4) As I keep saying, never pay artists before the work is done. Obviously Josh is using the system to scam people constantly, but if it wasn't him, someone else will scam you. Don't pay artists before the work is done and you will not get ripped off. If they tell you they need to be paid upfront, that is unusual and unprofessional, and you should move on to the next artist.

I have to disagree with this because scamming goes both ways.
If there is an agreement (speak a contract) and some reputation it's absolutely ok to not pay the artist upfront.
Wayforward is an established and professional company, I also worked for and there are assurances that the artist will get paid.
In this case it's completely ok to not pay the artist upfront.

But if one works for "untested" clients or new companies who don't have built up this level of trust as Wayforward it's something else.
Even with a contract, it's safer to ask for a bit of money upfront. This can be 25-50%, depending on the exact job (size).

Usually people who don't mean it earnest don't sign a contract.
People who don't mean it earnest won't give out any money if they don't intend to pay someone in the end.

Hey Pixelation Comm,

I wanted to discuss a possible new FAQ thread which should be a helpful ressource for people who post job offers here and people who take up jobs here on the board.

There have been quite some things happening (like unclarity on how to handle business, scams, single line answers in the job threads with "e-mail sent", how much work should cost etc.) in the last year(s) and therefore I think it's good to come up with a ramblethread everyone might participate in order to prevent those things.

The goal of this thread would be to gather a lot of ideas for stuff which might be useful knowledge as base for this new FAQ, make the whole job offering forum a better place and go ith the time.

The final FAQ should be short, easy to read, on spot but contain the most crucial and useful information for getting business done in a clean way.
SO Even common knowledge would be fine for something like this.
 Your posts can include your own questions, thoughts you have if you look at a job offer, steps you take for safe business, and which new "rule-reforms" you would love to see introduced in order to make the place better for everyone here.


Our Current Rules:
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=571.0

Our Best Discussion so far:
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=571.0

And that thread everybody knows of:
http://wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=8561.0




I'd suggest that people who post job offers should:
-make clear if it's a paid job or a free job offer
-people should post who they are
-about what kind of project they are working on
-which role the artist would take (concept, execution, planning or whatever)
-giving a very rough impression of the overall workload they have for the artist (whole game, just some assets .. whatever)

for general business i'd suggest
-do a quick google search for their client/artist
-set up a valid contract
-set deadlines for communication and/or the work completion

for artists:
they should know about what amount of money they can take for their services
should know their rights / copyrights etc.


Hopefully this gives a rough impression of the stuff we should discuss.
It would be great if we could flesh out some new ideas together.

As of right now, I want to stay away from shading just so I can learn how to do the basics. Nevertheless, I will come back to do something like that in the future.

alright, whats off in your basics is contrasting.

start out with very few colors, (about 3-5)
make sure that the contrast between the colors is clear and that all colors can get distinguished rather easily
make sure that you use different colors in different parts of your sprite
keep your outlines consistent (outline, no outline, partial outline, but consoistent in how it's applied)

This small edit has some changes, while I haven't particularly changed your drawing
-I used just 3 shades and a stronger contrast between them
-I seperated the outside of the umbrella and the inside (in yours both areas use the same color and therefore it's indistinguishable) that's the big problem I solved
-I used consistent outlines



try to do the same as I did, but with a completely new piece. it can be something really simple and just use 3 up to max. 5 shades as well.

I believe it's impossible for any part of a cloud to be darker than the sky, at least in a traditional setting.
Also the darkest shade should be lighter because the cloud is thinner there, and so more light passes through/is reflected.

yep on a bright sunny sky and in the same distance clouds are in terms of value always lighter, or in the shadowy parts about the same value, but with less saturation - which makes them less intense.
Howeve rsky tends to get brighter to the horizon (atmospheric perspective or blueshifting) - which also affects the value of the skay and the clouds

clouds much closer to the viewer therefore can have a lot more contrast, as the already faded out sky in the farther background has.

Spoiler

Stormclouds are usually always darker than the sky.
Spoiler