Hello,

If you're reading this, it is because you're either looking to hire an artist for a job or you're an artist looking to find a job. Before you go jumping into this whole transaction, I'd like to take this opportunity to lay out a few suggestions which are based upon my own knowledge and experiences as a freelance designer and artist.

Contracts
Before you start a job, you need a contract. This contract does not need to contain a ton of fine print or legal mumbo-jumbo. Instead, it only needs to describe the rules of the job, and it only needs to be in plain English (or your language of choice).

The first part of a contract is the contact information. Place both party's name, address, phone number, and any other contact info on the contract, and label them "artist" and "client."

The second part is to outline what the job actually entails. Write out what the artist is responsible for, and write out what the client is responsible for. Maybe the artist is supposed to provide drawings of a character, and the client is supposed to provide monetary compensation. Either way, both party's responsibilities need to be clearly outlined. Do not waver from these responsibilities EVER. If the client asks for you (the artist) to do some additional work not listed in the contract, write up a new contract.

The third step is to make a timeline. Figure out when certain items are due on the artist's end, and when the client is supposed to pay for those items. This doesn't need to be a complicated timeline, but it needs to at least have a due date.

The fourth step of this process is to decide whether or not the client actually owns the artwork. That's right, just because they're paying you doesn't mean they get to run away with it. Your work can be used to make a ton of money on the client's end, and they need to reimburse you (the artist) fairly. So, write out what the work is to be used for. If the client wants to use it elsewhere, then they owe you a small licensing fee. All of this is assuming you don't hand over the rights to the work entirely. Remember, this step is up to you.

The final step is for BOTH parties to sign and date the contract. Each party gets their own copy of the contract to keep. Work may begin, now.


A side note: Do not hand over artwork until you (the artist) has received payment for the work. Place watermarks or identifying symbols/lettering on all of the sample images you send, and never send final-sized documents that can be easily stolen. Once you've been paid for a certain bit of work, then it's okay to hand over the files. If any client questions this method, then their integrity is equally questionable.




Remember, this is being provided based upon my professional experience. I don't want artists to be taken advantage of, and so I suggest everybody adhere to this method in ANY transaction. Good luck with your work, and if you have any questions feel free to post them here or Note me.

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_{Creative Director, deviantART}