Artists! (Patreon)

Higher backers! If there was ever a time to influence this Patreon, it's now!

I have spent a ton of time going through all kinds of artists. I'm sure I've considered hundreds of profiles, and I've emailed several dozen artists. Now it is finally time to make a post about it.

The biggest problem with picking any artist for TLS is that starting with them would lock me into a specific style. I don't want to end up with a game where the art is all mismatched, but I can't necessarily rely on a commissioned artist to stick around forever (and getting other people to match a style is hard and usually expensive). Also, a ton of the good artists double or triple their prices for commercial use, and I can't afford $400+ a picture. T-T

Potential TLS Artist

Not to bury the lead, I am seriously considering an artist for TLS. You can see this work here:

http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/nesoun

Well, what do you guys think? He shows some flexibility, but the core of his work is in the style I want for TLS: more toward anime than realistic, but with just an edge of realism. I'd be happy to see TLS done in this style, he has a long track record, and he said he was amenable to an ongoing project, but I wanted to run the decision past everyone first in case there's some huge red flag I'm not seeing.

Potential Art Plans

One difficult question, of course, is how to go about starting on art for such a huge game. I mean, the upcoming version will have 68 plot sex scenes and 33 affection-based scenes (though the actual number is lower, since there are a few variants and some are inaccessible) - it will take a long time to catch up.

My current plan is to start by getting a generic picture of each harem member (ie, just them having sex in a basic position). These would serve as one of their final CGs but also a placeholder for all their other scenes. Doing it this way, in about ten pictures, the vast majority of scenes would have at least something visual. Then we could go back and start doing individual scenes.

Going by this plan, the prologue wouldn't get any art for a long time. I seriously considered getting some truly awful art for all the Chosen scenes, because I find that idea hilarious, but I probably have a big enough problem giving people the wrong impression already. =P

Ouroboros Artist 

I have somebody I'd like to commission for version 2.0 of Ouroboros, and we're actually already in talks. You can see his work here:

http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/Santystuff

His style is a little simple, but I think that is actually a nice fit for the cartoonish MV aesthetic. This will probably be a one-off commission regardless, but do mention if you like or dislike his art style since he has been quick and professional so far.

EDIT: I have added the shaded versions of the first CG in an attachment! Please do check them out and provide critiques if you like.

Other Artists 

I don't want all my work searching/contacting artists to go to waste, so I've compiled a list of those who replied to my emails, appear to have a professional work ethic, and have a style with something to recommend it. Please do mention if you particularly love or hate any of them, since I'd like to have a list prepared for potential future side projects. Suggestions for artists I didn't list here are welcome, though do bear in mind that prices usually skyrocket for commercial commissions and I'm not made of money. 

Artists are in no particular order:

Aeeldora: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/Aeeldora

Solid anime style, though I'm a little nervous about the lack of detail on the male bodies and the short commission history.

Sexgazer: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/sexgazer

Somewhat flexible style, which is nice, but I'm not sure about the price to speed/quality ratio.

Knightfang: http://forums.hentai-foundry.com/viewtopic.php?t=58030&sid=6a703e88c4beecea0c45798dd30d7379

While I really like the clean style, I worry it may be a little too simple. Also not much of a commission history.

Ringsel: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/ringsel

Decent style and great speed/price, but I don't like the way he does hair.

Sulkpuffer: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/sulkpuffer

While most of his pictures have a very soft, thick-lined style, some show that he's capable of a tighter style that's really quite nice. This guy at his best can be really good, but it's hard to know when I haven't worked with him. If I didn't have concerns about his endurance, I might have really considered him, so I wish I could trial him on some other project.

Dieleth: http://www.hentai-foundry.com/pictures/user/Dieleth

Definitely skilled, but a lot of his faces are in a style of semi-realism that just doesn't quite work for me. I gave this guy some serious thought, though.

Please give me your thoughts! I've been working on this for a long time, so it would be nice to finally move forward, but I don't want to move hastily. If going through all those artists feels like it would take a while, please do at least check out Nesoun for TLS - I'm anxious to get feedback here!