How to Prepare a Clear Brief for Your Outsourcing Partner

How to Prepare a Clear Brief for Your Outsourcing Partner

When you outsource part of your game production, a clear brief is your best tool. It helps the vendor understand your vision. This helps us plan the work better. We can deliver results that meet your expectations on time and within budget.

Let’s go through how to prepare a great brief, based on our 7+ years of experience creating art, animation, and SFX for iGaming projects.

1. Start with a Clear Understanding of Your Project

Before writing the brief, make sure you fully understand what you’re creating. Ask yourself:

• What is my goal for this project?
• What type of slot game am I building?
• How many mechanics or unique features will it include?

Once you have clarity on the concept, move to decomposition: breaking your project into all its production components. You should clearly know what assets are required for the product to work and which teams are responsible for them.

This applies to every department involved:

• Art team
• Animation team
• Development team
• Mathematics & logic
• SFX & music designers
• Marketing team

Knowing your internal workflow helps you see what your team can handle and what should be outsourced.

2. Define the Full Scope of Work

A clear list of assets is the heart of every strong brief. Describe what needs to be produced: from UI elements to high symbols, background art, and FX animations.

Add:

• Visual references - for art style and atmosphere.
• Descriptions - for each asset (theme, purpose, emotion, etc.).
• Ideas or inspirations - to help the external team capture your vision.

If you’re not fully sure about the style or direction yet, you can always request an art direction service. A professional art director from the outsourcing studio will find and suggest the best visual style for your slot. You’ll then have a chance to review the concepts and suggest adjustments before production begins.

3. Don’t Forget About Technical Details

When it comes to animation outsourcing, technical information is just as important as the visual part. Be sure to include:

• The game engine and its export requirements.
• Tools allowed (e.g., Spine, After Effects) and their versions.
• Animation limits (bones, meshes, constraints).
• File format requirements.

The more detailed your technical notes are, the smoother the integration will be on your side. It helps the vendor prepare optimized files that fit your pipeline perfectly.

4. Accuracy Means Better Planning

A detailed brief helps your outsourcing partner provide the most accurate estimation for cost and timeline. Share all project details if you have a strict deadline or budget. This helps the vendor plan resources well and avoids extra revisions.

(Just to note it’s not your responsibility alone. A good outsourcing team, like ours, will always help you refine and complete the brief if anything is missing. But having clarity from the start always makes the process faster and more efficient.)

5. Stay in Touch During the Estimation Phase

Once you send the brief, the vendor will need some time to study it, analyze the scope, and understand your vision. It’s completely normal for questions to appear during this stage. Clarifying details helps prevent misunderstandings. This way your project can move forward smoothly and stay on track.

6. Don’t Worry - We’re Here to Help

We know the process might seem complex, but that’s where an experienced studio makes all the difference. At PaintPool Studio, we’re a fully agile team that can guide you through every step - from idea to final delivery.

Our production team will help you, even if you just have an idea. We'll organize the details, outline the scope, and suggest the best prices and timeline.

We’ve been creating slot art, animation, SFX, and music for the iGaming industry for over 7 years - and we absolutely love what we do.

So if you’re ready to bring your next slot game to life - let’s talk. Everything’s going to be awesome. Guaranteed.