Seeking Cover Art

[drkrash]

I am presently writing a supplement for an indie horror-action role-playing game. 

I am looking for a piece of art that I could license for a single use as the cover for the book.  The book will be available on lulu as pdf and print-on-demand.

I need something color, 8.5 x 11, and scanned at 300 dpi.

I'm flexible regarding the specifics of the piece, as long as it fits the idea of modern supernatural horror.  The game in question is about modern demon hunters fighting demons with guns and black magic.

I am willing to pay via PayPal for use of the art.  I'm trying to keep my budget around $35 for this single use.  Of course, full credit will be included in the work.  I anticipate the book will be finished and available before the end of 2009. 

Please contact me via email at drkrash1969 at Yahoo if you may be able to help me out.
Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
drkrash

[greyorm]

I'm curious: why so low? ($25 is a general hobby standard for a quarter page black-and-white illo.)

[Lance D. Allen]

Raven,

Maybe I've not been paying close enough attention, but that is the FIRST mention of any sort of pricing standard for art, and I've been looking. I've wondered for a long time what I could reasonably expect to pay for art.. I've just never been far enough in a project to waste specific artists' time by contacting them about it.

Some sort of well-known standard would be nice, from the developer's side of things.
drkrash,

Raven has done a fair amount of art I would associate with the supernatural and horror, modern or otherwise. He'd be a good person to talk to. Also, Northerain (http://northerain.deviantart.com/) also has some very evocative art, and works almost exclusively in the horror genre.

[drkrash]

As to "why so low," I was informed by the person I'm working with, who has several successful indie RPG projects, that this should be a perfectly doable price for the this kind of project.  I got the price from him; this is all new to me.  I am not looking to commission art necessarily; I'm quite content with using a piece of existing art.

[greyorm]

Thanks for the plug, Lance!

And you know what? You're right about there not being a good standard source for that info. for designers. I'll write something up based on what I've learned over the last decade and post it in another thread here soon.

Dr, thanks for the answer. I'm kind of surprised at the advice, but OK. For an already sold piece, I can see some artists being just fine with $35; depending on the artist, it might not go over well for a completely new commission. However, it does really depend on the artist, and we do have some great artists hanging around the forums here who love helping out indie projects.

I'm not sure if anything I have would fit your slayers vs. demons concept, but feel free to check out my galleries (links to both can be found on the site in my sig). Hrm, actually I have an old, old piece from years ago that might work. I'll pop a link to it your way if I'm recalling correctly and you're alright with that.

[drkrash]

Sure.  I'd love to see it.  Thanks.

[rafael]

Dr, thanks for the answer. I'm kind of surprised at the advice, but OK. For an already sold piece, I can see some artists being just fine with $35; depending on the artist

I gave him the advice.

While I agree that it's not a lot of money, I think that it's a decent price, considering that the artist doesn't have to do anything except email or upload the image file. It's also a pretty straightforward arrangement -- if the price is too low for an artist, then he won't respond (in general). If the artist is looking to pick up a few bucks, it's a great way to reuse existing art.

The price point is low because the sourcebook probaby isn't going to make a lot of money. That's why drkrash is licensing the art instead of commissioning it. Sites like illodeli (http://www.illodeli.com/?page_id=3&category=7) have streamlined the process. Northerain (aka George Cotronis) has a similar site with similar prices.

Personally, when it comes to cover art, I always put a stake in the ground as far as what I'm willing to pay. There's always someone willing to work for me. If I've got four hundred dollars to burn, like I did with the cover art to Mercy (a game I'm working on at the moment), there's a long line of artists willing to create full-cover color art. If I'm putting out a ten-dollar supplement, and it's only going to clear a hundred bucks, then I'll pay fifty bucks in advance, and I'll get fewer hits (and mostly from new-and-upcoming artists looking for a published credit). But for what it's worth, in seven years of doing this, I've never heard of a hobby standard for illustrations.

[greyorm]

Thanks for weighing in, Rafael. No arguments with your reasoning, that's spot on.