio of about 20 images or so.

Disclosure Statement
As a matter of full disclosure, the position is funded, in part, with grant money from the National Science Foundation. The rest is an unrestricted allocation.

Questions?
Unless your question contains information of a sensitive nature, please ask here so that it can be answered publicly.


Edited by ksquared - 04 February 2007 at 4:36pm