AI-Enhanced Illustration: A Time and Cost-Efficient Solution for Indie Developers

The escalating costs of game development pose significant challenges for indie developers, who often operate with limited budgets. Gamers accustomed to the quality of AAA games expect similar standards from indie games, despite their typically smaller budgets. This paper proposes a process that integrates generative AI into the creation of game illustrations to reduce time and costs, enhance productivity, and maintain full control over the final outcome. Through multiple case studies, We compares the cost, time, and quality of illustrations produced by professional freelance artists on Fiverr with those created using this AI-enhancing process, demonstrating significant savings while maintaining high quality.