Hello, this ISN'T actually a model request, but I will start work on an online game project in the following months and for the whole design of this, I need to know the rough estimate of how much the models I need, would cost.
What I will need:
1) A model with a lot of animations (walk,run,jump,die,kick,punch,round-kick,jump-kick,block - basically the default animations and some karate and Jiu Jitsu moves). Also the game will feature elemental combat (fire,water,etc.), so I will need a lot of animations for these spells too.
2) I will need to change parts of the model, like it's skin, the boots, pants, head, body, etc. because the game will have items that can be bought to increase the skill of the player. And since I am no modeler, I do not know what this means to a modeler, so this will probably increase the cost of the model.
3) Item models (armor,pants,boots,head,etc.)
4) All the models will need to be skinned!

The toughest part of making a model like this, would be the animations, so if I provide all the necessary information, sketches and everything else, what is the developing time of such models and how much spending am I looking at?
Seeing as I hope to start selling my casual games soon, I hope I will be able to move to more serious projects like this one later on!

REMEMBER, this ISN'T a model request!!

Thank you,
Leonardo

totally depends on the modeller itself.
If you take one of the high quality artists of these forums here, let's say;
andvari, fuxerz or even Dan Silverman, you are looking into some serious money.
i'd say with so much animations, a requirement for skinning and texturing, dont look strange when someone would charge you about $500.
also, with all these animations in, and depending on your need (polycount, normal maps etc etc) you might be looking at a seriously big development time, before everything is completely the way you want it to be.

Then again, im no real artist, and these are only prices i am guessing (based on conversations i had with several artists with a similar question).

regards,

Hmm, for a model like this I would easily throw out $500, because without it, it doesn't matter what I can do - the game can never be finished!
Maybe someone else has any ideas on this one? Are $500 really appropriate for this kind of job?

there is another point to consider... the facial animations, which probably "relieve" an artist of even more lifetime than the body animations themselves.

so one more question would be, do you need your models to talk properly etc, or just move around with the same facial expression?

Fortunately, I will be in no need of facial animations!
The models will just have to run around, fight, kick each other and use elemental spells!

$500 is very low
For what he's asking try between 1-2k at least. Your talking alot of work.... I'm really fast my self, and not even doing realism in my game, but what he is asking for would take about 2 weeks. Oh and lets not forget he wants all of the sketches, planning, item models, all skinned of course. Your talking about a full-scale premium model. Best bet is to call anyone of the development companies and ask them, I wouldn't be suprised if my figure was low.

I know it is a LOT of work, that is why I made this thread. And that is why I also thought that $500 is kinda low
But, one remark, I don't need sketches and the planning - I provide all that, but the rest of the things you mentioned - yes, the modeler will have to do it.

do you mind if I ask more about your game? The more info I know on what your doing the better estimate I can give you. I can even probably point you to people who have either done work for me, or charge a fair price. How realistic do you want this model, and the animations?

Well, the design is still a far reach from a completed one, but the general theme of the game is 3rd-person-oriental-fighting, with spells like fireball etc. Seeing as the models are not close to the camera, I do not need them to be detailed, so that is a plus, but the animations should at least look like, for example, a round-kick! The fighting animations need to look good, because they will be in the center of the attention, but the animations of using spells (Example for fireball: Model puts his hands together like praying and pushes them forward), do not need to be so detailed, because the particle effects and the fast-pace of the game will distract the player from these animations. Overall I will need a medium-detail model, but with a huge amount of animations.
That is all I can say for now

EDIT: Also, the models of the items, that are going to be sold in-game, are not so necessary, because I can just modify the skin for that. But maybe some of you modelers can tell me, how can I modify just a part of the model's skin, because I do not want to create numerous skins for every possible item combination.

If I were in your situation, i'd find a cheap modeller/texturer to make the actual model, and then afterwards give the job to someone else strictly for animation. The search for talent is a little more difficult, but I've found the total price is usually cheaper afterwards because there a lot of people that can do good models, but dont like animating.