Hi guys, I have started developing my first iOS game using Cocos2D. It is a 2d aerial combat game. I have the placeholder art ready at my disposal and have been developing using the same. How should I go about procuring art for my game. What are the going charges for a good 2d artist and how much would it cost per sprite/animation frame. What kind of inputs need to be given to an artist and which is the best site/portal for getting in touch with an artist. -PK Minhas
You are at the same stage as we were three weeks ago: We googled forums/portals for 2D artists (we focused on Polish sites to avoid an issues with time difference) to find the most popular. We put 3 adverts (on different forums) about hiring a 2D artist as a contractor for a single project (mobile game on iOS). We requested a cartoonish graphics style. We got around 30 resumes and we choose 15 candidates. We asked them for a "free test" (a single 2D asset in our style) After 1 week, when we got tests back, we asked all candidates about their payment - according to the scope of work, so we listed all assets (without detailed description): amount of assets with a particular resolutions (e.g. 4 enemies in 48x48px / 24x24px = iPad/iPhone; 6 backgrounds in 768x1024px / 320x480px, etc..) Also we asked them how much time they need to finalize all assets. We chose only one artist - who wasn't expensive and was able to finish her work in 2 weeks. We signed a contract and right now (after 2 weeks of her work) we have all assets done So we can't tell you what is the price for a single asset but we suggest you to do the same steps as we did - you will see there are different costs and you will be able to choose the best option for you (which fits in your budget) Good luck!