Well, here is what I was thinking;
The original FRUA actually came with a decent amount of art, at the very least enough to complete a well-rounded design with.
DC, as functionally wonderful as it is, it seriously lacking in the default art (even though it has improved a lot since I starting monkeying with DC). Since one of the goals of DC is to mimic FRUA in what it offers, I at least think it should offer a similar level of art like FRUA did.
You are correct in that we can't just throw whatever we want in and filesize is a big concern when one is talking about delivering a complete package (I know, 'cause I'm still one of those old 56k modem users). This is where the 'art show' contests I was thinking about can come in.
The community as a whole could decide on the theme of the 'art show', then everyone who was willing or able could contribute to the show. This could be done once or more between DC updates so that each successive release would have new and/or improved art. Then by 1.0 DC would have a decent collection together, at least enough for the newest users interested in 'Crafting could get going right away building a quality design without having to buy new paint software or learn some new skills.
As far as how the 'shows' would take place, they would be something like this :
1) Community/organizers decide on the theme and format for the pics needed. (i.e. Character small pics, town small pics, wood wall sets, etc.)
2) Format limits set for the show. (i.e. must be for 640x480, use png compression, not larger than xxkb, must fit within current pic window defaults, etc.)
3) Declaration that the artwork must be original or other proof that it is not copyrighted.
4) Set a deadline for submissions to the contest and send instructions of how to make submission.
5) Let the freakishly talented artists of DC do their thang.
6) Once the deadline passes, someone collects all the submission and makes a web-page or something like that available to the community.
7) Let the community vote on which ones they like the best for x number of days.
8) Take the top 3 or whatever submissions and include them in the next release of DC.
And so on and so forth....
Just thought I would throw this out there.
Let me know whach y'all think!