Hello, I'm in the process of creating a game and I am looking for an artist.

However, I don't know what's a reasonable price/hour. What do you recommend? (the project will be a small one and it might even be freeware).

If I have someone that makes the artwork and the game is sold, do I have to pay him a percentage of the earnings? How do these things work? (I'm a newb at this:) )

Hello, I'm in the process of creating a game and I am looking for an artist.

However, I don't know what's a reasonable price/hour. What do you recommend? (the project will be a small one and it might even be freeware).

If I have someone that makes the artwork and the game is sold, do I have to pay him a percentage of the earnings? How do these things work? (I'm a newb at this:) )

I'm an audio dude but I've done a large amount of contracting and hiring so I'll try and shed some light on the situation. It's really very flexible. You'll find all kinds of rates quoted which depend largely on:

*the person's credentials. Usually the more experienced someone is, the higher their rates but not always.

*what type of rights do you want to the visuals. I deal with audio so visual rights may differ some. Basically it comes down to do you want to own the images exclusively or allow other games to use them? I'd contact various artists to narrow down what is considered "the norm."

*the time frame you need the work completed by. Usually the less time to work, the higher the cost.

*the location of the artist(s) your contracting out. Someone living in NYC may charge more than someone living in Tulsa OK because the cost of living differs greatly.

As far as paying royalties, that would be discussed in the contract. I've worked for both situations - so it's possible to work something out that is agreeable to both you and the artist(s) involved.

Thanks,

Nate

Assuming you are not employing an artist in a building you have, but instead purchasing art from a freelancer over the internet, typically they charge by the piece, not by the hour. If you are paying the artist for the right to use their work in your game, you do not then need to pay them any royalties. Royalties are only paid to artists if they are contributing work free on promise of profit-sharing later, or if they are the co-creator of the project, or if they own some of the intellectual property (e.g. characters, races, settings) used in the game.

The price per piece of art varies of course depending on what kind of art it is. More detailed art and animated art are more expensive than simple still art; color is more expensive than black and white; anything done with physical media such as a painting is usually more expensive than digital; anything which must be designed, revised, and approved is more expensive than the simpler process of implementing an existing design. Typically you would make a list of all the art assets you needed and ask an artist to quote you a price for the whole package.

Actual numbers - say you wanted a very simple cartoon monster, in color, and you wanted it animated, and you weren't going to be picky about how it looked. About the cheapest you could get that might be $5 per frame of animation.

Thank you both!

I have one more question.
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Ok, I'm not going to employ someone in a building, I want just the artwork, so selling by the piece is what I want.

But after that, can I use that artwork only in the one game or more? Or do I have to talk about this with the artist?

--
What about percentages? Are they used? For example, my team consists of me and a person that makes the music. If I decide to give him a percentage, what is good amout?10%, 20% etc?

and final:
Let's say I have bought artwork from someone for $20 and I used it in my game, and the game is sold and I make some money. Do I have to give him some?

If I were a 2D artist, I would want to get paid millions of dollars.

Just a few friendly words of warning from personal experience:

Make sure you make a comprehensive list of ALL art assets you need before you get started paying anyone. Don't be optimistic, and leave the "simple" things out. In my experience if I haven't done a piece of art by the time I go to try to hire somebody, I'm never going to do it.

Once you have made the list, have the artist you want to go with quote the whole thing, and decide if you want to commit that much money (for anything other than a very simple game, it will likely be thousands of dollars). I made the mistake of trying to go at it a few pieces at a time. After a few months, I had a lot of great art to show for it, but I was out $400 and nowhere near all the art I needed to complete my game (although to be fair it was a full-fledged 2D multiplayer RTS game). At that point, I balked and ended up just finishing the gameplay with the art that I had, and moving on. Besides, it had already done its duty as a portfolio piece by this time (the main reason I had $400 to blow on art in the first place ).

As for your other questions, you only have to give someone a % of the money made if that is specified in the contract you both sign. Make sure you understand game dev law (I believe there is a section of the forums here called Law of Game Development where you can find contract templates etc.).

Most artists will want to just be paid up front when dealing with unestablished indie game designers. Some might be willing to work with you for a reduced price and a % of royalties, but this will still usually be expensive (they have to pay the bills afterall).

--
What about percentages? Are they used? For example, my team consists of me and a person that makes the music. If I decide to give him a percentage, what is good amout?10%, 20% etc?

Anything really. The more the better.

But!

This does not mean that royalties is all there is. Trying to get work for free under promise of royalties will not get you anyone worth hiring.

So if paying royalties that simply means: full price in advance + royalties. Royalties and other bonuses are used when hiring high profile people who would otherwise have too many different opportunities, so they are an incentive to join you.

Let's say I have bought artwork from someone for $20 and I used it in my game, and the game is sold and I make some money. Do I have to give him some?[/quote]Depends on the licensing of their work, the contract you signed and other factors.

Generally you will need a written paper contract that transfers the ownership of their entire work to you. If they are smart, they will only sign this after they have been paid in full. If they don't, then the "employer" doesn't really need to pay anything and can just go and use the work done. It's details like this that will show the experienced people who have worked in such situations before from someone just looking for quick buck.

In addition, anything you receive from them you will want to make a copy of, perhaps even a printout, then put it in a sealed envelope, containing all relevant documents and perhaps have it signed by lawyer of sorts. Then store this in a vault in a bank or somewhere. This is protection for you. They might reuse the work they did, sell it to someone else, and that one can, at some later date, come after you, suing you for copyright violation. It happens. Surprisingly often. There are shops that specialize into this full time.


If you are a beginner at this, be careful. Even though it's most often the employers that take advantage, the reverse is common as well. The only advice that will hold true is: You get what you pay for. There will be no end of people offering to work for $5/hour. There is a reason they don't come visit you in person, in a suit, with a thick binder containing portfolio with an hourly rate of $500.

You always *always* get what you pay for.