HALP! my magnum-opus is nearing completion. i want a cover made! its a fantasy-mystery type thing, and its HUGE. any help? advice? know where i can find a artist? 
Are you looking to hire someone?
Some game dev forums have places to advertise for paid work.
Several acquaintances have gone looking for an artist whose style they like (somewhere like DeviantArt or Flickr) and then commissioned a piece directly.
If you have a local college/university/technical college, there’s a good chance you can find someone there.
There’s always Craigslist.
If you’re looking for free art . . . that’s a bit more complicated. You may be able to find an image that suits; I’ve had very very good luck with artists letting me use their stuff in return for credit. Or you might be able to make something yourself, possibly by repurposing open-source artwork. (Different artists have different rules, but I’ve had good luck trawling Flickr’s creative commons pages and then double-checking with photographers that it’s okay to Photoshop their work.) Probably the hardest thing is to find someone professional to do something custom for you for free.
Did you have something particular in mind for an image, or an example you want to emulate?
If your question is, “Where can I find someone to pay to make me cover art?” then let’s talk. 
Otherwise, as gravel said, there’s a lot you can do with Creative Commons images, both on Flickr and Wikimedia Commons, and some Photoshop. Emily Short has some tips: emshort.wordpress.com/how-to-pla … cover-art/
Failing that, if you’re trying to get an artist to work for you for free, it seems to me that the best way to convince them to do so is to have a really awesome project, and make absolutely clear how awesome the project is. Pretty much the only time I personally would be interested in doing free work for someone I don’t know in real life is if I think I have a good chance of an exposure boost. So that means either a well-known author, or a project that is clearly poised to be a hit. Even so, you’re still only going to get people like me, who may have some skill but are early enough in their careers that “potential exposure” is worth anything at all, and who are not necessarily going to put “I’m getting paid for this!” effort in.
Or you can find someone who loves drawing and money isn’t the only thing on his/her mind. In other words, pretty much what everyone in this forum is doing, except not IF, but drawing.
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Even someone who loves drawing usually loves making drawings for their own project, and most artists would rather not be associated with a subpar game. I personally cannot afford to spend much time on things that do not pay me, and artists who are making enough money that that’s not a concern are generally too busy as well. I don’t think it’s too unrealistic to say “maybe I’ll do something for free if you convince me it’s worth my time, but I have to warn you that paying projects take the front burner.”
As you say, everyone on this forum loves making IF, but there tends to be resounding silence when anyone asks for a programmer or a writer, too. Would it be fair to say that money is the only thing on the mind of someone who says “Yes, I’m a programmer, but I’d rather not code your game for you, since I barely know you. That is, unless you want to pay me.”?
Even in this forum, people have tough luck getting others to code their game for them, though. There’s a world of difference between “I’m drawing this because I want to and feel inspired to” and “I’m doing this at someone else’s behest.” Usually there needs to be a personal connection in there, either with the work or with the paycheck or a relationship with the writer, etc.
I like gardening, and money isn’t the only thing on my mind, but I have no interest in pulling someone’s weeds for free. Art is work when it’s for someone else - and often when it’s just for your own benefit. And it can be well worth paying for. (But also, don’t underestimate what you can do, or learn to do, on your own.)
well, one idea i was hoping for is maybe to meet an artist who has a plethora of crap laying around that i could choose from and give due credit, of course. i am friends with a guy who does artwork for Rockstar games and he is too busy to create something for me, but said i can choose anything he’s already made, but unfortunately, nothing fits my needs in his collection. just a thought.
Hmm. Did you have a style/subject in mind?
yeah, its an alternate-world (fantasy) type thing, but more low-fantasy than high-fantasy, with an mystery arc, of course. also, its freaking enormous. i feel there is a lack of really long, immersive games at times, so i wanted to make something that someone can get into for a long while. plus its just one of multiple, projected parts. so yeah, anything really thats representative of the setting or a scene from within the work would work for me.
If you want to PM me the details, I’d be happy to help you dig around. Can’t promise it will help, but it couldn’t hurt.
Have you thought of putting together a couple of nice Tarot cards with an appropriate connection – something like the Emperor, the Hierophant, and the Fool maybe? I’ve just been looking at your blog, and it seems like you’re already linking them to your game; and it seems like you might be able to get some nice (and medieval) public-domain images that way.
wow, matt, i really didnt think of that, and im not being sarcastic. its true, my blog has a bunch of tarot images, so why not incorporate that? lol. but gravel, i will talk to u as well, because ideally i would love an image that (hopefully somewhat) represents a character, place, or scene from the work.
thanks, guys, i love this forum! 
I’ve done free commissions for people in the past, so if my stuff looks interesting to you, I could probably do something.
You can look at my deviantart: http://jewelleddragon13.deviantart.com/
wow, man, i really like the art! plus u have a lot in the fantasy-genre. so yeah, we should talk!
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
I know of a good artist if ezfreemann makes an AIF.
I have spotted a few things weird with those pics (erotic art), but what’s unnatural about them could be called style instead of bad art.
Even paintings of melting clocks were called bad art once.
Hey, you’re pretty good! 
We could also use your talent after you do ezfreemann’s IF.
I’ll make a new thread for it, if this is actually a Thing Of Interest.
ezfreemann, want to send me some details? A copy of the game would be helpful (bonus: I can playtest it).