Okay, backgrounds should probably be the same as some of your graphic artist requests other than the RPG sites, you could avertise in forums that cater to artists, I believe there are some on proboards as well as going through the gateway links and contacting some of those artists. Or perhaps a local college, tech school or high school might have people willing to work for exposure rather than money.

As for admins, I suggest strongly you recruit from within your player ranks. Recruit people who have shown dedication to the board and who post. At first you will be short handed, but after about 2 - 3 months you should be able to tell who will stick around. OR ask people who play there if they know anyone who would be good.

As for creative assistance, the same start the board out small with what you are comfortable with. Let the players and other admins help build the depth. You'll find that One thing that helped us was we told players to post all questions in one place. Then the moderators sat down and brainstormed or researched the answers.

Zeta Thompson
Graycastle
Part of the Zeta Entertainment Network ,a Subsidiary of Dogs of War.
Dow and Zen