Role playing game artist wanted.

[limejello]

Roleplaying game artist wanted:

Must be willing to work long hours for little to no money.

Female and amiable to constant sexual harrasment a plus.

Okay in all seriousness I'm trying to put out a mecha based rpg and while I'm currently editing the introductory novel and no where near finished with the actual rpg book I thought I might start looking for an artist. I can pay you but I don't have alot of money so if you're a young artist this would be your chance to break into the industry and if you'd be happy just to put something in your portfolio/resume that would be preferable. Please let me know if you're interested.

[limejello]

Wow thanks guys I got 11 pms I was expecting one or two....I'll reply asap.

[Platinguard]

Can you reply even if we don't have it just so we don't have to wait for a reply thats not coming. Sorry, just makes life easier and it gets to the point.

[Ebony-chan]

No offense guys. But the employer doesn't have to reply to anyone they don't want to. This is just like any other job if their interested they will hit you back if they don't oh well.Suck it up it's apart of freelancing.

[Amber Alexander]

Yeah its best to assume everything you apply for is a "no" until you have a signed contract so don't wait around, just keep applying for work. Some people who post here get 50+ offers so it really is unreasonable to ask them to reply, although it is appriciated when they do.

[Hellblaze123]

replying to each one is insane lol, but a simple post on here saying your still looking or something of that nature, lets us who already applied know we were not chosen, though i believe you two are right, it is a bit much to ask for a reply till they find the one they want.

[Platinguard]

You have a good point. Didnt think of it like that. I guess its a no then but I am new to this after all. just gotta keep practicing and try again. :)

[limejello]

oh sorry guys I didn't mean to keep you all waiting I was trying to be thurough in typeing this up also the forums have a stupid 5000 word limit so it makes replying that much harder especially as I'm now having connection issues.
But I have been getting so many replies I'm just going to post the info here.

Anyway the game is going to be called Operator (because the pilots of the mecha are referred to as operators). set in 2315 It is hard science fiction and revolves around a group of six international political blogs (all of which are real groups) that are fighting to control and redraft the UN in their image of utopia after failed international space policies have led to chaos around the solar system.
The mecha in the game will be of the fast maneuverable anime inspired genre. However I also want them to be realistic. Nothing artsy or unnecessary about them. They should look cold and practical, mechanical and unemotional. Also bear in mind they should be scary looking, remember these are for killing people. While they might be beautiful in their own predatory way they should be darkly beautiful and intimidating. Avoid making them look evil however, while these are akin to angels of death they are still being piloted for a noble cause. Also in a bit of a twist they have no weapons or equipment. Instead these mecha use a hard point system to equip whatever they need when they need it. Weapons and equipment designs are separate and will be designed later. As such they are all humanoid with two arms, hands and legs (though I plan to introduce 4 legged mecha later). They should also be roughly fifty feet tall give or take (none of those twenty foot ones you see in animes like Appleseed).
Now when designing military vehicles I find most people have no concept of ballistic physics and that's something I want to change with these mecha. So I wanted to teach you some stuff about ballistic physics (and if nothing else you'll know far more about making a realistic vehicle than other artists). Alright the first thing I should mention: NO GLASS COCKPITS! Glass is far easier to break than steel and how ever thick it can be made the same thickness of depleted uranium will be stronger. Also make sure their feet are wide, no skinny bird toes here. Placing all that weight on a such a small area would make it sink into the ground. The next thing I want to address is sloped armor and angles. Now in real life a tank's angles are "sloped" meaning they are on an inclined plane. This redirects some of the kinetic energy away from an impact. To do this the angles "slope" away from the center of a vehicle. If armor is shaped like a funnel however it will magnify the kinetic energy into a single point making it more likely to pierce a vehicles armor. So avoid anything that juts out. Keep it as smooth as possible. Direction of the slope is also important. When designing an angle keep in mind that it should send the blow away from vital areas. If it angles it towards something important or vulnerable that's bad. Try to imagine it as facing upwards and dropping a marble on it if it rolls slowly bounces or stops that's bad rolling down quickly is good. It should be aerodynamic. Though you are trying to reduce the force of a blow rather than the angle of the wind the same principles apply.

