Currently looking for artists to make character sprites for a visual novel. There are approximately one hundred (100) characters and they are all from different "worlds", so I'd like them to be drawn by many different artists in all different art styles!

TL;DR: About 10 sprites total per character = $100 CAD payment. You can choose which character(s) you do. Details of all characters on this page.

GENERAL INFO:

• You can get creative with the art medium you use! I'll accept digital 2D art, traditional art, 3D models, photography, photo editing, doll/plushie making... The idea is that different art styles will highlight everyone's different origins, so I encourage you to do whatever type of art you like to do!
• There is currently no deadline since all 100 main characters need to be finished before the game can release. Once we approach the last 10-20, I may set a deadline. But for now this is a casual project!
• The main project is planned to be a game that will be for purchase, but the sprites you make might end up being used in other (free) projects. If down the line I want to use your sprites for a new commercial project, I'll contact you to get permission for it.
• If you're unable to work on art in the immediate future but would like to reserve a character to work on eventualy, let me know! I'll mark that character as reserved to block people from taking it. But I may remove that block after a few months if you haven't given me any further contact about it.
• You can do multiple characters!
• You WILL be credited for all your work - let me know what name you would like to be credited under and if you'd like a link to your social/website to be included.
• You are free to use or publicize any art you make for me. This includes posting it on social media when you finish, streaming your progress on Twitch, including it in your portfolio, using it for commission examples, putting it in your own projects, et cetera! Literally do whatever you want with my OCs!

WORK TO BE DONE:

• Each main character (100 in total) will have around 10 sprites total, roughly comprised of 3 unique poses with 3-4 facial expressions each. Certain characters may require more and others may require less. Most sprites will be hip-up, but certain characters and poses may require full body. This part is the most important and I would like to finish it first!
• There will also be minor characters who only show up in one scene and will only have 1 pose with a few expressions. The total number of these characters will be determined while working on the game. If you would like to contribute to the game / get money but don't think you can commit to a main character, then this is an option!
• Currently I am not looking for help on backgrounds, CGs, voice acting, or music. HOWEVER, if you DO specialize in any of these things and would like to contribute somehow, feel free to get in contact with me anyways!

MONEY:

• All prices in CAD (Canadian dollars)
• Main Characters: a minimum of $100 per character
• Minor Characters: a minimum of $30 per character
• Willing to negotiate prices to match your commission prices or if you feel your workload is worth more than the above prices.

GUIDELINES:

• NO AI ART!!!
• The game window will be 1920x1080 so please do your best to make your art fit in the window without needing to be stretched or compressed on my end. I don't want to lose any of the quality!! Additionally, the UI will change throughout the game where sometimes the text is in a box at the bottom and sometimes it is an overlay across the whole screen narrator-style, so keep that in mind when drawing details.
• References will be provided for nearly all characters and poses, but you are free to add details or make changes! I am Very Bad at making patterns and details so do not feel like you have to follow my references exactly.
• As an exception to the above: there are a total of five main characters whose gimmicks are that their appearance is based on the eye of the beholder, so if you would like to draw those characters then the idea is that you design them from scratch using the provided lore/personality descriptions.
• There are a lot of characters so I haven't gotten around to drawing them all yet, so unfortunately some characters don't have visual references! That said, as soon as you say you're interested in that character, I'll whip up a general design sheet and a pose idea sheet ASAP. So don't be dissuaded from taking a character just because there's no reference art yet!

CONTACT:

• If you are interested in doing work or have any questions, you can contact me in the following places:
• Bluesky: yoshichao.bsky.social
• Email: tcalellis@gmail.com
• If you would prefer to talk through Discord but we aren't friends on it, let me know through one of the above avenues and I can give you my info.
• When reaching out to me, I encourage you to let me know right away what character(s) you're interested in doing! My first instinct is to let YOU (points at the one reading this) decide who to draw but if you would prefer it I can also assign you a character I think would be Very Epic in your style.

Below are some examples for sprites that currently exist in the project as well as what sort of references you can expect me to give you.

• Green checkmarks means sprites for that character have been finished
• Yellow hourglass means that character is being worked on or has been reserved by someone
• Boxes with larger rectangles are for characters with alternate forms or who have some sort of tag-along character. Alternate forms DO need to be drawn by the same artist, but second characters I'm willing to be flexible with if you don't want to commit to more than one blorbo.
• For more details about each character, head to this page!

ABOUT THE GAME:

The game is called Xalcian Showdown and is about a Smash Bros.-style fighting tournament that invites warriors from across the multiverse. Historians have documented infomation about the lives of these warriors and have turned those lives into popular "stories" across different forms of media. A mysterious benefactor named M has been using this popularity to their advantage and has run "Xalcian Showdown" four times now - with this fifth venture being the biggest yet, inviting a total of 100 characters to duke it out for the trophy - and for a life-changing prize that even the most battle-shy are willing to stick their necks out for.

You, the protagonist, are not one of these fighters. You are merely the one providing the lodgings for season five by using your reality-shaping powers to create housing and the backdrops these fighters are going to be duking it out on. As fate would have it, you are a massive fan of several of the stories being represented in this tournament - let's just say you have a personal connection to some of them - so this is an exciting opportunity to meet your favourite heroes, learn about their lives, and perhaps even... become friends with them?!

The story will also feature a second main character - a girl named Aqua who you befriend early on. She's a teenage girl who just got her magic powers and has only been at this whole superhero gig for about a week - not to mention she and her friends were among the fighters in the first season of Xalcian Showdown! However, when she arrives on the scene of season five, she discovers that all of her friends are from the distant future, and that her future self in their time period is loathed by everyone: including her crush, her mentor, her family, and everyone else she loves! As a wide-eyed girl full of hope and determination, she has two goals during these ~100 days: 1) win the tournament and 2) befriend all ~99 fighters on the tournament roster. While you can't do anything about the former, perhaps you can help Aqua out with her second goal...

While the game will only have one ending with regards to the tournament, there will be epilogues for each character you befriend as well as an alternate ending if you can manage to achieve Aqua's second goal. Choices in the game will be locked behind the amount of knowledge your character possesses about who you're talking to and the situation you're in. This information can be obtained either via your experiences talking to and mingling with the cast, seeing visions of a character's past, or by spending your time reading through M's personal notes about each fighter. Once you have this information, you will be able to go back to previous days and use it. Be warned however: not everyone likes you bringing up old wounds, so some choices may hurt more than they'll help... but maybe this conflict can unlock new opportunities anyways and get you closer to your primary goal...

Heroes, villains, monsters, Gods, and everything in between... who is the strongest of them all? Is there a deeper purpose behind these tournaments? And more importantly: what can you do and say to make your favs LIKE you??

Inspirations for the game include Super Smash Bros and the "Smash Mansion" AU, Higurashi, and Danganronpa. The game will be a visual novel about platonic bonds. There will be no adult content and there are currently no plans for romance.

Main Characters | Minor Characters

(The page for minor characters has not been made yet, but please contact me if you would like to do one! Many of the minor characters who are slated to appear do not have fully decided-upon designs, so there may be more creative freedom involved if you would like to take this route!)