So, I'm a entrepreneuring individual who has been lurking on the forums here and been steadily planning out a video game over the last three to four years. The video game in question is not one that can be developed alone, with a small indie development team, or even with a moderately sized one. As such I'm currently undertaking the best way to approach such an idea and make it presentable to whoever's interest I can garner. Currently I'm entertaining the idea of commissioning a concept artist to get what I'm thinking in some very nice art pieces as it remains almost impossible to do more then that without talking with some very serious people.

Where would you guys suggest going to commission a sci-fi concept artist, how much should I expect to pay, and what do you guys suggest to catch the eyes of anyone who has the capability to make large decisions?

Where would you guys suggest going to commission a sci-fi concept artist, how much should I expect to pay,[s] and what do you guys suggest to catch the eyes of anyone who has the capability to make large decisions?[/s]

Crossing out half of your question. Don't confuse concept art and art direction. Crafting art styles and themes generally requires experience, but concepts can be churned out rapidly. Art direction, or large decisions about art and its design in your game, is a role for an experienced and talented person. They are very different things.

You will need art direction, but it is an inefficient use of their time and your money to have them crank out concept art. Better to have them direct and tune others as the concept art is churned out.

The nice thing about concept art is that almost any reasonably talented artist can do it without much experience or much effort.

We've had concept art brainstorms where everybody must produce a MINIMUM of 6 concept pieces per hour, running for a week or more. The goal is to rapidly churn through a wide range of styles and creative ideas without becoming emotionally invested in any of them. The art director (the person who makes the large decisions) can review them at the end of the day and guide what direction they want to move on the next day.

If you have funds available and a local college or university or art-related trade school, pay a visit to the visual arts department. You don't need to pay very much for rapid concept art, only enough money and enough equipment to rapidly explore concepts.


Now returning to the second half of the question:

[color="#1C2837"]how much should I expect to pay, and what do you guys suggest to catch the eyes of anyone who has the capability to make large decisions?[/quote]

[color="#1C2837"]You should expect to pay whatever your local salaries are for you to attract and retain that talent at that quality and experience level. It is up to you to decide how much you can afford. Nobody but you knows if you can afford a staff of industry veterans, or if a college student, or a non-student amateur hobbyist on a per-piece budget.

[color="#1C2837"]Those people who are most qualified and experienced with large decisions are also able to demand much more money for their services. The actual payment depends on your location on the globe, the motives that the individual happens to want filled, and your negotiating skills.

You are going to struggle without stuff to show. That could be a combination of:

1. A proper design document with art to catch the imagination
2. Business plan
3. Concept demo(s)

If you are going to be weak on the demo side, you need to be stronger on the other angles... people with cool game ideas a dime-a-dozen.

Have you considered if some subset of the game, or some of the unique features, can be developed as a small game-demo? It would be unusual that you can't play the game without the entire thing being built. Is this the part where you tell us it's a brand new MMO that will make WoW look like a text-RPG?

You are going to struggle without stuff to show. That could be a combination of:

1. A proper design document with art to catch the imagination
2. Business plan
3. Concept demo(s)

If you are going to be weak on the demo side, you need to be stronger on the other angles... people with cool game ideas a dime-a-dozen.

Have you considered if some subset of the game, or some of the unique features, can be developed as a small game-demo? It would be unusual that you can't play the game without the entire thing being built. Is this the part where you tell us it's a brand new MMO that will make WoW look like a text-RPG?

I have two of those three. I'm working on concept art, but most companies are aware of how easy it is to task a team and riddle out of a game if they want to (which was loosely pointed out by other people). I've read most of your articles before I even came here Tom, as well. If I had a full game already or a working demo I wouldn't be here as I would be self-publishing or pitching it to Valve, who is quite reasonable about publishing games on Steam.

I don't think that's entirely true either... everyone seems to think good ideas are a dime a dozen, yet the game industry has definitely been in a unoriginal slump that last six or so years, that's part of the reason I have decided to pursue making my own game because the games I've so enjoyed no longer exist. The industry is rank with clones and pungent stagnation. I'm well aware of the stigmas associated with breaking in as well. People seem to be all too familiar with belittling other peoples ideas and telling them that it's not worth spit (one of the reasons I've resisted posting on here). At this point in time the gaming industry seems to be more about stepping on other people to make you look good rather then trying to make something amazing.

I have considered employing a smaller game to get my name out first before tackling this one. Specifically a smaller game for handhelds that differs from all together from games currently available (there seems to be a lot of open space in mobile gaming that hasn't been done yet). The game I was looking for concept art on is too big to break down into smaller parts (their is more then one facet that interconnects with the game to form a complex system).

"[color="#1C2837"]It would be unusual that you can't play the game without the entire thing being built. Is this the part where you tell us it's a brand new MMO that will make WoW look like a text-RPG?"

[color="#1C2837"]No... not at all. I actually outlined the game into three to four tiers that makes it so it's manageable and scaleable for investor relations as well as a long term product cycle with incremental profit increases combined with a FtP model to promote a growing population base. It eventually may be considered a MMO, but it is not one in the traditional sense at all and wont initially appear that way (I'm being vague on purpose). It's not a RPG either, it's a FPS (RPGs have way too many problems IMO). Something like this has never been done though and as such it would need a very innovative and talented development team. I actually considered approaching Google with my plans as it ties into data structure and statistics heavily and Google talent seems to be unmatched. However, I don't have anyway of talking to anyone in Google let alone nonchalantly talking about a hypothetical in a industry they don't normally take part in.
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[color="#1C2837"]I agree Obscure, the concept art I'm looking for is icing on the cake. Mainly I would be using it to set a theme and feel for the universe. It helps having a bit of color on black and white for contrast.

Thanks for the link to salaries, but I was looking for a place on the net where I could commission some artwork, not employ an artist to churn out pieces constantly. I had considered deviantart as well, but I thought I would check around here first.

Thanks as well for the feedback as well d000hg. It helps having someone to bounce ideas off of and is willing to ask why instead of just shooting you to a FAQ somewhere.