How does a dev seeking to contract artist(s) explain what he needs?

Krypto

*Not a recruiting thread*

I'm an indie game dev; a one-man show. I have only basic 3D modeling skills so I want the production art (3D and UI) to be done properly by someone who calls themselves an artist. I already posted in a number of forums that I am recruiting but from every single portfolio I looked so far, I am really not seeing what I need. I know that pay is not an issue. Budget is in the thousands, not nickels and dimes. I think it's most likely the fact that I really can't explain what I need.

I know what I want in my head, but it looks like I am having hard time writing it down. I definitely want to see concept art for all principal elements in the game, but I don't even know what constitutes concept art for 3D. Is it an illustration? Or a rough prototype done in 3D?

With that said, I am hoping that the audience here can give me some concrete pointers. What kind of questions to ask? What are some common game styles called? What would you say are the main, say 3, points I should state/questions that I should ask?

Bedrock

Well, you could describe your game it will be easier to help that way. What platform are you going for? If it's PC, what's your target hardware? This will dictate whether you want something simple like very low poly assets and hand painted textures with flat lighting, or something more complicated with specular, normal or even PBR stuff with fancy shaders.

What's the genre of the game? Is it an RTS where things are relatively far (aka less detailed) or a first person exploratory game where you see stuff from up close? As for the style, any existing games out there that inspires you and would like a similar art style? Do you want realistic (like all the military games, dear esther, ethan carter, survival games, etc) or cartoony like what Blizzard/Valve/Riot does or something in between like Dishonored?

Normally you just feed this stuff with more detail to a concept artist and see what they chug out... but I'm not exceptionally familiar with that so I'm sure someone can chip in. Rough sketches and examples from other games are a good start from you.

Krypto

One of the problems is that I can't describe the game. It's a unique, albeit simple, concept. I would rather not talk about it until the game is done and published.

But I can say that in terms of art style, I am definitely looking at Blizzard's cartoony style rather than hyper-realistic AAA shooter style. Does that style have a name?

BagelHero

"Stylized" works. It's an umbrella term, but if you then go collect references for the exact style you want, the artists should get the point and be able to develop from there. Keep in mind, you can use ref from movies and animation, or even books and illustrations.
Keep in mind, though, that's really an Umbrella term. There's hyper next-gen stylized stuff, like Sunset Overdrive, Battlecry, Battleborn, Overwatch... Clearly stylised, but not really "handpainted" like old Blizzard stuff. Then there's "handpainted" stylized, wherein all the details are painted onto the diffuse texture by hand. WoW, LoL, newer Diablo, a ton of games I can't think of are examples of that. There's also new/innovative/interesting stuff your artists could do on their own, if given free reign.

For stylized works, you probably want a 2D artist to do your concepts. More realistic or mech-y stuff you can get away with 3D concepts, but for stylized it's easier to iterate with 2D until you get something that represents what you want. The 2D artist can then make Orthographic references for your 3D artist to work from, and even ideal animation and FX concept and reference if that's important to your game.

You should probably look up Dev blogs and articles that detail game pre-production for small and mid-sized studios, you seem a bit lost.

Bedrock

Hmm I think if you throw 'Stylized' and 'Hand Painted' around then people will know what you mean

Fwap

Its just commonly referred to as Stylized.
You said you have basic 3d knowledge, why don't you block out your game/level using basic geometry and then make an asset list, that way you know exactly what assets you need, how many, and what size.

You can also start collecting reference images, pinterest is a good source, and share the reference with potential artists.
Pictures speak more than words, and gives the artist an idea of what standards you seek, alternatively if your worried about sharing your games idea an NDA is always an option? there are plenty of NDA templates floating around.

Just a few ideas.

Kurt Russell Fan Club

Jump on pinterest or google images and just search for "stylised concept art"

Stylised and hand-painted and other terms won't cut it. Describe your audience and the target tone of your game and you might get closer, or make a small list of similar styles so you have something to point to.

Some examples of the variety in what people might think you mean:




The tone of them is totally divergent between cool and artsy and comic. Knowing that tone beforehand will help people target your stuff.

Deathstick

you'll also probably want to divide it down into sections for what you're looking for depending on your budget.

IE whereas there are a few artists who can do both environments and characters, they're usually better at one or the other.

Concept artists themselves can either paint or draw everything out by hand, use an integration of photo references and paint-overs to create a concept, and sometimes do a mixture of quickly blocking out a form in 3D and doing refinements by painting over it. It usually will depend on the artist themselves.

While it seems you're currently looking for concept artists, keep in mind that when you get further down the line things like animation are usually a specific job position rather than modeling and animating, unless you go for a generalist. (Usually someone who identifies themselves as an animator will be miles better in quality than someone who animates occasionally, someone who does only concept art will be great at that, environment art, character art, etc.)

It ultimately will depend on your budget, the level of quality and detail required (the time to create a detailed and textured modeled for a first person view should take alot more time than say a model made for a top-down game for example), and how many people you can afford. (Someone who wears many hats vs a bunch of people who wear one or two beautiful hats)

Ehnn

I had the exact same question a while ago, and what it boils down to is it's impossible to describe an exact style using words
the only two real options are, have someone sit down with you and doodle shapes and styles until the idea you have in your head is on paper, or go through art and portfolios and bookmark the ones you like. you should have quite a collection conveying the style you want in no time. then when you want something done, use that to get the idea across

I've actually been doing just that for a little while for hand painted styles just like you, so here are some useful links to get you started

http://www.artstation.com/artwork?sorting=latest
http://www.pinterest.com/crazycube3d/pins/
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125954

Krypto

Ehnn wrote: »

... have someone sit down with you and doodle shapes and styles until the idea you have in your head is on paper...

*sigh* I wish. But even though I live in a large city, I haven't been able to secure a concept artist in the area.

Krypto

Thanks for the links. I already have a large collection on pinterest myself, but I'll definitely end up adding more since these are hand-picked.