I tried hiring artists before but just wasn't happy with the final results. I'm offering up a 50% stake in the game's income this time in hopes of finding more qualified candidates. To keep the process flowing I'm hoping to team up with someone who has a strong idea of what the game is and who the characters are in the hopes that I can just hand them some finished script, they can do the art, send it back, and I can encode everything without ever having to give it a second look or a glance.
So the plan this time is to take on more of an artist/partner. Someone with a stake in the development who can produce quality art without direction. So there may be some change in the composition, lighting and styling. But the character design will remain the same. It's a compromise I can live with if it means we can move forward with production.