Looking for an artist perspective on the art asset marketplace.

Rambus

Hello,

I have lots of questions for the game art community

When I'm working on a hobby game or a quick prototype I always struggle to find quality assets. TurboSquid forces me to sift through tons of inappropriate models, and the prices are often inflated due to the selling fees. I can think of a few good websites, usually artist run, that provide strictly game assets- but here I can never be certain of the quality. The first model I buy from these artists is always a coin flip if it will match my expectations or not. I often spend hours tweaking a model after I buy it. These sites also don't (usually) include the source assets, e.g. photoshop psd and zbrush ztl. If I love a model but want to change the text written on it, it can be a nightmare.

To start off- can you guys recommend some great game asset websites?

When you decide to sell an asset, what are your main concerns?

The concept I'm playing with is a vetted game asset store. My website is more a 'proof of concept' right now. It only sells my personal assets, but I could see working with a few artists to sell their wares / back catalog as well. The assets put up on the website would all be ideal for use in games, meet a minimum quality standard, and include all the source files.

Please check out what I have so-far and provide some feedback about what works, and what doesn't (both with the website and the concept).


www.GameArt.me

I look forward to your answers, feedback and criticism :thumbup:

Rockley Bonner

this is interesting. I will bookmark your site.

gray

do you think you could make a game by having 50 people code individual parts of a random game independently with no contact. sell those parts in a store. and have someone else simply buy various bits of that code and smash it together an make a nice game?

i doubt a "game asset" store will ever work for anything but quick crappy background models for very small projects.

the amount of work that goes into high quality characters and models is almost always over the bid time, ie (the budgeted time). this is because the creative directors want artistic adjustments, things don't look quite right in the environment, the designs change etc. the idea you can just buy a bunch of models from different people and smash them together and end up with a nice environment with nice characters and it all looks great and everything matches is totally stupid.

Justin Meisse

The Unity Asset store has some good stuff: link

I was actually thinking of piecing together a DayZ/WarZ clone out of assets off of the unity store. This city pack and this nature pack pretty much covers all the environment bases for me.

Rambus

Hello Gray,

Thank you for providing some detailed feedback.

This post was not intended to recruit potential artists "partners". Artwork featured on the site was created through a paid contract. The website design is still in the early stages and I want to receive more feedback from content creators about their feelings on the (already established) art resale market.

Just to clarify, I see this website targeting the hobby market. Assets would generally fit in the 'generic', 'simulation' or 'place holder' category. I can think of a handful of indie games that have reached the steam market place with assets purchased from similar stores. Even the original Half-Life contained media purchased from 3rd parties. But to clarify, the art assets I plan to offer are not targeting AAA studios.
I'm not interested in creating a 'game component' store, and I don't believe a game could stand out as visually unique entirely from off the shelf art, music or code components.

I see you feel strongly about how a business like this should be run, could you provide some links to businesses that 'get it right'?

Thank you for the feedback!

Rambus

@Justin Meisse - That is an excellent link. It has been awhile since I looked at the Unity store. The model quality and pricing schemes are excellent. That store has the added benefit of being targeted at a single engine, so compatibility is never a concern. I will be looking at this design more closely. Thank you!

gray

@Rambus

people have been selling models online for a long time. the problems you noted have not been solved. the reasons why i outlined in my post. i have seen probably over 20 or more model selling stores pop up and shut down. they are simply not needed. they are a middle man who take a cut of the profit away from the artist. and prevents the buyer from commissioning the model they actually want directly from the artist.

a better model would be to have a place where buyers could commission artists directly. but then you would essentially be a contract negotiator between the two parties and assume all of the legal risk. not a nice business to be in.

there is already one or two online stores that sell a huge assortment of golf clubs, chairs, desks, rocks, tea cups, spoons, road signs, crates, and skanky lo-res woman with big tits. problem solved no need for more of the same.

Rambus

Could you provide the names of some of these failed shops so I could examine them (likely using the 'way back machine')? Could you also please provide links to your two examples of successful stores? Providing concrete examples with criticism is very appreciated.

I see where you are coming from as an artist. I put several models on TurboSquid and was shocked at the cut they were taking. But the truth is, as a consumer of whole sale art, I prefer to buy assets from a trusted source. Each artist that sells their wares individually has a different quality bar, supported formats, refund policy and license. As a consumer you have to spend time researching each artist individually, and even then you can't be sure of the quality until you make your first purchase.

I have no interest in brokering commissions.

EDIT: Providing some examples of artists that 'skip the middle man' successfully would also reinforce your points.

gray

you just said it, turbo squid. they have been selling crap models for 12 years and counting. there the Amazon of gutter 3d assets.

i don't keep a list of failed model store websites. but if you do a search on this board or any other art board you will probably find loads. about every two months someone shows up with the same idea and a website.

EDIT: artists that skip the middle man are people who send in portfolios and get jobs at studios. studios exist because the are the most effective means to produce games and films. there are some freelancers around but most of those people would take a steady job if they find one.

Justin Meisse

Chillydog12345 wrote: »

Holy Shit, you could set up some shots with that stuff really fast and people would be all over it. We all saw hoe people were over WarZ without researching lol.

actually WarZ is pretty great - but that's a story for another day.