2D Game Art Outsourcing: What to Send Your Art Team Before Kickoff

Gather 5–10 reference images that capture the visual direction you want — other games, illustrations, color palettes, anything that communicates tone faster than words can. Be specific about what you like about each reference; "I like the colors here, the linework there" is far more useful than a folder of loosely related images.

If your game already has characters — even rough ones — provide whatever exists: sketches, descriptions, personality notes, previous art. An art team can work from a clear written description if visuals don’t exist yet, but inconsistency happens when partial visual references exist and don’t get shared.

Specify target platforms and resolutions upfront — mobile portrait, mobile landscape, web, or multiple. Confirm the game engine so assets can be delivered in the right format and structure (sprite sheets, individual layers, specific dimensions) rather than requiring rework after the fact.

Be explicit about which assets need animation and which are static — a character that needs an idle, walk and attack cycle requires very different planning and pricing than a static background element. Deciding this before kickoff, rather than discovering it mid-production, keeps both timeline and budget predictable.

The best briefs we receive combine all of the above into one short document: references, existing character material, platform and format requirements, and a clear list of what needs animation. It doesn’t need to be polished — it just needs to exist before the first sketch, not after the first round of revisions.