Original Manga Animal Designs

Manga Illustrator and Character Designer for an Original Fantasy Adventure Project I’m developing an original fantasy adventure world for a manga series and a companion game. I’m looking for an experienced manga illustrator to help establish consistent character and creature designs, with the potential for ongoing paid work. The project features human protagonists, elemental creatures, exploration, and battles. Project names, story details, and identifying references will be shared privately with shortlisted artists under an agreed confidentiality arrangement. Visual style The direction is expressive adventure manga: appealing characters and creatures, clear silhouettes, dynamic action, and detailed environments. Designs must work consistently in both black-and-white manga and coloured game illustrations. Maintaining the same faces, proportions, costumes, and creature anatomy across different angles and scenes is essential. Some development references were created using AI. I’m seeking an artist to develop these into original, human-authored production designs—not simply trace them or apply a filter. Please disclose any proposed generative AI use before work begins. Initial paid test I would like to start with: One full-body illustration and three expressions for a human protagonist. One full-body illustration and three expressions for a creature companion. One finished sequential manga page featuring both. Black-and-white and colour versions, with editable source files. Please quote this test separately, including two revision rounds and the commercial rights described below. I am not requesting unpaid sample work. Potential follow-on work If the test is successful, further commissions may include: Character model sheets for the main cast. Creature model sheets and developed forms. Key environment and location designs. A visual style guide that other artists can follow. Additional manga pages, cover art, and game illustrations. This is a staged project. The initial order will be limited to the agreed paid test. Deliverables I need layered, editable source files, high-resolution exports, colour palettes, and clear design references. Please retain development sketches and intermediate versions to document the creative process. Any assistants, stock assets, fonts, or other third-party materials must be disclosed, with suitable licences. Commercial rights and confidentiality The commission will be contracted through my German UG after its registration. A signed agreement must give the company broad, exclusive, worldwide commercial usage rights in the commissioned artwork and original design contributions. These must cover manga, games, physical and digital cards, animation, advertising, merchandise, adaptations, and future productions. The company must be able to modify the work, commission other artists to use and develop the designs, and transfer or sublicense the agreed rights to production and publishing partners. The agreement must also expressly address using the commissioned designs as references in future AI-assisted production, including project-specific model training or fine-tuning. These requirements are subject to applicable law, including retained authorship and mandatory artist protections. Please identify any restrictions or exceptions you require and include the requested rights in your quotation. Unpublished designs, project information, and source files must remain confidential. Portfolio publication, livestreaming, or sharing work in progress will require prior written approval. Please include in your application Examples of human manga characters, creatures, and sequential pages you personally illustrated. Examples showing consistent character designs across multiple poses or scenes. Your price and turnaround time for the paid test. Your rates for later model sheets, manga pages, and colour work. Your revision policy, software, and source-file formats. Whether you work alone or with assistants. Any exceptions