Hey there artists! Sorry for the text wall, but I wanted to lay this out as cleanly as I can. I'm building a story-driven, satire-leaning Victorian-era estate management/dating sim in Ren'Py (at least for now; we'll see if it stays Ren'Py forever). It's a self-funded hobby project, no hard deadline or timeline, looking to do this properly rather than fast. A little about me Indie hobbyist, self-funded, time-rich rather than budget-rich, first time actually trying to make a game and second time commissioning specifically for it (a month or so ago I inquired about sprites! I have since set up this account to seem semi-competent – same guy though). I've tried to think through this carefully, but I'm genuinely open to being told something here is impractical, over-scoped, or not worth what I'm saying it's worth. I don't want to be a difficult client, I just don't yet know where the real lines are! But I'm trying! The game The game is an adult (18+) turn-based dating/life management sim and visual novel. You play the new master of a ruined Victorian country house across a fifty-year life: restoring the estate, building and running a household of maids and romancing them if you choose, courting a wife, courting other people too, trying to not get caught, and living with the consequences of your actions while you try to keep it all together to the end. As best as I can and this is an area of ongoing work for me, it also tries to at least be honest to the perspective of women of this era - including those you build relationships with - and the complex social and economic circumstances that many women, of lower and upper classes, had to navigate. It’s a story about reputation, choices, secrets and legacy, told with a dry sense of humor and an ambition to be fun, funny, and fappable as we lean into the absurdity of both the era and the premise of the game itself. The work The game leans into an homage to Victorian-era woodblock artwork (and otherwise, writings and such from the era from Europe and North America – Scarlet Letter, My Secret Life, stuff from Dickens and Jane Austen and the Brontës, etc). Sprites/chibis and backgrounds reflect (more or less) the period with a little anachronism that's poked fun at in-game. But what I think really defines it is the ambition for these kinds of monochrome dense black ink on sepia images. The game uses them for backdrops, and marks its milestone moments with full-screen illustrations we've been calling “plates”: a wedding, a first child, a gala, a scandal breaking, household drama, recurring and one-time events, etc. A story of a life told over decades – and not just the player's, but everyone else's too. There are a lot of them planned in the current greybox build – by current counts 324, and I might end up with something around 340-350 by the end – and my funding goal is tied to commissioning them in batches over time if the game has a fan base that can support that, so this could be a long-running relationship for the right artist(s). The style Victorian engraving and woodblock-print style: dense monochrome linework and cross-hatching. I have "examples", but, see below! I want to be totally transparent about how I've been using placeholder AI images to feel out the game, and my ambition of replacing all AI images with human-made images. Black ink on an aged sepia or parchment-type ground. Period costume, albeit somewhat anachronistic, and interiors, roughly the mid-to-late 1800s. Scenes range from a single figure to full ballroom crowds. Some scenes are just variations on the same, reflecting an aging player with all-else-held-equal; others are more intricate, at least as envisioned. Plate content is mostly SFW – the NSFW comes with the sprite work and planned sex scene cgs – but some plates can be adult themed and/or suggestive. There's a lot of pregnancy content by implication and indication and implications of sex having happened recently. There's no nudity in the plates, but the game itself is definitely targeting an 18+ crowd that appreciates my attempts at Victorian-era smut and making fun of it. About the current art (PLEASE READ AND TRY NOT TO HATE ME) The game’s plates are currently AI-generated placeholders, and the plan is to replace every one with human-made art. The public demo, whenever it's ready, and the final build, will only have human-made art. Full stop. If the game dies for want of funds to make it happen, then that's how it goes. I used AI to help me get to this point with visualizing what things could look like; it's not what I want the game to have when others play it. That’s the point of this commission. Gemini being Gemini too, as much as I could control for it there're inconsistencies across the plates that just go to show why you can't replace human creativity just yet. I've debated with myself whether I should aspire to doing the artwork myself, and I might – but, given the number of plates and my latent perfectionism, I'd still want a professional artist or artists (you) involved. Ultimately, if this goes into like a real project, for each piece you’d get a written brief where needed plus the placeholders as a rough composition reference, and I want to be really open and accessible too to discuss with you the ideas overall, the goals of the scenes and where they fit into the game and story, and let you have space to cook and get creative too! THAT SAID – If you’d rather not work from an AI image at all, say so, and I’ll give you the brief and period references instead. My hope is that reference images can help give ideas (and, to be honest, reduce some costs too – but you deserve what you're worth for your skill, and I don't want to shortchange you either!). The test piece (paid!) I’m starting with a paid test and a few artists: one plate, the same brief for everyone who'd be selected to do it, at your normal rate for the complexity and nature of a project like that. If it’s a fit, ongoing work will follow in batches (though when I can't exactly say; I'm hoping to have the core game and the demo build ready in Spring/Q2 next year). To give you an idea: the demo build's content will be the first batch, a total of around 40ish plates as of right now. This is an early search: I’m building a shortlist now, with paid tests now, and batch commissions will follow as the project’s funding comes in. I’d rather find the right artist early than rush later – getting this right is important! My goal for this game would be that it's fun. If it goes public and people pay for it and I end up breaking even – great, icing on the cake. What I want is people to think it's fun and smart, and hey if I can land an Overwhelmingly Positive score for clever writing and good artistry, that means more to me than paying off my student loans right away. Details Budget: test plate – maybe $100ish? Honestly, question #1 from me over email with you would be "Hey, here are 3 of the placeholder plates – what would YOU estimate your time and skill for to do something based on each of them, respectively?" Then I'd pick one and make that the test for the shortlisters. For long-term, I'd hope we can find a price point that works for us both that delivers batches of work to you and receives them from you that works out for both our budgets. The test is paid in full whatever happens next though. Delivery: ideally 3840×2160 (16:9), with 2560×1440 as the minimum. PNG, please. Ren'Py seems to do well with this, and currently I have it set to run at 1920x1080. Rights: for the test – commercial use in the game if we proceed ahead and its promotion. You keep portfolio rights for the test. Payment: I'll Paypal you of course, half/half if you prefer. To apply: reply or DM with a portfolio link, ideally ink or engraving work and figures in period dress. Please say whether you’re comfortable with adult themes and having your work alongside adult content! AND – if you just want to be like "hey man, neat game idea" or "hey man, fuck you" – that's cool too (though one of those will be more appreciated than the other). Feel free to also comment or DM with any other input, like if you think I'm way off base on anything. I'm doing my best not to be, but I'm new to this and will make mistakes as I learn.   submitted by   /u/Sterlingandassoc [link]   [comments]