If you don’t have a soul for office work, and you don’t want to waste your nerves on the freelance exchange, then you can sell your art on special markets for game dev artists. We made a selection of the top 5 resources where game art is sold. We share.
About the resource: a store where they sell and buy art and music for games. There are 2D and 3D assets. In addition, a GUI can be purchased or put up for sale here. And if there is nothing suitable, buyers can order art themselves – and artists can fulfill this order. That is, the site is not only an art market, but also a kind of freelance exchange. Note, however, that trading on this exchange is not that brisk. The last offer was received 4 days ago and the author’s response went unnoticed.
Requirements for the works: before the assets are published, they pass moderation within 48 hours. The requirements of the creators of the site are harsh, but inarticulate. Just to quote: “Your assets should truly reflect your skill, talent and creativity. We only accept assets that are not easy to copy, so make sure they have something unique.” In addition, the images should be in a vector, and, as far as possible, in such a way that they can be edited. Plus, all folders inside the asset should be neatly and legibly named. That is, the names of the zzzzz1 format will not pass. But that’s not all. Each asset needs a description and the correct name. For example, a family of crocodiles cannot be called simply “family”. It is necessary to specify the type and color. The photo cover of the asset must be at least 700px wide and 400px high and of good quality. Writing something like “Buy or regret it” or “99% discount” on it is also impossible, they will not accept it. But if they refuse to publish, the reason will be explained in detail.
How they pay: they keep 30% for themselves, and they give 70% of the asset value to the artist. You will get what you earn only if you have more than $50 in your account. Then you will need to send a request, after which the authors of the resource will send money to your PayPal account. This will happen on the 1st or 14th (depending on which date is closer).
Pros: due to the fact that only game art is published here, and besides strictly moderated, the problem of visibility is not as acute as on other resources. There is a chance that (if you pass a strict selection, of course) you will be noticed. Plus there is feedback – that is, you will not have to guess why your asset was rejected.
Minuses: strictly speaking, this is not a minus. But if you find fault, then we don’t like the payout system. The standard asset price is $10. And the payouts, as we mentioned above, start at $50. To just see your money, you will have to sell at least 5 assets. What are the chances that this will happen quickly? That’s how we see an artist who spends weeks looking at the miserable $30 in the account, which he can’t even withdraw.
About the resource: the site is a huge market where, in addition to 2D and 3D game graphics, you can sell videos, templates for websites or audio assets. It consists of several subsections, each of which has been assigned the name of an animal, insect or locality. This was done, we assume, to facilitate navigation and just for beauty. We are interested in the section indicated by the fish – Graphicriver. Here they sell prints, posters, paintings – and game assets. The search is carried out by file type, price and keywords.
Job requirements: there are a lot of them. Each type of content has its own instructions. So, the recommendation on the design of graphic assets very clearly defines what titles should be, what characters should be, and what the background should look like. In addition, the resource has a set of the same draconian design requirements. For example, you need to name folders using both uppercase and lowercase letters (that is, “Folder With Tiles” is ok, FOLDER WITH TILES is not ok, folder with tiles is also not ok). In addition, you can not use subjective expressions – words like “excellent”, “magnificent” and the like (that is, you will not be able to name the folder “Folder With Beautiful Titles”). There is also moderation here. If the assets do not pass it, then the reasons will be explained.
How to pay: the payment system is complicated. Sellers are divided into exclusive (those who sell their products only on this resource) and non-exclusive. The authors pay the store a commission on each product sold. This commission varies from 55% for non-exclusive authors to 12.5-37.5% for exclusive ones (depending on total sales). The more sales, the lower the percentage. For example, let’s take a game asset worth $1. You are an exclusive author whose assets are being actively sold. The commission for you is 12.5%. In this case, your earnings will be 87.5% x $1 = $0.88. You will get this money only once a month – and only after the amount on the account exceeds $ 50. Then the earned money will be transferred to the card.
Payment for the use of the resource: deductions to the site
Pros: A huge playground. Judging by the number of followers in social networks – very popular. The resource promotes its authors (for an increased percentage of sales), conducts promotions and sales. There are several features on the main page – a selection of New (“New”), Free (“Free”) and so on. That is, your assets will not remain without attention.
