Jon Jones presents… Now in HD, with high-res normal and specular maps!

Jon Jones presents…

Now in HD, with high-res normal and specular maps!

Who’s this Jon Jones guy? Art Outsourcing Manager.

Builds and manages outsourced art teamsWorked with 2K Games and NCsoftBlogs about it at www.TheJonJones.com

3D Art Producer.Runs a team of artists at Conceptopolis

Contractor.Offers expertise on outsourcing, building and

managing remote teams, art pipeline development, troubleshooting and more

Outsourcing Art: Benefits Can be cheaper than inhouse No overhead costs Not burning money while artists sit idle Access to a global talent pool Your pick of the world’s best artists Ease of scaling production up or down Firing slackers has never been easier!

Outsourcing Art: Drawbacks Lack of project familiarity Time zone differences Cultural and language barriers Collaborating remotely is tricky Keeping everything organized is hard Bait-and-switch tactics Unfamiliarity with game development Some artists just suck

Don’t worry, there’s hope! Many problems are preventable. Setting proper groundwork is crucial. I will show you how.

Documentation is EVERYTHING. Know your pipeline. Document your pipeline. Don’t outsource until you do.

This will save you time and money.

Every minute you spend writing good documentation now will save you ten minutes later.

Poor documentation breeds poor art. Don’t pay for art twice! Write good docs!

The Contractor’s Disadvantage Art studios make art, not games

Large knowledge gap between making art, and making art that works for games

Less in the Americas, moreso overseas

No institutional knowledgeNo frame of reference for your team’s

preexisting tips, tricks, scripts, and workarounds

Good documentation fixes this.

Information Creates Its Own Context Everything in one place Don’t make them hunt down info across

many documents, emails and IMs Avoid vague pronouns

“he” “she” “it” “that” “they”

Prepare, prepare, prepare Spend 90% of your time up front. Plan for all contingencies.

Plan for them to happen. Plan your way out.

Create conditions that show a clear direction when decisions need making.

Good process forbids indecision.

The New Guy Mindset

Animation Outsourcing Kit Comes in two pieces:

General Information○ Technical specifications, reference, etc○ Reusable!

Specific Assignment○ Concept art for the job, description of job, etc

Animation Outsourcing Kit Contains the following:

Documentation○ Overview of animation work required

Style, Sequences, which skeleton, who rigs it?

○ Technical specifications ○ Master list of animations○ Style guides○ Scale \ units reference○ Exporter○ Tools○ FAQ

Animation Outsourcing Kit Reference:

Animation source files from 3D package○ Samples of every type of animation

(idle, run, attack, death, etc)

Animation sample videos○ Add captions to the video noting what you like○ Use a popular codec, OR include the codec

Pre-built Animation Lists

Four creature types: Melee, Ranged, Caster, Boss.

○ Sequences in common: Idle, Walk, Run, Pain, Die ○ Unique animations: Melee Attack, Ranged Attack, Caster

Attack, Boss Attacks. Make each type its own list. Describe each sequence and cite the references.

○ Copy-paste the descriptions of common sequences. Put those four lists in the Animation Outsourcing Kit. Copy and paste into new Specific Assignments. Time savings ahoy!

Take A Minute To Do It Right It doesn’t take that much longer to turn a

good job into a great job. Take the time. It will save you time later.

Documentation Should Evolve!

A document is never finished... Just mostly complete.

Whenever a contractor asks a question, document the answer.

Why answer the same question twice?

Frontload all negotiation! Now the documentation is done.

Most risk is now minimized!

Next step: Contract negotiation.Establishing ratesCreating a flexible contract structureSetting expectations of behavior

Partners vs Hired Monkeys

Yes. No.

Partners vs Hired Monkeys Hire a partner, not a trained monkey.

Partners want you to succeed.Partners will try harder to to ensure each

others’ success.Good partners are worth keeping long-term.Monkeys don’t care.

Benefits of finding a good partner:

Faster turnaroundLower pricesBetter artThe studio’s best artistsPreferential treatment

Negotiate a fair rate

Be flexible on cost on the first contractIf the work is harder, negotiate a higher rate.If the work is simpler, negotiate a lower rate. If you change the specs, adjust the price.

Karma aside, there are very practical reasons for this.

Dividing work into units

Separate into as few meaningful divisions as possible.First, Asset typeThen, Difficulty

○ Small Creature, Medium Creature, Large Creature

Divisions should only be as large as it makes sense. Too small becomes too granular to organize. Too large feels like nothing ever gets done.

Define what comprises an asset Price out the different phases

Character:○ Model○ Texture○ Rig

Round that total up to the nearest $100 – 200, depending on variable difficulty between assets.

That’s your per-asset price.

Pricing Ambiguous Work

Chunk it out into 1 – 2 day segments.Artists LOVE finishing subgoals frequently

Hot Tip for Contract Structure Make it invoicable bi-weekly.

Artists LOVE getting paid on a 2-week cycleIf they’re finishing something every day or

so and getting paid like this, productivity will skyrocket.

Benefits of Modularity

Pricing out everything per asset in advance saves time amending the contract midstream.“Oh crap! We need five more creatures!

Quick, let’s renegotiate all this now!” versus“Let’s add five more Large Creatures.” “Done!”

But What About Revisions? Roll a preset revision number into the

per-asset cost. I like 3 revisions per asset.

Price out extra revisions as a separate percentage of that.If asset costs $1000:

○ 25% of asset changed = $250 revision fee○ 50% of asset changes = $500 revision fee○ 75% of asset changed = $750 revision fee

Revisions as a performance metric If you document well and chose good

contractors, no asset should need more than two revisions

Three revisions or more means:I failed to spec wellThe contractors failed me

If it’s my fault, I pay for rework. If it’s their fault, they fix it for free.

The Payoff of Expectation-Setting Setting expectations early and planning for

everything makes a problem’s cause obvious and its solution simple:

○ 1) You screwed up and need to fix the spec, or○ 2) They screwed up and need to shape up.

No time is wasted pointing fingers. Honesty, humility, candor and fairness have

been maintained from the beginning.○ If the contractor can’t meet that standard, you

cut them loose.

Ease of Amending Contracts Contractor succeeds, contracts can be

expanded quickly. Contractor fails, contract terminates just

as quickly.Bickering over how much to pay for a

partially-completed asset when you’re cutting a contractor loose is not fun. Speccing well makes it unnecessary.

Questions?

Feel free to contact me offline via email:[email protected]

Or via my website:http://www.thejonjones.com

Thanks for listening!

- Jon Jones