Hi,

I saw in some games very nice graphics (sprites, splash screen, buttons...). Who made it? I know that already succesfull companies pay proffesionals, but what if you don't have big budget? Friends?
Someone know about low-priced artist for 2D work?


Nedzad
www.yupgames.com (http://www.yupgames.com)

Which games are you referring to?

Pharaohs' Curse has pretty nice graphics. I too am curious how one goes about getting graphics. The only way I see right now is to pay a contract artist to make the art. Friends are pretty volatile (unreliable) most of the time from what I've seen.

Originally posted by Dexterity
Which games are you referring to?

None exact game, but in general. Last few months I downloaded, installed, try and uninstall more than 100 games, different genres, different authors. I'm analyzing all this 'game making and selling' stuff. In a lot of games, almost immediatelly after start you can see is graphic done 'home made' or by a pro.
And in some games, nice graphics (even only few objects/sprites) can make game much better.
Ie, your Penguin Puzzle (this game maybe isn't best example, but you are familiar with it) - imagine this game with 'ordinary' penguin pictures/draws, instead of ice cubes with frozen penguins. Game will lose a lot, and it's only about 5-6 nice drawings that makes game looks much better.

Nedzad

i agree with that....games are better when they have good graphics...i find it very important by the way..:D

but gameplay is also very important to be a good game of course...i rather play a game with good gameplay and ugly graphics than a game with beatiful graphics and crappy/boring gameplay...;)

That's true but at the same time you won't want to play a game with stick figure graphics would you? (unless it's Stick Soldiers (http://www.whitespaceunlimited.com/) ).

I have a few thoughts here.

Sometimes 3d is the way to go. There are plenty of free 3d models to be found on the web. If you're not an artist you can often fake it by using other people's 3d models and just rendering them. Be careful not to use a free 3d model of a commerical character or vechile though.

Also, when you plan your design, take the art (and creating it) into consiteration. This is one aspect of game design most people overlook.

Before I started programming Rocknor's Bad Day, I did some art tests. Originally I wanted an Indiana Jones feel to the game, but after working on the art it was clear that each graphic would take me hours, if not days, to finish.

But a more cartoony futuristic look was much easier for me, and I realized that by changing the style of my game I would be able to streamline art creation.
http://monolux.com/games/rocknorsbadday/screens/6.htm

(more screenshots here: http://monolux.com/games/rocknorsbadday/screenshots.htm)

Another good example of this is the game "pencil whipped", where the designer based an entire game around poorly-rendered pencil drawings and his own from-mouth sound effects. This is kind of a gimmick for sure, but it shows how you can be creative to make your game work for you.

http://www.maxminn.com/chiselhead/ben.jpg
NOTE: I had nothing to do with Pencil Whipped!

The final thing to do, if you have a killer game that is just begging for great art that you can't produce yourself, is to build the game with placeholder art.

Motivating friends or complete strangers is much easier when you have a working prototype that shows you've already put in a lot of hard work to get the game working. Getting people to work on spec a lot of times just requires you to show them the potential. But if you have nothing but a great idea, and you're asking your friends to work on it, then it can be pretty tough.

Once I showed a friend of mine a cool-looking business card design and it made his eyes so wide that they were going to pop out of his head. For him, that was all the motivation he needed to help me out.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some creative thoughts on how to go about art creation!

~Hanford

Originally posted by Fenix Down
That's true but at the same time you won't want to play a game with stick figure graphics would you? (unless it's Stick Soldiers (http://www.whitespaceunlimited.com/) ).


you do have a point there.......but when the game is freakin addictive......;)

I am a Artist \ designer from Australia.

If anyone here needs some artwork done I could possible help out ? But I am very busy at the moment.

Heres my art gallery.

http://www.gplgames.com/B-Project-Gallery.html

Website main link

http://www.gplgames.com