Cons: Complex payment system. It is unprofitable to sell assets at the same time here and on other sites – then the deductions to the site become much higher. Extremely strict requirements for the design of files.
About the resource: 2D assets, sprites and audio for games are sold here. The creators of the Scirra website are developing Construct 2, a designer of two-dimensional games for Windows.
Requirements for the work: vector and raster in high resolution. Before the assets appear on the site, they will pass moderation. The terms in which the work is being considered are not specified. And the authors of the resource do not report whether they will tell why the assets did not pass moderation.
How to pay: the commission charged by the bank, plus taxes, is deducted from the amount set by the author. Taxes are levied in accordance with the legislation of the United Kingdom and amount to up to 20% (if the purchase is made by residents of the United Kingdom). The money after the purchase will be credited to the account only after 60 days. You will be able to withdraw them only when the balance is at least £25.
The fee for using the resource: a one-time payment of $ 25 – in order to avoid the dominance of low-quality art.
Pros: the creators of the resource claim that they actively promote the work of users. Sales and advertising campaigns are held. In addition, since the authors of the resource are at the same time the creators of the engine, the site is constantly visited by game developers.
Cons: we assume someone may be scared off by a one-time payment. And a very long time from receipt of payment to receipt of the amount on the card.
About the resource: market for buying and selling 2D game art: characters, weapons, GUI, backgrounds and levels. The site has a freelance exchange. Note: to register, you need to throw a link to your portfolio. It will be possible to start selling art only if the level of work is considered acceptable.
How to pay: the site takes 50% of any sale and 20% of a freelance transaction. The art that is sold on this resource can also be sold on other markets (which, by the way, the creators of the site repeatedly emphasize, since they consider this feature a competitive advantage). The money is withdrawn to the PayPal account. There is still an opportunity to make a deal with the developer for royalties. In this case, the site will receive half of the transaction price. But the percentage of sales will be transferred entirely to the author of the art.
Requirements for works: both raster and vector images are accepted. The raster must be of high resolution. Folders in the archived file must be organized “in accordance with common sense,” we quote. It is better not to put inscriptions on the cover photo. In addition, there is a style guide on the site, which is best to adhere to when you design a job.
Fee for using the resource: commission.
Pros: transparent pricing policy. A relatively small number of competitors – there is almost no visibility problem.
Cons: closely adjacent to the pros. Little competition is due to the fact that few people know about the resource. You will be visible, but to whom?
About the resource: the site is focused exclusively on artists and photographers. Sells both traditional art and digital – including game assets.
How they pay: they transfer 100% of the price you set for art to your PayPal account (the store itself makes a small margin when selling, which it takes for itself). However, the market has a condition: within 30 days, the purchase can be returned back. That is, if someone bought your art, then you will see the money not earlier than in a month. Plus, payments are made only on the 15th. So if the picture, for example, was bought on October 17, then the payment will be transferred to you on December 15 (a month from the date of purchase + the number of days before payment).
Requirements for works: Images of any size and quality are accepted. Weight – up to 25 MB, format – jpg, jpeg, png, color model – RGB or Adobe RGB only.
Fee for using the resource: there is a choice – a free account or a paid one. The latter costs $30 per year and gives the owner a number of small advantages. For example, if the buyer decided not just to print an image on canvas, but to add accessories to it, you will receive 5% of the added value. You will be able to pay for a premium account only with a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card.
Pros: No special training is required – there is no need to collect a portfolio and pass a check with it. There are almost no restrictions on the file format.
Cons: visibility problem. The site has a kind of feature – this is the main page and the Popular section. There are two ways to get there. The first is to become a very well-selling artist. The second is to pay. There is also an opportunity to raise your work in search results for a fee. However, even in this case, the art will appear only in the 3rd row from the top – along with other similarly sponsored results. Each time you press the f5 button, this row will be updated, and the number of impressions of your work is unlikely to be very large. And navigation is inconvenient.