Navigating Artist Payment: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Underpaying Artists Harms Projects

A core problem faced during game development is artists not receiving fair payment for their work. This results in negative impacts to game quality, staff morale, and studio reputations. Specific issues include:

Inferior art assets – Unpaid or underpaid artists cannot fully devote time/energy into creating high-quality art, models, textures, animations, etc. This directly lowers the visual polish of games.
High artist turnover – Talented artists leave projects or studios due to unfair payment practices, resulting in recruiting/training costs and project delays.
Damaged studio reputations – Word spreads quickly in the game dev community about studios that underpay or refuse payment to artists. This makes hiring top talent much more difficult.

By establishing fair artist payment standards and managing budgets responsibly, studios can avoid these pitfalls and enable artists to do their best work.

Establishing Payment Standards

When determining appropriate payment for game artists, common industry standards to follow include:

Table of Contents

Entry-level artists: $15-25 USD per hour
Mid-level artists: $25-50 USD per hour
Senior/Lead artists: $50-100+ USD per hour

These hourly rates should be adjusted based on the total project scope and duration. Use the following formula to calculate a fair fixed rate for an artist:

totalPayment = hourlyRate * estimatedHours

So for example, to pay a mid-level artist working full-time for 6 months at $35/hour with a 40 hour work week:

totalPayment = $35 * 40 hours/week * 24 weeks = $33,600

Be sure to reevaluate required hours as the project progresses to ensure artists are fairly compensated if the scope increases.

Formalizing Agreements

To avoid payment issues, studios should formalize artist agreements as early as possible with contracts covering:

Clearly defined scope of work
Milestones and delivery schedule
Payment amount, terms and methods
Revisions policy
Rights to final artwork

Having written contracts with specific details and signed approval from both parties sets clear expectations and reduces chances for confusion and disagreements later on.

Payment Methods and Schedules

Common artist payment methods include:

Up front payment – Paying a percentage before work begins helps the artist dedicate their full efforts.
Milestone payments – Scheduled payments after completing key milestones motivates progress.
Royalties – Artists earn a percentage of game profits allowing them to share in the success.

Hybrid approaches are also effective, such as:

Smaller up front + milestone payments
Reduced hourly/fixed rate + revenue share

The “best” approach depends on studio budget constraints and project uncertainties. Frequent payment check-ins ensure artists stay fairly compensated as work continues.

Avoiding Scope Creep

“Scope creep” refers to unplanned expansion of artist responsibilities without corresponding payment increases. Strategies to avoid scope creep include:

Change management plans – Require proposed scope changes be submitted in writing and go through structured approval process before artists begin work.
Updated contracts – If new work is approved, immediately update contracts to reflect revised payment figures, timeline, etc.
Work monitoring – Closely monitor hourly contributors to ensure they aren’t going far beyond original time estimates without compensation reviews.

Scope creep burns out artists, reduces team productivity, and ultimately damages game quality. Setting clear expectations upfront and managing changes prevents these problems.

Managing Budget Overages

Despite best efforts, development costs can sometimes exceed original budgets. When this happens with artist payments, studios can respond by:

Renegotiating contracts – Discuss reducing hourly rates or asset counts to fit within remaining budget.
Seeking additional funding – This allows maintaining original scope/compensation but is often challenging.
Cutting planned features/assets – Prioritize remaining work by cutting low-value polish items.

Ideally artist payment figures directly tie to specific deliverables in contracts, allowing easiest path to descoping if needed. Regular status checks also help spot budget overrun risk early.

Maintaining Positive Relationships

To enable ongoing collaboration throughout a project, studios should:

Provide prompt payment feedback if issues arise
Ask for artist input when considering contract changes
Show appreciation for artist flexibility amidst roadblocks
Consider bonus/incentives for extra effort beyond expectations

Treating artists as valued partners through open communication and respect – rather than just vendors or expendable laborers – generates goodwill and often higher quality work.