Working with an Artist (part 4)

A few things to keep in mind when starting to work with an artist is that they are usually free spirits. What I mean is that artists work at their own pace, don't like deadlines, and often aren't great at communicating through email. One of the roles I've had to assume at Corefun Studios is “art director,” because I need to make sure that the different artists I've worked with all stay within my vision for Solar Echoes. This requires communication with the artist, and it's important that they are receptive to feedback—after all, I'm the one paying. Believe it or not, I have worked with a couple artists in the past that didn't seem to understand this entirely. They insisted on pushing their artistic interpretation or ideas over mine, and it often required extensive emailing to get them onto the same page. One artist actually said in an email that he'd consider changing something, “if he felt like it,” despite me having already given him clear details and reference artwork to work from that he'd ignored completely. Thankfully, this is a rare occurrence, but if you're looking to work with an artist, I'd recommend having decent art skills yourself—or at least specific reference material--so you can accurately describe to the artist what you want. I also recommend establishing with the artist that you'd like to see samples of the progress. For instance, ask to see the line art (the uncolored drawings) before he moves to the final stage of coloring it. Otherwise, it's not fair to the artist if you tell him to change the entire thing after it's finished. Basically, communicate with your artist, as much as necessary. John Fell and I have established a good rhythm of communication during a project, so I have expectations for that with other artists I work with now.