From forceps, periodontal probes and curettes to dice, cards, and boards: a typical day for California, USA local Ben Cope. During the day, he works full-time as a dentist, and once he’s out of the office, he turns his attention to one of the things he loves most -- board games.
“I've always loved board games. Growing up, I played Risk, Monopoly, and other old-school ones. Once Settlers of Catan came out, I got hooked onto the more recently released board games, and non-mainstream ones as well,” said Ben.
One day, Ben had a eureka moment and thought of creating his own board game. With all the games he’s played throughout the years, he had some ideas on what made a good one. He began by conceptualizing its gameplay and structure.
Ben’s board game revolved around three things: dice-rolling, card-collecting, and player deception. Card-collecting, being one of the game’s main features, required intensive design skills, which wasn’t a forte of Ben. He turned to the Internet for a graphic designer since he wasn’t acquainted with one. Aside from that, he also loved the idea of having to choose from a wide-array of portfolios online.
While researching for a designer, Ben came across Freelancer.com. “I had no idea of what to expect, as I had never used such a site before. Much to my delight, it was so easy! I typed in some information about my project, and I saw many different graphic designers’ profiles,” he said.
Giedrius, an Irish freelance illustrator who specializes in complex character design, caught Ben’s attention. “It was super detailed, creative and just what I wanted. I wanted people on crowdfunding sites to stop and look at my game just like I had stopped to look at Giedrius' portfolio,” added Ben.
After reaching out to Giedrius and agreeing on a price (US$550), they got down to the nitty-gritty.
“I had a certain design in mind: a hand-painted look instead of clip art style. I expected Giedrius to take my ideas and improve upon them. Based on his profile, his attention to detail was exquisite and his imagination was exceptional.”
Two weeks later, Giedrius turned over the files.
“The art he produced for me blew my mind. He took my rough ideas and turned them into gold. I would hire him again in a heartbeat for future projects. Giedrius kept me in the know every step of the way. He was fast, courteous, and super talented. I gave him creative liberties and he exceeded every expectation.”
After several weeks of thorough communication, Ben’s project was finally complete. He plans on releasing the game in a couple of months after he receives some feedback from board game reviewers.
In need of a fresh new look for that project of yours? Hire the perfect designer -- only on Freelancer.
“Freelancer.com has been awesome in putting me in contact with such top talent.” -Benjamin Cope
