Class Notes
Freelance production
Licence- you create work for a client and you give them a licence to use that work for a certain time/purpose
A licence consists of time, territory and media. How long will they use it for, where will your illustration be used, and how you work will be viewed, through sm, newspapers etc (bus stop/ billboards are referred to as out of home or OOH). If your client is making lots of money, you should to! A limited licence is when the client you potentially send the artwork anywhere, but your licence indicates they can only print like 2000 copies.
Book and magazine publishers tend to have set rates:
Fully illustrated book: £6000
Book cover: £800
Magazine cover: £600
Magazine internal illustration: £350
A book publishers would typically expect perpetual worldwide rights to publish the work. You might receive an additional fee if they license the work to a third party publisher
The aoi have a standard template you could use- having a membership for the first year of leaving uni is a really good idea as they can provide a lot of support and useful information
Copyright
Copyrights assignment is not standard practice if you’re an illustrator or photographer, you will keep the overall rights to your artworks. It is a standard you must uphold. If you had copyright over, the client doesn’t need to attribute the artist as the creator of the work, the artist no longer has the right to promote their work in their portfolio, the client has the right to assign a license to anyone else to use the work without the permission of the artist, they can make any changes they want, could upload it to stock image websites to earn revenue, could agree to re-licence the imagery for a big global ad campaign and potentially earn a huge income
DON’T ASSIGN COPYRIGHT AWAY
DACS - the design and artists copyright society
Managing projects
A client gets in touch with a new project in mind- what do you do?
Ask if they have brief-
Yes! They do!- they’ll probably start with a non disclosure agreement, they aren’t very scary and most of the time are one page and means you can’t prance it around in public. They should NEVER contain any copyright assignment. ALWAYS FUCKING READ A CONTRACT
Then they’ll send you a brief! D&AD have lots of example briefs on their websites from actual projects, very useful
Then they’ll send you a contract, and you need to look out for:
Payment schedule- how long you give the client to pay the invoice you send- the standard is 30 days,
Termination fees- if the project gets cancelled then you are still paid an amount, this should be staggered so if you’ve don’t 3/4th of the work- you need 3/4ths of the payment
Liability - the client had got to make sure they cover their asses and ensure u aren’t infringing on anybody else’s copyright- so if you use like a typography you have to ensure you have the right to use it, if you use photography for reference to a realistic degree then the photographer could come up ur ass and go oi. Pay me you bitch
Copyright and ownership- make sure its clear who owns the image
Moral rights- the rights to attribute yourself to the work, the client can reproduce your work without specifically making your name visible in the reproduction. You can still keep the rights and use the image, but sometimes their just isn’t room to put ur name on display
Confidentiality - don’t share wip unless you’re clear with the client that you’ll be doing that. Its normally the clients privilege to share the
Do not compete clauses- do not work for a competitor. It can be a bit of a toss up and you need to weigh how much you want the job- how likely you are to do work in the area you are being forbidden from
When a contract comes through, read through the contract and pick out things you’d like them to change. Don’t be afraid to queue things most of the time they’re more than happy to amend them. Normally they send a bog standard contract out to all their independent contractors so you’ll have to piick through it.
Moral rights is very grey and needs to potentially be thoroughly discussed. For publishing you DO NOT waive them. It’s very important that you have your name associated directly in the publishing field.
A clients contract is a higher level of importance, but if you send your own anyway it can cover any holes in their contract, attach it to the quote and they don’t technically need to sign it- just make sure it gets to them and it can help you if it get legally. Basically just sign up for the aoi.
If they don’t have a brief:
You’ll need to do a little more work with what your doing for the client ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING
What is the scope of the project: what are you doing, how much, how detailed, and nessacary details…
How will the work be used and who for- you may be contacted by a middle man so make sure you know who the end client is of your work
What’s the deadline
File formats- digital, print, vectors
Dimensions- just double check if they ever might want to display it bigger or smaller so dimensions might need to be discussed more throughly.
Its easier to have this initial conversation over the the phone or zoom call, then write up all your notes and their answers in an email and send it back to them to confirm all the details are correct. DO THIS. PEOPLE CAN FUCK YOU OVER IF YOU DONT.
Layers files- ask why would they need this? Question if they have other intended purposes for the files like a short gif edit of the illustration- it has to be licensed!!!!!!
People editing or chopping up your illustration is something that has to be agreed on in the licensing. Like a big illustration being completed and the client wanting layers to grab and put elsewhere in the project.
References- in the brief a client might send you images, photographs or other artists to reference. This is good to discuss to be clear on what they expect visually and contextualise.
