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How do I find artists to work on my game?

I am trying to commission an artist to do professional work for my game Fimbulvetr. A sample of the current state of the game can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN90R-yCy14

Of course, my intention here is neither to advertise the game itself here, nor to make said request for an artist to this community, as neither of those would be appropriate questions. Viewing my work-in-progress, however, may help understand the circumstances.

The issue is that my project is significantly larger-scoped than it seems most Indie Artists are used to. Containing large amounts of elements from Fighting Games, the project is designed to possess no less than 8 fully-animated fighting game characters, with several hundred frames of animation each.

The game currently uses much filler art, all created by myself personally. Not only are they low-quality stick-figures, meant only to visually articulate the motions and designs and not to be permanent, but they also take a huge portion of my time away from programming, of which I am also the sole group member.

I have attempted no less than 4 times so far to find an artist who would be willing to take up the job, but each time it has ended the same: they do a small amount of work, and then give up. While personal, specific reasons are always involved, I suspect similar psychology behind the reasoning. It could be simply a matter of bad luck, or perhaps not.

Is there a particularly tried-and-true method of finding someone to do such work? I would like to be as professional as possible in this endeavor. I am offering significant payment for the services, attempting to manage reasonable schedules, and doing everything else I can think of to make this as professional, efficient, motivating, and successful as possible.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Basically, find a professional. Make an agreement. A professional is far less likely to quit mid way. Professionals work for money, if you're offering money, they'll work. \$\endgroup\$ – MichaelHouse♦ Jan 16 '13 at 1:18
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think the essence of the question here is - what sort of agreement does a programmer have to draw up for an artist? I've seen similar discussions about commissioning music and the answers were detailed enough to warrant discussion. \$\endgroup\$ – Kylotan Jan 16 '13 at 2:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Byte56 I understand that on the surface, this question might seem basic or trivial... But the act of "Finding someone who is professional" is not as easy as it sounds. Indeed, that is why I have attempted to do, and failed at thus far - it is the very crux of my question. \$\endgroup\$ – Southpaw Hare Jan 16 '13 at 2:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Byte56 Indeed, that topic seems similar and helpful. It does however cover heavily the concept of trying to get artists to work for free (whether or not that was the original intent of the question-asker is debatable). Needless to say, I specifically want to avoid that - I am willing to pay, and believe that it will help my odds substantially. If anything, I need sound, ethical advice on how to correctly use my money. \$\endgroup\$ – Southpaw Hare Jan 16 '13 at 6:27
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    \$\begingroup\$ Do you have an idea why all the people you hired gave up? \$\endgroup\$ – Philipp Jan 16 '13 at 8:53

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