Fundraising Campaign for Art Expansion in Story Arcs

Hi Everyone,

In January 2022, we successfully raised $500 USD to create 11 pieces of character art and 10 splash screens, thanks to generous deals from SpO0ky777 and PhearTheHam. Now, as Story Arcs enters the Beta phase, it’s clear we need additional art to enrich the experience. Echoing my previous sentiment, “Great art has a cost,” we’re setting out to not only fill the gaps but also to build a versatile image library for future needs.

At a minimum, we need to commission 2 new splash screens and 4 pieces of character art, with an ideal goal of expanding the number of splash screens. Here are some of the additional concepts we’d like:

Strategy and Diplomacy

  1. Strategic Planning Meeting: Faction leaders converging over a holographic battlefield.
  2. Diplomatic Negotiations: High-stakes diplomacy amidst interstellar tensions.
  3. Frontline Ceasefire Talks: Precarious negotiations under the shadow of war.

Conflict and Warfare

  1. Urban Combat: Meks and infantry clashing within the heart of besieged cities.
  2. Espionage/Sabotage Mission: Covert operations threatening the balance of power.

Training and Maintenance

  1. Pilot Training Facility: Next-gen MekWarriors honing their combat prowess.
  2. Mek Hangar: The lifeline of any Mek regiment.

Space Operations

  1. Space Battle: The run in system, when all the forces are most at risk.
  2. Space Station Siege: Forcing the jump point is often not easy.
  3. Naval Fleet Engagement: The silent expanse of space alive with the flashes of fire.
  4. Space Salvage Mission: Reclaiming the wrecks of near dead ships.

Development and Daily Life

  1. R&D Facility: The birthplace of tomorrow’s war machines.
  2. Black Market Dealings: The murky depths where fortunes and futures are traded.
  3. Civilian Life During War: The lifeblood of any empire. Its people.
  4. Repair Dock Operations: The unsung backbone of any fleet, where vessels rise anew from the ashes of old battles.

To ensure consistency in our visual storytelling, we’ve reached out to SpO0ky777 and PhearTheHam, who have kindly agreed to collaborate with us again, but at a slightly increased rate.

The development team has started funding internally, with each piece of art ranging from $25 USD to $100 USD depending on the size and complexity. We estimate a total of $750 USD would complete the list. Those interested in contributing will need to join our Discord and DM @Hammer (MegaMek Dev) for PayPal information.

The fundraiser will conclude once we hit our target. If we are unable to acheive our target we’ll continue and do what we can with the funds raised. The priority being the art we need to finish “Young Wolves”. All Contributors will be recognized in the MegaMek contributors file, with the final artwork being integrated into MegaMek and available through our repositories and releases.

We will strictly adhere to our open-source licensing terms. All donations received are optional and will be directed entirely to third-party artists for the development of new artwork in compliance with licensing agreements from relevant rights holders.

The artwork will be distributed under a license compatible with MegaMek’s existing open-source license, ensuring it can be freely used, modified, and shared within the community, in line with our project’s open-source principles.