I've seemed to hit a road block in my card game's creation. I need original card templates and images. Fortunately I only need 6-7 different templates but I have over 350 different cards that need over 350 different images.
My game's prototype cards utilize online images. This would be okay if I didn't plan to produce and distribute them.
So basically what I'm asking is, does anyone know how I could get 350+ images for a reasonable price?
images of?
I suspect that your best bet is to find a local artist - perhaps one or more art students at a college - who has done artwork in the vein you're looking for, and license the rights to use already-existing artwork.
Almost any way you slice it, 350 pieces of art is likely to set you back a chunk of cash.
I went down the road InvisibleJon is suggesting, it is a good option but did not work for me because most want the art back if the game is not published. I wanted the art for other things and had no intention of publishing a game. In the end a couple of members suggested Marianne Lins or Andy Nortink. Quotes are free and there is no harm in asking.
Just as an FYI, here's what Steve Jackson Games pays for art:
For each full page (57.5 sq. in. or larger): $150
For each half page (35 sq. in. up to, but not including, 57.5 sq. in.): $75
For each quarter page (15 sq. in. up to, but not including, 35 sq. in.): $50
For each piece of spot art (less than 15 sq. in.): $20
Cover payment varies according to our specific requirements; contact the Art Director.
We sometimes commission original art or diagrams for our online zines. When we do, it must be 72dpi color JPEG, high resolution, between 250x250 pixels and 350x500 pixels in size.
Regardless of size, we pay as follows:
B&W Illos: $25
Color Illos: $35
I found clipart.com to be a good source of prototype art.
Their collection is quite large, and they have good search tools. One of the useful features is "groups": under each image, there is a "browse images in this collection" link that gives you a bunch of images that are similar in style.
I guess you can use the watermarked images for a while to see how they look on your cards and how it all fits together. Once you decided on the set of things you need, and your prototype is close to its final stage, get a 1-week subscription and download those images in nice resolution. They are royalty-free, so if you want to distribute your game, that should be also Ok.
Could you get by with lightly manipulated photos? If so, consider Flickr.
Lots of Flickr users post their photos under Creative Commons licenses. These are of varying strength. A CC BY-ND (No Derivs) or BY-NC (Non Commercial) license would prohibit you from making a derivative work (like game cards) or selling it (which is what you want to do)-- so those won't work. A straight CC BY license, however, would just require that you acknowledge the photographer. A BY-SA (Share Alike) license would allow other people to copy your manipulated version, but wouldn't limit your use of it.
Flickr's advanced search allows you to search only for photos with a specified license. So all you'd need to spend would be the time finding the right photos and the effort to reformat them for your cards.
Of course, this isn't much help if you need dragons or other fantasy elements.
what sort of art are you looking for?
check out my recently created game, i got some shots in the artwok page of this site, and you can check my site dungeonlooter.com either way you can see what my art looks like, I got the artwork and cards printed from them same place in Orlando FL, check them out customizedplayingcards.com they did some awesome work for me, and the cost of the art was included in the production of the cards. Not to mention you become the owner of the art and can do anything you choose with it, no royalties etc.
hope that helps, if you are looking for something more detailed, you may need to find a local artist.. i personally have had very bad luck with online freelance and local artists. good luck.
 | How to design and balance a Rock-Paper-Scissor like mechanism (27) by X3M |
| End of Year Playtest Event at The Game Crafter (0) by The Game Crafter |
| New Board Game Pieces: 13mm Wood Cubes (0) by The Game Crafter |
 | DuelBotz: Sample New Card (13) by questccg |
| Board Game Blueprint - New Episode Every Wednesday (24) by The Game Crafter |
| Madison Game Design Cabal (0) by The Game Crafter |
| PoA — Major shift back closer to FCE (13) by questccg |
| Voting Begins for "VHS Case Challenge" at The Game Crafter (0) by The Game Crafter |
| New Product: Large Quad-Fold Game Boards (0) by The Game Crafter |
| 2025 New Year Sale at The Game Crafter (0) by The Game Crafter |
| New Board Game Design Contest: ZSA Cards Challenge (0) by The Game Crafter |
| Black Friday Sale Ends Tonight (0) by The Game Crafter |
| The Shadow Of The Nokizaru Update! (0) by Jacob |
| Build your own [insert game genre here] (11) by questccg |
| Black Friday Sale at The Game Crafter (0) by The Game Crafter |
| Power Creep, a Dungeon Pages adventure (0) by jasongreeno |
| Premium Bullet & Premium Toxic Waste Board Game Pieces at The Game Crafter (0) by The Game Crafter |
| What “Should” Be in an RPG Design Book (11) by lewpuls |
| Blank Poker Card Sale - 3 Cents Each! (0) by The Game Crafter |
| Blank Playing Cards - Bridge 57mm x 89mm UK (1) by questccg |
| Finally returned after all these years (1) by DyminoMonsters2004 |
| State of the let-off Union - November 2024 (0) by let-off studios |
| Shoppe: The Simulation of Guilds (1) by questccg |
| The fine line between a game and a simulation (22) by X3M |
| Only 24 hours left to bid on games for the Extra Life Charity Auction (0) by The Game Crafter |
