Hire artists? Work with an Outsourcing art studio? Pros & Cons
One thing’s for sure: someone has to handle your game art. Be it someone on your team or an outsourcing art studio like ours, you need them. And you need them to deliver. There are obvious things that come to mind like:
“How much dinero will it cost me?”
“Does their work match what we need?"
“Will we get along and have a smooth collab?"
We’ll tackle that and more in a comparison-style… type… thing.
You’ll get it. Just read along.
How much does it really cost me?
Hiring an artist
Of course, you’ll need to pay this person a salary (and the “fun” taxes that come along with it, insurance, etc. etc.).
You’ll also have to invest in this person.
You need to make sure they have the right equipment to work on. The workstation with all the tools required by an artist doesn’t necessarily come cheap.
You’ll want to provide them with additional training support, send them to courses and events. All that good stuff that keeps them in the loop with the current tech and techniques.
More than anything, you need to take care of these people.
They need a work environment that doesn’t stress them and murders their creativity.
They need creative breaks and proper rest.
Taking care of these aspects is crucial if you want your artists to fire on all cylinders.
Contracting an outsourcing art studio
You pay the art studio what they’re owed and that's the end of it. This gives you better control over your costs. You’ll have a clear breakdown of how much it all costs and why.
No extra taxes, insurance, benefits, bonuses, yada yada.
You don’t need to pay for our equipment; we have our own.
You don’t need to invest in our training.
What level of expertise do I need?
Hiring an artist
Looking at it from a higher level, you can put an artist in one of these three buckets:
Amateur - they have no formal training, they’re messing around, and the quality of their work is just that: amateurish
Self-taught - these people are compensating for their lack of formal training with a learning-by-doing approach
Professional - these are what you would call career artists. Art is a way of life for these folks. They are professionals who honed their craft in art schools. They make a living out of it. And you’ll see their work being featured in bigger projects.
You can usually get away with this if you have a very specific art need. But you’ll also open yourself up to getting someone who doesn’t have the proper expertise to support your project.
Contracting an outsourcing art studio
If you require the highest quality level, this is the option you want to go with. This is where you will find the professionals. This is how you get talent who is properly trained and has the credits to back themselves up.
More importantly, you get access to talent that can fulfill multiple needs. Because let’s be honest. As talented as one person can be, they cannot have the same level of expertise in all areas of their discipline.
Even if they did, an individual is limited by their own time and energy.
It’s not that easy for a group of specialized artists to run into these issues.
How much time can I spend searching?
Hiring an artist
It has the word “hiring” in it. Which means a longer process of scouting, filtering candidates, organizing interviews, evaluating art tests, negotiating…
You get the point. It’s not a walk in the park.
Contracting an outsourcing art studio
This takes less time because you can essentially:
look if their portfolio includes similar projects
ask for an initial meeting to present your needs & requirements
ask for a quote and a cost breakdown
negotiate & shake hands if everything aligns
How involved CAN I be in the process?
Hiring an artist
Having an internal hire means they’re at your beck and call during their work schedule. If you need to ask them for additional deliverables, changes, or want to coordinate with them, you will have an easier time.
Contracting an outsourcing art studio
You need to be more deliberate with your time and their time in this case. You’ll both want to establish:
realistic deadlines
regular feedback sessions
a good communication flow
Is this a short-term need?
Hiring an artist
You more or less commit yourself to a long-term collaboration in this instance. You’ve spent so much time finding them, hiring them, handling all the paperwork, salary, and taxes. All this fuss doesn’t make sense if you will let them go in a couple of months or weeks.
There’s also the risk that they won’t fit with the next project.
Which can lead to you going back to the hiring rodeo. Yeehaw!
Contracting an outsourcing art studio
You have more flexibility in this scenario, as you can swing both ways.
Got a specific need that you need to handle quickly, like key art, trailers, capsule art, etc.?
Request the service.
Negotiate the price.
Get what you need.
Move on.
Got a long-term project instead?
You have the FLEXIBILITY to ask for a service package, as an art studio can provide you with experts in more than one field.
For example, just click on Outsourcing Art Services at the top of the page and see how many aspects of your art pipeline we can handle.
These are just a few of the factors you need to keep in mind when deciding between hiring an artist or reaching out to a professional outsourcing art studio like ours.
At the end of the day, it's a matter of which one of us can best fulfill your current needs.
If getting an artist on your team solves your problems, go for it.
If getting a team like us solves your problems, go for it.