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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?"
working with graphics etc.
Though all I have taken was the first CG class, and the rest after was self taught. Since it was just a hobby, and not somthing I wanted a career in.
If your work isn't too intricate beyond my skills, I will be glad to help out.
email: codedemon @ gmail . com
Hit the art colleges during open houses or design shows... take a look around and talk to the students... Don't count on anyone calling you from any adds you take out. Artists and designers want to know what is in it for them... The best thing to do as far as the contract is concerned is to offer to pay them, you retain rights to use and distribute anything they 'sell' to you, but they retain rights to use the 'work' they produce in their portfolio... you can also pro-offer to supply them with a free finished product, as well as liner or some form of hard copy with their name on it. Things like that go a long way to getting designers or artists to hand over work. As long as their 'signature' ends up somewhere in the finished product hard coded (read printed in a booklet somewhere), they are usually happy.
As for artistic freedom, that is a whole different kettle of fish... Try to let them do what they do best and stay out of their way only offering direction. Try to arrange work previews during the buildup and don't hit them with 'buts' use 'ands' to direct their work. You will find that you get much better end results that way
Best of luck.
flinging poop since 1969
You can start by browsing already "open sourced" works at opart.org and opsound.org. If you cannot find anything pre-existing to fit your needs, you will at least find a community of artisans who embrace open source principles. You'll also want to consult creative commons for the various free asin speech liscenses for the various mediums of art you'll be using.
I think you'll find that most open source artists, as with most open source developers are not seeking to be financially compensated directly, though are open for donations.
I myself am an "open source" musician and have contributed music to a few open source projects: SonarBuoyix and Tong.
Post want-ads on graphics Internet boards. Search the web to find graphics boards. Here are a few to get you started:
CGTalk
Polycount
And there are many others out there. Many have help-wanted boards.
Just use a standard work-for-hire type contract. That is, you will own the copyright. Then you can do whatever you want with it (like release under an open-source license). This is just standard practice for contract work of any type. There are lots of contract templates on the web and just about all of them assign copyright of created works to the person/company paying for it.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
If you need 3d characters or assets (including texture/bump maps and such), I can do just about any modelling/rigging/animation in any format that Maya can export (or for which specs can be provided, so I can write a translator). And seeing as how I'm a student currently on summer break, I have plenty of spare time and don't expect to be paid much, if anything.
Interested? Shoot me an email: sabretooth@gmail.com
Every cloud has a silver lining (except for the mushroom shaped ones, which have a lining of Iridium & Strontium 90)
I compose music for TV shows for a living. I can afford to work for free or very little on a limited amount of projects. email me at:
littlerubberfeet (at) yahoo (d0t) com
Otherwise, read the above post about getting students and student artists to pitch in.
In any case, good luck!
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The poster is right. To assign copyright, "due consideration" would need to be exchanged. That means money. Otherwise, the courts could say that the person had no real incentive to assign their copyright to the company/organization. The due consideration should also be at market rates, although the courts would consider the market value of work produced by entry-level student artists.
-- SYS 64738 --
I actually called up the Intellectual Property Office once and they told me that there is no 20 percent rule. It's a myth. The IP people consider a multitude of factors -- although it *is* possible to change an image enough to have it qualify as a new image. Part of the test involves determining whether the image appears to be based on the original.
-- SYS 64738 --
Actually it probably doesn't have to be at "market rates" whatever they are. In a contract, all that you have to show is that consideration was given. It could be a penny, or just the promise to release it as part of an open source project that the artist could use as well. ANY consideration, monetary or otherwise, would make it a valid contract and assignment of copyright.