2D character sprites for side-scrolling computer game

2D Character Sprites This bid is for a 2d/pixel character artist to create sprites for two of the main characters for the upcoming computer game, Fantasy Hip Hop RPG. In the game, the player assume the role of a young entrepreneur trying to make it big in the music industry. The player controls an avatar, and can walk around virtual 2D world. You can learn more about the game at [login to view URL] . The game allows for the player to choose from one of two main characters - one male, one female (Zach and Sofia). ## Deliverables **Company Info:** Fantasy Hip Hop LLC ([login to view URL] ) is a self-funded, independent game studio founded in Brooklyn, NY and now operating in Sunnyvale, CA. In 2006, we released the first version of Fantasy Hip Hop? - an HTML-only, browser-based game which garnered over 16,000 users and won at the Brown University Entrepreneurship Business Plan competition. Our next product, Fantasy Hip Hop? RPG, takes the brand into a new visual realm, engulfing the user in a complete virtual world. Fantasy Hip Hop? was founded by a former Brown University computer science student and Apple employee, and is now looking for aspiring game developers & artists in the bay area to join in on this exciting venture. We are looking for enthusiastic, smart, and creative individuals who are the right technical & cultural fit. This bid is for contract work only, but successful completion of this task can lead to more work with us in the future, and a potential mention in the game credits. **Project Title:** 2D Character Sprites This bid is for a 2d/pixel character artist to create sprites for two of the main characters for the upcoming computer game, Fantasy Hip Hop RPG. In the game, the player assume the role of a young entrepreneur trying to make it big in the music industry. The player controls an avatar, and can walk around virtual 2D world. You can learn more about the game at [login to view URL] . The game allows for the player to choose from one of two main characters - one male, one female (Zach and Sofia). Zach is an african-american male in his mid-20s. He dresses sharply - like a seasoned business man, while still maintaining a young, hip swagger. His outfit consists of slacks, blazer, a button shirt, and a tie. His hair is short and clean-cut. He has a thin, athletic build, and is around 5'11. He has business shoes. Brown eyes. Sofia is a mexican american female in her mid-20s. She also dresses sharply and ready for business. She has an attractive face, but doesn't wear makeup. Her outfit consists of an attractive business skirt along with a business casual top. The top can be suit-like, but her attire shouldn't resemble an ugly "pant suit". Her top and her skirt are joined by a stylish over-sixed belt. She has smooth, silky jet black hair. She wears classy heels. She's 5'5" with brown eyes. She should have a curvy and busty figure. If you need a visual concept image of what these characters look like, we have included some (non-game art) sample photos of what Zach and Sofia would look like. These are *not* indicative of the aesthetic that should be used when making these characters, these are just for getting a sense of what kind of physical characteristics the characters should have. The style that you will be expected to deliver the characters in is that of an urban, cartoonish aesthetic. The character graphics should obviously harken of the days of rich pixel art, but without looking too unrealistic. It can be helpful to think of the aesthetic as similar to a dark urban animated show, like perhaps *The Boondocks* or *Full Metal Alchemist*. **Project Requirements:** All character sprites must be delivered in the format expected by the game engine. Characters in the game are 2D, and can walk in four directions - north, south, east , and west. The game engine processes character sprites in sprite sheets - one sheet for each of the directions. For each direction of movement, the engine animate the character by cycling through nine frames of movement. Each sprite sheet must be exactly 1026 pixels wide and 184 pixels high. Each of the nine frames must be arranged horizontally, left to right, evenly dividing the 1026 pixels of width - making each individual frame/cell within the sprite sheet 114 pixels wide. You can see examples of these in the folder labeled "Sample Character Sprites". Please make sure to ensure that the nine frames of animation animate smoothly. It is common to employ certain shortcuts when generating the artwork, such as taking the art for walking east and duplicating that to walk right. This sometimes results in unexpected glitches in the walking animation when used in gameplay. Please take care in assuring that character movement is fluid and consistent. Prior to beginning on the actual sprite image files, you are required to submit a concept sketch to show the aesthetic approach you intend to take for each of the characters. You can use whatever means you like to generate this concept sketch, as long as you can attach it as a JPG or PNG. All character sprite work must be done in raster / non-vector art format. The sprite sheets should *not* look like vector-y Flash characters, but the type of caliber you'd expect to see in 90's Super Nintendo platformer game. The "Sample CEO" images included in the attachment are a good reference for size/dimension referencing, but we're looking for a great level of detail in the drawing of the character. For example, clothing should have thin lines for the folds/wrinkles in the fabric, and more can be done in terms of shading & lighting. Using a 3D modeler is *not* acceptable for this project, unless of course, you could use it to render frames that somehow capture this sprite art style. We would have to personally verify that the 3D shader you intend to use matches our needs before proceeding to use a 3D modeler to fulfill this project. Please make sure to download and inspect the attached reference files before proceeding with this project. **Attachment Contents:** ? "Sample Character Sprites" folder --- contains an example of a complete character sprite for a single character. Contains all four directions. Note that it currently uses a mirrored image for the east and west images. We ask that you *not* do this, as this causes visual glitches when played back in the game engine. See "Project Requirements" for more details. ? "Character Concept Images" folder --- contains two sub-directories - one for Zach, one for Sofia, each containing a few concept images of the characters to give you an idea of what physical features they should bear. You of course, will be making game incarnations of these characters. Deliverables: ? 1 concept sketch for each character. Must be approved during the development process in order to continue on with project. Can be in either JPG or PNG format. ? 1 Character folder for each of the two characters - Zach and Sofia. Each of the folders should contain four images, labeled "[login to view URL]", "[login to view URL]", "[login to view URL]", and "[login to view URL]". Files are labeled according to which direction of movement that sprite sheet file contains. ? All character sprite images must be delivered in color, 24-bit PNG format