[nickadocker]

Hi people,

I have been working at a stifling, 9 to 5, monotonous, life-sucking day-job for way too long! I am absolutely committed to reaching the point where I am fully supporting myself off of my artwork, and I was hoping I could get some quick advice.

Things seem to be going in a great direction so far as I�ve been asked to illustrate a series of children�s books. However, I�m not sure how to arrange payment because I�ve always just created art for fun, and making money off of it is new to me. In any case, here are the questions I received from the author interested in using my art and I was wondering how to respond:

�Do you charge by illustration, by book, by royalties, or a combination of two? I would like to have the copy rights on the characters as they are part of the books and they�re my grand kids.�

I�d like to be paid per illustration, but I�m wondering if it is wiser to be paid on an hourly basis instead? Also, is it possible to earn royalties in addition to being paid per illustration? If so, how do you set up royalties? Also, what specifically does it mean to �have the copy rights on the characters?� Is that bad for me? How would it affect things?

Even though I�m new to the payment process, I don�t want to offer my creative services for below value just to �get a foot in the door.� The author has said that my artwork is on a professional level, and I want to make sure we both come out with a win-win agreement. However, I�m not in a position to do the work for free or super cheap, and then hope to earn royalties in the future. I don�t expect to make billions of dollars or anything off this project; it just needs to be worth my time and effort.

Any ideas how to respond would be extremely helpful!
Thanks for reading my post!

Nick
PS - I'm new here so I hope this is an OK place for me to post this question.

[Jin]

Hi nickadocker,

Go as fast as you can to the Illustrators list at Yahoo! Groups where you'll find professional illustrators, many of whom are childrens book illustrators.

They can give you the skinny on how to protect yourself from getting into a deal that isn't the best for you (for one thing, you may not want to sign over your copyrights). They'll help you get off to a better start.

Here's the URL:

Illustrators List


Good luck!


...........

[Gort]

Typically the work you produce freelance is your own and is used to license and reproduce. The publisher doesn't retain ownership of your illustrative work, regardless if it's his/her grandkid, their car, house - whatever - you created it and it's yours. You're simply licensing reproduced copies for publication; the license is usually good for a period of one year and renewed after that, if so desired by the publisher. Royalties are part of the equation and based on a percentage.

Get educated. If you're going to make a living off what you do, then you need to treat yourself like a actual business. Contracts, statements of work, invoicing, tax and tax deductions, etc. - it's all part of it.

A couple of good places to start:

Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

You'll find a lot of documents here - on an included CD - that you customize for your purposes:
Business and Legal Forms for Graphic Designers

Good luck
_________________
- Tom Carter

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf" - Jack Kornfield

[moritat]

Nick,

Wow, welcome to the layer cake. hahahaha.

Advice? after 18 years of freelancing.

Starting:

Free jobs, if you get to draw what you want, it'll get you to the next step.
don't do dog portraits if you don't like to do them. walking away from a 9-5 is not smart if you are just trying to make a living doing art that you don't want to do.
What makes you want to do fulltime freelance? comic books, Fantasy painting , video games? focus in one direction. and stick with it. if you make it, then the'll be time to do other stuff.

begining/starting out:

After you find out, alot of people want something for free or little to no money. you'll also find a few steady paying jobs out of maybe 10-15 deadends. Stick with them to get the experience of working with a commited company with money. Keep doing side work to keep you on top of your game and humble.

Mid level:

Alot of artists drop out at this point. money coming in doesn't mean it's time to enjoy it and goof off. work harder.
When you hit the med career point that's when art directors look for Begining/starting out people to replace you for bad aditude, over pricing, conflict of schedules. fresh styles.
Keep a eye on the kids coming up. study and practice. I know so many guys at this level who thought they made it only to get replaced by two kids for half the price and work ten times faster.

the big time:

I don't know. still busting my hump. hahahaha. if you get there before me let me know.

Moritat