[limejello]

If you notice on an M1-A1 Abrams the hull armor slopes downward which would cause a shell to ricochet into the ground rather than the turret. The angles of the turret are designed to deflect the round in the opposite direction (away from the hull). The sides of the turret are also sloped to direct impacts away from the main gun. The only part of the Armor that is not sloped is the sides which are protected instead by reactive armor (armor which is designed to explode outward when struck further reducing the speed of the opposing shell).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Abrams-transparent.png
Early tanks like the British mark IV Tadpole were designed with side sponsons turrets. However modern tanks opt for a single large turret because these acted as bullet traps catching shells which would otherwise have bounced off.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:British_Mark_IV_Tadpole_tank.jpg
An example of a terribly designed vehicle is this t4-b from Star Wars. Not only do most of its angles funnel kinetic energy towards the center but in that center is a glass cockpit. Now granted it blasters use thermal energy so that's not an issue as much but glass is still easier to melt than metal.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Eaw_t4b.jpg

now after looking online I think the best example of what I'm looking for is armored core. Not only do most of its mecha have proper angles but they also move like I envision my mecha moving. I also like the elongated head design. I have both pictures and movies I suggest you study.
http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS314US315&q=armored+core&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=kN9cSua0FIiylAfNzrXoDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=armored+core&search_type=&aq=f

For the moment I only need one mech designed: the M-1 bigfoot. The big foot is a heavy mech (65 tons or so) used by the Organization of American states and designed by General motors. It will appear on the cover of the introductory novel and later in the game book itself. I was hoping to have the chest jut out to a point with the abdominal trunk formed like a front face wedge and the same pointed head design you see in the armored core materials.

[limejello]

Btw I also want to make it clear that my total art budget is (alot) less than $500 not $500 per picture. I'm starting to wonder if I should have posted this in the non-paying job section. Also I'm going to pay when the pictures are done rather than in advance...I've had quite a few artists drop off the face of the earth without finishing (or starting) this job.

Anyway I'd like to see some rough ideas from everyone.

[Cottonballs00]

Btw I also want to make it clear that my total art budget is (alot) less than $500 not $500 per picture. I'm starting to wonder if I should have posted this in the non-paying job section. Also I'm going to pay when the pictures are done rather than in advance...I've had quite a few artists drop off the face of the earth without finishing (or starting) this job.

Anyway I'd like to see some rough ideas from everyone.

Payed on completion sounds good. What would be the payment for a single black and white image or full color image?

[limejello]

Also I think this guy has a well designed mecha I like the lower torso/hip area coming into the upper torso....I think that's what we should go for. Tryo to make his lower torso some to a point facing the front.
http://www.conceptart.org/?artist=steak-tron

Btw it would be full color but again it's not per image I'm going to need enough for a book...so maybe $10 an image? I know that's terrible pay but I don't have a lot of money for this which is why I'm looking for someone fresh who is willing to work for less.

[Hyver]

lol

move this to non-paying already

[J Wilson]

Having very very specific ideas about what you want, and a very limited budget, is likely to be an artistic nightmare. I can easily see this being one of those jobs that has revision after revision. Not because I think your intentions are bad, but simply because you seem to be passionate about the exact specifications you would like to see.

You might have better luck finding people who are amiable to that kind of work in the non paying forum, although I respect your offer to pay at least something to the artist. Artists in the non paying forum might be more likely to spend the extra time to get it right without caring about the dollar amount on the line. I'll be happy to move the thread if you'd like, just send me a PM with the request.

[Amber Alexander]

yeah the artist you referenced probably makes $40/hour, you're not going to find that quality at $10 per image. Since you're searching for a new artist they probably don't work too fast. I'm relatively new and it takes me 8-10 hours per full color illustration so they'd be making about $1 per hour. I'm not saying that's not ok, everyone new starts somewhere just be reasonable with your expectations.

[limejello]

Actually I did find a designer I wanted.... What I'm going to do from here is use him as my main concept artist and anyone else who wants to submit illustrations is welcome to do so.

I understand the price problems and I've turned down several pros already not because their bad but because I can't afford them. Though anyone illustrating for me also has plenty of time as I am not planning to release this book for a year or so.