[Lunatique]

Someone wants to purchase an already finished digital piece from me. He basically wants a resolution high enough to print out as a poster. The piece is only about destop wallpaper size in the original file. In order to fulfill his resolution needs, I have to blow it up to somewhere around 8700 pixels, and then go back in and repaint some of the details.

I have NO idea how much to charge for something like that.

I've been doing freelance work for over 10 years, yet this is the first time I had to deal with a transaction of this nature.

Suggestions?

[Frog]

Well there's two ways to price work:

a) By time/per piece

b) For usage

It's up to you how you want to do it, for time based costing work out how long you think it will take you, add 30-50% more time on top of that to account for corrections/amends and then charge an hourly or daily rate. Ballpark figure for artwork is around $300/day.

Usage is a more professional approach where you charge a fee for someone to lease the rights of an image off you. This is how most illustrators work (but not in-house freelance artists). Here you charge an appropriate fee for the work in itself and then consider the license/use. For something that is a one-off or a small run charge roughly the same as you would for time based costing. For something which is more widely distributed and/or will be used for a longer amount of time add more. For instance, if your work is being used for a national ad campaign you can realistically charge $10,000-$20,000 for a single image.

If the use needs to run longer than the original agreement you should be paid more. Never sign off the copyright (I'm sure you laready know this), it should always stay with you.

Hope that helps

[ May 17, 2002: Message edited by: Frog ]

[ceenda]

I second the comment about the copyright. Once you've sold that off you'll see your work re-appear in 101 places with no revenue to yourself and probably butchered by the graphics department's work-experience kid.

[Lunatique]

Well, it seems to me it's just some guy who really likes one of my paintings and wants a poster of it. I tend to be very soft-hearted when it comes to charging a private commission. I WANT people to be able to enjoy my artwork without paying an arm or a leg for it, but I don't want to just give away a poster-resolution file to strangers either.

Of course, for commercial work, I'll charge full price, since it's being used to MAKE money.

[Dr. Bang]

YO HOE~!!!!!!! which pic was it? let me guess,

Melanchotic Princess?

DIng ding

[Lunatique]

Nope.

He wants "Snow."

A lot of people seem to like Snow better than Melancholic Princess. Probably because of the better composition.

[Lunatique]

This is what I'm thinking of writing him:

"Hey there,

I think it'll take me around 3 hours or so to get the details back in(give or take a hour), but this is only guessing, as I've never done anything like it.

My normal rates are around $50 an hour for contract work, but that's for professional work. For a request like yours, I'm only charging something so I'm not going out of my way to do it for nothing. Let's say $20 a hour?

Like I said before, I would just give you the original file for free at its current resolution, as I don't believe in charging people who wants if for their own private enjoyment. But, it's hardly at a good resolution for printing posters.

BTW, thanks for the kind words. It's always nice to have people understand and appreciate what you do.

Rob"

What do you think?

[BlackPool]

Light, thankyou. You ansered part of my question. I was basically asking if in such a case as this, who owns the orinal artwork? And you say that the artist does if it's in the contract but he can only sell it, right? That begs the question then, is this a common agreement between an illustrator an a big name company like Marvel or whoever?

[Light]

I'm not PERSONALLY knowledable of the area but generally in a comic half the work goes to the inker and half goes to the pencil artist.

These original works are generally sold for like $50-$500. Hmm, if in the case an artist doesnt ink over the original pencil lines -- I don't know.

But.. yes generally the artist owns the original work but the company owns the right to make reproductions.

Now.. what happens if the work is digital cover or such? I don't know.

Also, "big names" might be some sort of special treatment.

But from what I know.. yes most companies split the work 50/50 between inker/penciler.

[ May 17, 2002: Message edited by: Light ]

[Asurfael]

Blackpool, in the US copyright law it says that the work you do for yourself, you get the rights. but if you do the work by commission, the copyright and all the things coming with that go to the EMPLOYER, not the employee, unless you've got a written agreement to do otherwise. So if you're making contract work and want to keep let's say private reproduction rights and the copyright to yourself but allow some company/person to use the picture commercially, you'd better make a contract about it. otherwise if you make a working contract and do the job, the copyright's not yours. If you want to have any rights to a contract based work, be sure it's mentioned in the contract.

