Easy access to spectacular concept art through EveryArt would be a big win for smaller game developers. Great concept art really helps bridge the gap from "pretty cool" to "amazing" and amplifies the inspiration driving the game concept.<p>Having worked on the early production stage of Blizzard's next MMO, concept art definitely seems like the most fun part of the design process, for both the artists <i>and</i> those who commission them. With concept art work, you can find mind-bogglingly talented people who, when you give them ideas and let them roam free, will do these face-meltingly awesome concepts that inspire you so much you just want to make huge posters of them and jump inside.<p>People just get so excited hiring amazing artists and seeing what they can do with few limits in place. That's what EveryArt will really have going for it.<p>BTW, is there's anyone who has taken on commission markets for musical groups? Been wondering for a while: <a href="http://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-service-that-allows-people-anywhere-to-commission-a-band-or-musician-to-cover-a-song" rel="nofollow">http://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-service-that-allows-people-a...</a>
I come from a family of artists so I've always hoped that we day see a world where most regular people to have nice art on their walls, at home and at work. At $1000/piece that idea is still out of reach for most people, but it's a good start.<p>Interestingly enough, I think you could learn a lot from tattoos. Millions of people get tattoos because it's a way to express themselves in a meaningful and unique way for a couple hundred dollars. If you can make art culture something more personal and approachable, like tattoo culture, you may unlock a huge market and make the world more beautiful to boot.
I have used painters in China for this. For about $270, including shipping of a large tube from China to Australia, I got a 2x1 canvas. It cost more to stretch/frame the piece than it did to paint and ship it.<p>There is an entire village where many of the occupants are dedicated to the craft. They will copy photographs of your family, recreate old classics, emulate a sketch you did or copy an image you found on the web.<p>In my case, I wanted a copy of a piece that was to otherwise be €1,000 just for an unframed print, edition of 400+. I emailed a JPG, gave dimensions and the painter sent a couple of progress shots before sending it over. Unless you compare it and the original images side by side, the differences are not noticeable.<p>I think the demand is there. I have actually thought about building something that sits between consumers and the Chinese artists, to capitalise on the unease some might feel in sending money abroad with little idea of what might come of it. Shuffle some emails around, load the quotes a few percent, etc.
Another art-related idea I would like to see: take a picture of the signature on a piece of art to look up the artist. I have 3 original pieces I really like. The artists are probably complete unknowns. If such a DB could grow to world-wide that would be a great boon for art lovers and artists. I think it would shift the balance of power held by powerful art critics, making what is recognized as fine art more democratic and making it easier for talented artists to attract a following.
Yet another great example of how a relatively simple service can take out the middle man and create transparency for the parties that are adding value.<p>Never fails to amaze me how many of such niches could benefit from the concept of a targeted marketplace for X.
I have no idea how the fine art world works, but when I saw the HN headline I thought of places that let individuals sell T-Shirts with their designs. So on that note, would it make sense to have a free-for-all section of the site, or a separate sister site, where anyone can join, then have them earn reputation points and those that become reputable there are candidates for you to invite to your fine-art section? That could bring a source of small revenue and source of cheap art to the bottom end of the market, as well as create a way to discover artists who are ready to move up.
This a really cool product. I'm so glad someone is tackling this space because we get requests for it at Artsicle all the time but it's really not our focus at all. Glad to see other companies looking to tear down the artificial wall between artists and collectors.
This is awesome! I had never thought of commissioning artwork previously, but checking out some of the already commissioned postapocalyptic artwork made me realize I'd love to recreate custom-made versions of scenes from my favorite science fiction or graphic novels for not much more than some random painting I could buy at Target. I'll definitely be using EveryArt in the near future!<p>Is there a way a user could suggest / recommend an artist for EveryArt to source? I personally follow several digital artists on DeviantArt and similar, and would love to have artists in those available to work with me through EveryArt.
I'd like to see more in terms of an artist's profile, something like a CV along with their statement. While a couple thousand dollars isn't much for art, people are still going to approach it as an investment, and as such probably would like to know where they studied, where they've shown, who represents them, etc.<p>On the other hand the work on the site seems kind of kitschy, so maybe you're targeting more of the decoration market?<p>Either way, nice concept.
<i>"... Artists get a new source of income... targeting a younger audience — people who have a little bit of money but aren’t yet connected to the fine art world ..."</i><p>Smart. The <i>'traditional'</i> art world is primarily analog & conservative so targeting the younger can create a new online market. Interesting the early artists are curated but with an eye to a broader selection. An online art gallery.
Just one point of feedback on the EveryArt site: the slideshow I saw when I loaded EveryArt.com advances slides just a bit too quickly. I wanted to look at several of the examples, but I was only about 40% done "taking in" the picture.<p>That said, this is a great concept and I'll be passing the site along to the artists I know.
This is great.<p>I've been looking for an artist to commission a piece of art that I have sketched out on paper and in my head for a while. I just didn't know who to ask. Found an artist on there who might just be the perfect fit, based on his portfolio. So this solves a real need, at least for me.<p>I hope it works out, for EveryArt and for my art.
For the founders:<p>When you click on a piece of work on /browse/ it takes you directly into the "gallery view" for that piece, rather than to the artist's profile page. This is a bit jarring. I would consider taking users to the artist's profile first and letting them enter the gallery view from there.
Don't mean to hijack the thread but it's interesting how these "HN TC launch articles" have died down to such a large degree on HN. Not as many companies launching, TC not covering Y Combinator, TC just being bad, or some combination of all three?
Wow,
Exactly what I need at the right time. My game is progressing smoothly, but I've been having nightmares about not being able to find an artist to make game art.