When developing a mobile game, it is important for you to find the most cost-efficient solutions that can speed up the production process and decrease the overall cost of the project. Now a popular option is to collaborate with an external game art studio, in order to outsource your game-art production while reassigning your in-house developers and artists to more important tasks. Today, in this article, we will discuss about some precautions that you must take while outsourcing game-art and problems that can emerge along the way.

Proper Research about the Art Style

As a client, it is crucial for you to know about the specific art style that is required for your project, only then you’ll be able to tell the other party about your requirements and expectations accordingly. If not, then the outsourcing company might have a lot of additional questions in order to clarify your key needs. This can further turn into a tedious and time-consuming process for both the parties involved.

However, if you are thoroughly prepared and aware of all your needs, you can save both, yourself and your art outsourcing partner from the tedious back-and-forth process of asking questions in order to clarify the exact requirements of the art. The more informed you are about the specific art style that you require, as well as the quantity and the quality of the graphical elements and their types – the more quickly you will receive an estimate and the more precise it will be.

Honest Communication to Tackle Tough Deadlines

According to your production workflow, you might have a date in your mind to launch the game. However, the game-development service provider might not be able to complete the task by the same date. This is one of the most common problems that occur while availing services from an outsourcing company.

But the solution is quite simple; ask the game development contractor for an honest reply about the date, by which he can provide you with the finished product. Now if he agrees to the decided date, then you can continue further but if he says “NO” then you will have to make a decision about whether to insist on the initially planned deadline or re-think all of your production schedule before you begin.

Of course, as a client you can choose between any of the two options but remember, some game development contractors agree on initially tough deadlines, well aware of the fact that there is no feasibility of them making it in time. So, choose wisely!

Check what your Outsourcing Partner Specialises in!

According to the recent trend in the game development industry, the game art studios should be able to cover as many services as they can. But since it is not possible for all game development artists to display the same set of style and skills, all game art companies inevitably vary in different aspects and the services they offer.

Some studios may specialise in full cycle 3D pipeline while covering only some part of 2D (mostly required to create concept art and in polishing of the final 3D models) while the others, make 2D art their top priority. They tend to focus on specific 2D art styles for particular game genres – casual, slots, dating sims, match-3 and the others. Thus, it is important for you to ask questions and check the specialty of your potential game art outsourcing partner in order to understand their real capabilities and strengths in the chosen area.