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How to Hire a great 2D Artist?
Looking to hire a great 2D artist? But not sure what exactly to look for in your ideal candidate?
If you can relate to the above questions, chances are high that you are looking for the best 2D artist(s) for your ambitious project but arent quite experienced at separating an average artist from a great one.
Your confusion isnt going to last long as in this post we are going to look at the skills/traits that you should seek in your would-be 2D artist:
Check if they are good with creativity or software
First, according to the requirements of the project, you have to decide whether you need a creative person who has a free hand at crafting drawings and sketch arts or the one who is good at creating digital images, which need certain kinds of software and tools. A good look at their portfolio will help you decide which category your prospect employee belongs to.
They should be well-acquainted with both Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
Knowing one program/tool is never enough, especially in todays times when you have to compete with hundreds or sometimes thousands others with a similar skill set.
Thus, the least that you can expect from a good 2D artist is that they are decent enough at using both the Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.
They must ask questions
A good 2D artist goes deep into the requirements of a project in order to deliver quality work on time. As an employer, you can check this by asking them to draw a sample 2D character or environment. Just provide them a few vague details and see how good they are at asking further questions necessary to a satisfying end-product.
In case they are not keen on asking questions or are hesitant to do the same, consider moving over to your next prospect.
Their Portfolio should fit the profile being applied for
As with any other company, there are a number of job profiles in a gaming organization. So if you post a job vacancy for a particular profile, youll end getting resumes from every other person who might remotely have the knowledge, skill set and the experience (if required) you are looking for.
This case is particularly common in high populous countries, where one individual faces so many hurdles before landing a job that they keep applying for whatever vacancies pop-up.
So, in case you have just begun in the hiring space, dont end up bringing an undeserving person on-board by just taking a brief look at their portfolios. Go slowly through the previous projects undertaken by your candidate. In minutes, youll know if this is the 2D artist who would do justice to your project.
They should be willing to learn new technologies
A good artist never runs away from learning new technologies and acquiring new skills. In the contemporary world, where the technology is evolving at a rapid pace, introducing us to new programs, tools and software every now and then, this quality is of the utmost importance if you are looking for a long fruitful association with your would-be artist.
Check for reviews/feedback from previous employers
Checking for reviews on a freelance website is easy. If an artist receives regular reviews from different employers, then you can fairly assume that those reviews are genuine. So you can go by the words written in them.
The major concern, however, arises when you have to look for the track record of a full-time employee with the companies they have worked with over the years. The few lines of satisfaction written on the relieving/experience certificates are not enough to judge how easily a person would come on the same page as his other team members. As gaming is a complete team effort, you need employees who put aside their egos and personal differences and work as a single-unit without playing the blame game in times of adversity.
Confirm if the salary/fee your 2D artist is seeking is not over-the-top
Some freelancers charge very high for a number of reasons- they may be great at what they do and may have a number of projects in hand; they might be living under delusion, overestimating their worth in a market thats highly saturated; or they may be new to the freelance marketplace, unbeknown of the justified market prices.
If you are also new to hiring on a freelance marketplace, make sure you dont end up paying a lot higher than what your freelancer actually deserves.
This aspect isnt much of an issue when it comes to hiring a full-time employee, as you are in complete control of everything, with no restrictions form a mediating platform or marketplace, where you have to meet all the obligations, whether fair or unfair. Many dissatisfied employers who have failed to meet the aforesaid obligations (such as defaulting on payment) are straight-away banned from many reputed freelance websites.