[BlackPool]

Thankyou both very much for imparting your knowledge of copyright laws and contracts. I'm sure this information will be benificial to not just me, but to a lot of other people who read this.

Lunatique: Again I apologize for interrupting your toppic.

[Lunatique]

Hey, no problem. It's always good to have off-topic discussions if it's a worthwhile detour.

The reason why I'm even charging anything at all is because I'll have to actually repaint a lot of the details JUST for him. Having to blow it up to about 8 times of its current resolution, a lot of detail would get blurry, and to work it back in would be time consuming.

I always give away full-resolution files of my paintings for free when someone asks nicely. But in this case, the nature of the request requires me to actually paint.

I worked in comics for 8 years, and the copyright issue varies depending on your contract. If you are working on a title that featured characters owned by the publisher, then you typically have the right to sell the original drawings/paintings, but you don't hold the copyright. BUT, if you had CREATED those characters and had negotiated a contract for that character, it's possible for you to own the copyright, but such cases are rare when dealing with big boys like Marvel.

For independent publishers, it's far more flexible. For example, I hold the copyright to Enchanted(created by me), but Sirius holds the trademark. That was a contract to prevent either one of us from making a deal alone with Hollywood if they ever come knocking for the rights to make a film. From their perspective, they don't want to spend time and money publishing your work, and then be shoved aside when the big money deal comes.

[ May 17, 2002: Message edited by: Lunatique ]

[BlackPool]

First off, my appologies to Lunatique for posting something off topic to his thread, but I have a burning question about not selling off your copywright. Say Marvel comics comes to you and asks you to illustrate a cover or a poster of say Spiderman. Are you saying that you still have a copywrite to that image that you made and should retain some control of what Marvel does with your illustration of thier property?

[Jucas]

Why not make the poster yourself? Then you can send him the poster instead of the file.

[Light]

I wouldn't charge much of anything.

Just think of the many prints, posters, reproductions, etc an art collector can buy.

Considering the amount of quality material an art collector has to choose from in purchasing reproductions, posters, prints, etc. It seems without a "big name" even if yuor work is really great that you have some steep competition.

Sure there are people who buy crappy art all the time perphaps because they like it or don't know any better or just want to be charitable -- but I'm not one of them.

I'm not even suggestign that your work is not good. I'm just contemplating on the matter.

But.. I would ask what is the purpose and charged based on the purpose.

If you cant afford to run off your own prints then sell the picture to the would-be-buyer but have him/her sign a contract that does not give him/her the right to distribute the product in any way/shape/form. Example, he only has the right to make prints from it for his/her personal use and displayes in his/her private home/gallery/etc.

Sure your work could still get out but you could get it removed plus it is not likely sense the buyer knows he/she has the only full size image of it.

[Light]

Blackpool:

I'm not sure what you stating. If the contract states that you own the original then this would be your original. You own the "piece" but Marvel owns all the reproduction rights.

Meaning unless you have special contracts signed that you can only sell the original work. If marvel grants reproduction rights then that would be dependant on the contract.

[Light]

.. Btw to give you some ideas

posters from boris/julie run from about $30-100

I can buy a signed limited edition print of Brom's work for $40 - 17x26

Musuem quality replications 24x30 paintings of master works - $900

...

[BlackPool]

Thanks Lunatique. And to your situation I would say that if it were me, I would charge whatever seemed right for the time involved to make the changes yet fair to the other guy who just wants to put it up one his wall and admire it. So for me, if it takes like 5 hours to make the changes, then something like $10 seems fair. But if he put a time limit on me, I would charge him more.

[Light]

$10?

I think you mean $100 unless you are like saying your time is worth $2/hour.

I say.. if you dont want to do it then charge whatever you feel like as he may not pay anyway.

However, a "fair" deal would be around $25-$120.

[BlackPool]

You would charge $120 for that? That seems a little steep to me but then my work doesn't seem to be much in demand.

[Ian Jones]

Art is worth whatever ppl are willing to pay for it. Golden rule...

I mean just check out some of these ridiculous art auctions they have where millions of dollars change hands.