Rounds of amends- usually allow 2-3 rounds of feedback built in to the initial fee. This normal consists of sketch confirmation, refined sketch confirmation and then small edits to the final piece. You can ask if they need more time for developing ideas- if they are pretty loose and don’t have a brief, it’ll be a bit of an active conversation and you may have to charge for more rounds of amends and ur kinda holding their hand
Open briefs are kinda like the client doesn’t really know what they want until u show them what they don’t want
Quote or pitch? -
Quote template-
Description- very basic description just so people know what ur referring to
Origination costs (the bare bones cost to complete your work, materials, working days) basically if u give it over and it goes and sits in a draw and nobody ever sees it what should you be paid to make it worth it) and usage licence (time+territory+usage)
Splitting these two can help with being clear on what’s being changed
Total + vat?- you need to earn lots of money to be vat registered
Include: date, client, name of contact, artist, project name, quote number (changes with each iteration) signature space. Then on other pages put on a terms and conditions for backup
Or they might want a more comprehensive pitch document. If you want to impress them and sell urself then u can give them a pitch. Show them examples of your relevant work and why you would fit and who you’ve worked for, timeline- the project roadmap and the level of communication you expect, cost proposal, potential additional deliverables frame the cost of what they’re asking for and potentially upsell licensing for merch and events, references and research
Briefing- talk through the brief with the client on the phone or in person can really help you build your connections. Make them consolidate their feedback into set communication timeframes (like u need feedback within 24hrs) is this a re-brief? When a client changes their mind and kinda wants you to start again- you can ask for an extra fee to cover the time you have already spent. Just be a good person to work with
Invoice on completion of the project, 30 day payment is standard. Keep an address book of all your contacts and invoices.
Pitches are good to be put in a landscape format
LAUNCH NOTES
There will be many speakers and much information on different illu careers/paths
How will you make a living from your art? Be honest with yourself, are you an illustrator, a filmmaker, or not interested in the art field?
You’ll be setting up an exit strategy, what is the best possible outcome for your career? What’s the most realistic journey that will
Outcomes
Portfolio website
Promotional items
Evaluation/exit strategy - like 500 words, its not really big enough but your blog will encompass everything ur doing to set yourself up
Demonstrate an engagement with professional practice/ live briefs depending on your practice
A physical portfolio might be better in some cases with some clients, but most are digital these days. Either a downloadable one or a website
This module is more about thinking outside of the university now, how will your art look like in the wider world
You can challenge any of these outcomes if they don’t fit your practice, but you’ll need to find something that covers the same core skills.
Live brief links are on blackboard, you can just look and not end up applying just to get an idea about what commissioning will be like in various aspects
Look at case studies! Contact illustrators and art directors, galleries, for information on how they broke into the industry, or what artists they host
Module learning outcomes assessed by this task:
1: Research and Analyse sources of information relevant to their practice and future ambitions.
2: Define and Locate their practice in relation to their area of creative practice and audience.
3: Create self-promotional material relevant to their practice and collective exhibition initiatives.
4: Evaluate, review and critically reflect on their own work, and the work of others in relation to their future practice.
5 :Present themselves and their work in a coherent manner.
Be professional, it can sometimes be the aspect that gets you the job over others. Be on time, hand in on time, be good to clients and they are more likely to recommission and recommend you
Be an expert, whatever your field
There are promotional mail outs you can get into
If you’re making a physical artwork take images in a professional manner.
Your portfolio can come in a manner of forms, a publication, promotions, postcards, leaflets, pop up books, if it’s memorable it’s more likely to be kept but make sure to not be out of pocket too much. Do a targeted approach, BE VISUAL
You can mail people a more memorable intro to your art, and follow up, email a follow up and ask if they got it and if they might be considering you.
If you have many different visual styles, consolidate them into different portfolios to send to different clients so you don’t confuse clients.
Make sure your identity is consistent across the board. It makes it easier to recognise you, make sure your work takes centre stage. Your portfolio should also consider how your work might look in different contexts, like building murals, packaging
Work experience
ELCAF
External shows students have done
D&AD
New designers
Hoxton arches
Exit strategy/ Statement of Intent
Short term long term
Target market
Client list
Exit velocity
Location, studio. Earring a living
Promotional short term and long term
Ma teaching /travel/
MAKE CONNECTIONS!!!!!
Lots of people want to be involved in showing their art, so if u organise a show and contact people, you’re likely to get responses :3
Deadline in MAY
Show if you do markets and things!!!! It’s a part of you launching your career and your narrative, INCLUDE IT!
The main content of this module will actually get up and running in February , to get the current module out of the way
Your work is valued on the LICENCE and your EXPERIENCE, never sell the artwork unless you get a good offer.
mereida.co.uk/post/pro-practice she has a downloadable look at that
How do you start to develop an awareness of your practice and start to create a personal visual language
