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Hiring Artists for Open Source Projects?
MikeFM asks: "What is the best way for an Open Source developer to hire artists to provide graphics, music, and other artwork for Open Source projects? I need to hire such people and I'm not sure where to go or how best to spell out the terms of the contract so that it's okay to release the works for hire as Open Source. I'm willing to pay but can't afford to pay a lot. It seems to me that providing artwork for an Open Source project sounds like great exposure to art students and artists still early in their career but how do I find these people? I've posted ads in the local schools and art stores.. what else can I do?"
Just submit your job offers directly to this website. You'll save them the trouble of tracking down your job offer and subjecting it to humiliating attention. Be sure to come visit the chat boards so we can abuse you personally, ya cheap bastard.
Your request is similar to what I see over and over on FTJ. For some reason people think that students or unemployed artists and designers feel like giving away their labor for nothing. For example, someone found a job offer up on Craig's List seeking a candidate with skills in Photoshop & Illustrator, LiveMotion, Premier, FireworksMX, FlashMX, DreamweaverMX & FrontPage, HomeSite, JavaScript, ASP/php, and MS IIS. For all this, they want to pay $8 per hour. Sorry, not going to happen. Fortunately Craig's List prohibits this sort of exploitive ad and removed it from their listings.
No, you don't get a free ride because you are producing an open source project. If you want professional quality, you'll have to pay professionals at the going rate. No, art students don't want to give you free work in exchange for a portfolio piece, they can crank out any portfolio piece they like without having to meet the demands of a cheap client. Being an art student is very expensive, art supplies and materials cost real money (yes, even computers and software).