Contracts

Contracts are essential for any illustration assignment. Depending on the industry your contract id for, there are going to be some differences. A book publishing contract, for instance, is going to have different needs than an editorial contract or a licensing contract.

Every contact needs a introduction. This should include the date the agreement is being entered into, the names of the different parties entering into the agreement and their locations.

There should be a description of the work that will be done. This will cover the full scope of the project. ‘You don’t want to commit to doing twelve illustrations for a certain fee, only to have the client later add three more and expect you to do it for the same price’. You must have clear understanding of what the project covers so there are no misunderstandings.

Due dates are required for rough sketches and final art pieces as well as other important dates that must be met. 

As an illustrator, you’re not actually selling art, but the rights of reproduction. It’s in your best interest to limit the client’s rights as much as possible and retain the bulk of them for yourself. A clause indicating what rights are being purchased are important. 

Reservation of rights is another thing to be included in your contract. This is just a simple clause to say that, if it ain’t in the contract, you ain’t giving it away.

A fee will need to be agreed upon and put in the contract. As well as a fee agreement, there should a standard clause included that clarifies the client can only use your work the way it was intended. if the client decides they wish to use for anything else that you should be contacted to agree upon a new fee for this additional usage.

A clause outlining payment should be included in your contract. Standard payments are typically due within 30 days after receiving final art. Make sure payment is due upon delivery and not upon publication. Within this clause, you can include charging a percentage fee for late payments. For illustrations where you may need an advance fee, its important that you have this information in the contract. Advances are helpful if its going to be a longtime project and you may need money upfront to keep you afloat whilst you work on it. 

In a contract, it’s vital to ensure that you have the first opportunity to make any revisions to your art. You don't want to be in a position when seeing your art published and realising that the art director did all kinds of things to it without your permission or consultation. You’ll also want to have your copyright notice indicated somewhere near your art and a clause like this guarantees that the client does this.

Authorship credit is important as you want to be given credit for the work that you have produced. With this hopefully more work will come your way.

A cancelation fee will need to be included in the contract and is considered an important part of a contract. This covers the ‘what if’ variables that come up that may mean you have to abandon the project. It is important to state the different percentages that are expected to be paid at different levels of completion. Usually, for final art that has been sent off, its customary to be paid 100% of the fee, regardless of whether the client decides to use it or not. 

If the job is cancelled before the final art has been sent off, research has suggested anywhere from 33 - 75% depending on the stage you were at when the project was cancelled. Another thing to think about is even though you may not have started any work before the project gets cancelled, you may wanted to still come up with a cancelation fee because with taking on this project you may have had to turn down different projects an so lost out on them as well. 

You want to specify somewhere in the contract that the ownership of the artwork remains with you. Remember, when selling an illustration, you’re selling the rights of reproduction, not the art itself.

You’ll want a clause in your contracts to cover what happens should things get to a point that the legal system needs to get involved. Depending on your situation and preference, you may want things to go through arbitration or the court system.