Well said. I've always been of the opinion that artwork should never be done for free, perhaps with the exception of full-time employed jobs where you're effectively competing not just for a bit of work, but potentially a career that will last for many years.
When you make a piece of art, you own the rights to it. When a client pays you to create an illustration, they are not buying the rights, they are licensing it, usually for a specific purpose like a book cover/magazine page/event poster. You still own the copyright, which means that client can't change it or sell it to someone else. Usually these licences have a time limit too, so a magazine might use your image for 90 days. After that, you are free to relicense that illustration to a different client. Check out this video to learn more: th-cam.com/video/cVPaUzFq8mY/w-d-xo.html
Hey James, if this is about a charitable cause, and the person is offering a collaboration on a children's book - how should I negotiate with them? They have a big platform and they're located in Bulgaria, but what i'm struggling is how do i know my copyright wont be exploited even if there is still some agreement? They need 12 black and white illustrations for a children's book, and they're saying the revenue will be towards donating 50-100 copies of the books to schools for children living in hardship. But how do i know that this will be all and there will not be any printing or profit afterwards? I'm struggling to understand what terms and conditions should I have and do I ask for royalties? The person is not a big corporation but just having a big online presence and the text for the book will be written by them and guess the promotion and revenue will come from their website. I would appreciate any kind of advice, thank you !
It's a tough question. Do you feel like the client is trustworthy? If you don't live in Bulgaria, you probably don't have any way to know if they will print more, so it comes down to a detailed agreement and trust. You could ask them for reassurance that they will only print X amount and will return to you if they way to reprint it. Get it in writing.
@@TheIllustratorsGuide Thank you so much for your response! Yeah i''m based in the UK, but I'm from Bulgaria. I'm not sure if they're trustworthy. Although they're not a corporation, I can see that they've worked in TV , and have been a guest speaker in TV shows, and TEd ed, so maybe it'll be good for promotion too. Seems like they have multiple projects and streams of income, and I just wonder why they wouldn't invest in an illustrator, and expect work for free even if its for charity. I do like the idea of helping for a good cause, but I just don't know if its too risky, and how does an illustrator negotiate in that situation?
I recently decided to do something out of my comfort zone nd offer my service to a local school in my area to a teacher to do a poster for free as exposure...i have not received one client since doing my art fr a few years...i do not know if will make any difference...was this a good idea ...
Thank you! It was very useful for me!
Well said. I've always been of the opinion that artwork should never be done for free, perhaps with the exception of full-time employed jobs where you're effectively competing not just for a bit of work, but potentially a career that will last for many years.
Could you explain more on "not giving your copyright for free"? Do we use our watermark on our arts even after the client made a full payment? 🎀
When you make a piece of art, you own the rights to it. When a client pays you to create an illustration, they are not buying the rights, they are licensing it, usually for a specific purpose like a book cover/magazine page/event poster. You still own the copyright, which means that client can't change it or sell it to someone else. Usually these licences have a time limit too, so a magazine might use your image for 90 days. After that, you are free to relicense that illustration to a different client. Check out this video to learn more: th-cam.com/video/cVPaUzFq8mY/w-d-xo.html
Hey James, if this is about a charitable cause, and the person is offering a collaboration on a children's book - how should I negotiate with them? They have a big platform and they're located in Bulgaria, but what i'm struggling is how do i know my copyright wont be exploited even if there is still some agreement? They need 12 black and white illustrations for a children's book, and they're saying the revenue will be towards donating 50-100 copies of the books to schools for children living in hardship. But how do i know that this will be all and there will not be any printing or profit afterwards? I'm struggling to understand what terms and conditions should I have and do I ask for royalties? The person is not a big corporation but just having a big online presence and the text for the book will be written by them and guess the promotion and revenue will come from their website.
I would appreciate any kind of advice, thank you !
It's a tough question. Do you feel like the client is trustworthy? If you don't live in Bulgaria, you probably don't have any way to know if they will print more, so it comes down to a detailed agreement and trust. You could ask them for reassurance that they will only print X amount and will return to you if they way to reprint it. Get it in writing.
@@TheIllustratorsGuide Thank you so much for your response! Yeah i''m based in the UK, but I'm from Bulgaria. I'm not sure if they're trustworthy. Although they're not a corporation, I can see that they've worked in TV , and have been a guest speaker in TV shows, and TEd ed, so maybe it'll be good for promotion too. Seems like they have multiple projects and streams of income, and I just wonder why they wouldn't invest in an illustrator, and expect work for free even if its for charity. I do like the idea of helping for a good cause, but I just don't know if its too risky, and how does an illustrator negotiate in that situation?
I recently decided to do something out of my comfort zone nd offer my service to a local school in my area to a teacher to do a poster for free as exposure...i have not received one client since doing my art fr a few years...i do not know if will make any difference...was this a good idea ...
Only one way to find out! Let me know how it goes.