how to budget art for a roblox game launch
most first budgets are one number somebody guessed. here are three built the other way: a list of the pieces a launch actually needs, each priced from the same board, so you can see where the money goes and which line you can cut without the game noticing.
budget the launch, not the dream
the art you need to launch is much smaller than the art you eventually want. a launch needs enough to make the first session read as finished: the thing a player controls, the space they stand in, and the two or three objects the core loop touches. everything else is an update.
so build the budget as a list of pieces, priced individually, and sort it by whether the first session breaks without it. that list is also your brief.
a small tycoon, stud & blocky
| piece | from |
|---|---|
| 1 character (r6/r15) | $45 |
| 2 prop packs of 5 — machines, decor | $80 |
| 1 small scene / modular set | $110 |
| total | $235 |
the tycoon is the cheapest launch shape in roblox because it reuses one modular kit everywhere and its style forgives repetition. the money goes into the kit, not into hero pieces.
a simulator, low & mid poly
| piece | from |
|---|---|
| 1 character (r6/r15) | $85 |
| 3 custom creatures, rigged — the pets | $510 |
| 2 prop packs of 5 — tools, upgrades | $140 |
| 1 small scene / modular set | $190 |
| total | $925 |
simulators spend almost everything on the collectible. players are there for the pets, so a simulator with three excellent creatures and a plain map outperforms one with a beautiful map and three dull pets. budget accordingly.
an rpg, hand-painted
| piece | from |
|---|---|
| 1 character, rigged + basic animation set | $440 |
| 1 weapon pack (5) | $400 |
| 1 large detailed environment | $1,000+ |
| 1 managed team deliverable — the boss, animated | $1,100 |
| total | $2,940+ |
the rpg is the expensive shape because none of its art repeats. the boss is a multi-skill piece — modelled, rigged, animated, textured — which is why it is priced as a managed team deliverable rather than as four separate commissions you would have to coordinate yourself.
the three lines first budgets forget
- revisions past the included two. two rounds are included on every bevel job; a third round is hourly. budget one extra round on the pieces you care most about, because those are the ones you will want to push.
- the thumbnail and the icon. the store page is the only art every single player sees, and it is usually commissioned last, in a hurry, at a rush rate.
- rush delivery. +25% if you need it faster than the quoted date. it is cheaper to start two weeks earlier than to pay the rush.
paying in usd is cheaper than paying in robux
you can pay for art in robux, and the board shows every price both ways. but robux leaving the platform loses roblox's cut, so the same piece costs meaningfully more in robux than the usd sticker. if you have the choice, pay in usd and keep the difference.
spend it in the right order
- first, the thing the player controls or collects. it is on screen every second of every session.
- second, the first room. it decides whether they stay past the loading screen.
- third, the thumbnail. it decides whether they arrive at all.
- last, everything a returning player will see in week three. that is update budget, and updates are cheaper once the game earns.