Negotiating Contracts for Freelance Work

By
Armand Cabrera


In writing these articles, I am sharing my opinions and experiences as a freelance artist. I am not a lawyer nor am I offering legal advice.

In this article I am not talking about gallery contracts for easel paintings and this article is geared towards freelance production or illustration work. Gallery contracts have been covered before here.

Let’s say you have set up your business to start freelancing. You have a website dedicated to your work; you have a business name and bank account. You have a portfolio to show. You have done your homework and decided on a range of pay that is commensurate with the industry you want to work in. You start applying for work and get a return call about your portfolio and a client wants to hire you for a project. You speak on the phone and maybe meet in person to nail down the specifics of what is expected of you before you agree to take the job. This is a good time to be professional and ask about scheduling, delivery, compensation and payment. You are negotiating a contract.

At its basic level a contract is an agreement between two parties for services and compensation. When agreeing to work for a client you are entering into a contract. Do you know what the terms of that contract are? You can never assume anything about an agreement to perform work and that is why it is better to have a contract in writing. Some people are afraid to ask for a contract thinking they will lose potential business, but a contract protects both parties involved and helps clarify any misunderstandings before they can occur.

If a client is reluctant to create a formal contract I make sure all my questions are answered in emails as a follow up to the initial discussion. If I have met with the client over the phone or in person I tell them at the end of the conversation that I would like to clarify the discussion and that I will email them my understandings. This gives them a chance to correct any misunderstanding before work starts.

The courts have ruled that promises made in emails can be binding under certain conditions. Emails are not considered legal contracts. When I talk to clients either in person or on the phone I write the down the key points of the conversation in a notebook. This way I am creating a journal of the discussion and all of this information helps if there ever is a problem and you have to go to court or arbitration.

I stay positive and don’t expect problems, I just prepare for them. As a freelancer here are things you want to negotiate before you start work.







Compensation

Are you being paid by the hour or the piece? Either way make sure the compensation offered is adequate with the work involved and fits into your predetermined range for work. I like to break up the assignments into first pass, second pass, and final approval. Once approval is given for a piece any changes afterward are a new assignment for work and requires more money.



Time

How long do you have to complete the assignment? This includes the time it takes for research and reference and of course the work itself. Will the client provide any source material or supporting material? What are their deadlines for delivery of those assets?

Delivery

How is the work to be delivered? If it is digital what are the specifications for the type and size of the files? What software do I have to choose from to do the work? If I am creating traditional art what medium can I work in? How is the piece to be delivered, can I send a digital file and who pays for scanning?

Payment

Payment is not the same as compensation. When and how are you going to be paid? Check, electronic transfer? Each system is a trade between cost and convenience. Do your homework and work it out with your bank or service ahead of time so there are no unexpected charges for you.

Do you get a portion up front? I always ask for a deposit up front and most of the time I get it. A deposit does two things it shows you the client has money and that they don’t expect you to work for free. For long term jobs for games I like to set up milestones. I don’t like going more than a month at a time for payment, two weeks is even better. That way I don’t have too much invested if the check bounces or doesn’t ever arrive.

Model fees

If you are doing illustration it is always good to ask about model fees if appropriate. Some clients have a budget for them and some don’t; either way you need to know so you can negotiate a fair wage for your services.

Ownership and use of images

How will your work be used and what rights are being negotiated? You need to discuss this before you start the job. Can you use the work in your portfolio? If so when would that be appropriate? For movies or games you might have to wait until the property is released publicly. Make sure all this is understood from the beginning.

Starting a Career in Art part 2

By Armand Cabrera




Starting a business as an artist or illustrator is a huge leap of faith for most people. I used to joke with my family that at least I didn’t want to be a professional poet which was the only other profession that you have even less chance of making your sole income from than being an artist.
Respect the process and yourself. Whatever it is you choose to do, treat it with reverence. I don’t kid around about my art, I treat it seriously. I am never afraid to turn down work that I think is beneath me or I think would demean my skills. I try not to be rude when asked to do something silly because I am an artist, but I really don’t need to paint signs for lemonade stands in the neighborhood anymore.

 When I started and I would get turned down for a job I would ask why and if I was lucky enough to get an honest answer I never ignored the advice given. Especially if it had to do with improving my skills so I could get professional work.

I have turned down questionable jobs because on top of everything else they wouldn’t sign a contract. Contracts not only protect you but also your clients. In my experience the only people who don’t want to sign a mutually agreed to contract are people who plan to break them anyway or have some hidden agenda that they don’t want to reveal.

If you take a job, do your best work possible. One of the bad things about lowballing jobs is it creates an atmosphere of doing things just good enough. I make sure that if I agree to a price for a job I get paid well enough to do my best work. If you aren’t going to do your best don’t take the work at all.

Reward yourself for a job well done. One of the things I learned was to pay myself first. Give myself a little treat when I finished a job just to make the parts of it that weren’t fun worthwhile. In really slow times that might not be buying something, it may be just a day off to sit around and read. Rewarding yourself for a job well done is important, especially as a contractor when a lot of the time the only compliment is the check.

Starting a Career in Art

By Armand Cabrera


I see a lot of young people coming out of art schools these days saddled with high debts and little to prepare them for the real world of a working artist. I thought I would offer some advice on making a living as an artist.


A portfolio is worth more than a degree

Your portfolio is your strongest asset, degrees don’t matter. When you start looking for work avoid jumping into the market too soon if your work isn’t at a professional level. This is the biggest problem I see for most students when they decide to get into art. They compare themselves to the bottom of the professional market. Always compare yourself to the top of the market and work on your skillsets to achieve that quality.


Know what you are worth

Decide on a price for your work before you ever approach a venue with a portfolio. Do your homework for the industry you want to work in. Know what salary ranges are and what is expected from you as an artist. Never apply for a job beyond your skillsets no matter how much you want to work. Make sure you know what you need to make each month monetarily to pay your bills. Know how long it takes you to paint each piece in your portfolio. That way you know how much work you have to finish each month to live comfortably.


Never undersell yourself.

While it is good to start low and work your way up, don’t give away your services –ever. Respect the process and your craft and it will provide you with a living. There is a lot of noise about how tough it is to get into the industry. There are more opportunities now than when I started. There are so many venues now; social gaming, online gaming, plus all the consoles on the market and all the TV and Movie opportunities. There is a lack of qualified artists in the industry mainly because schools are cashing in on the art craze but aren’t training the students properly.


Start small and work your way up.

I started getting work locally then regionally then landed bigger national jobs. I didn’t start by trying to get a job at the top. I built a portfolio of solid work at every stage that I was proud to show.
I went to conventions a couple of times a year and showed my work. It is how I landed my first jobs in the industry.
I did the same with competitions when I wanted to get into galleries. I entered local, then regional, then national competitions. I Stayed and competed at each level until I received recognition and awards.


Go where the work is

When you are starting out you can’t really afford to stay in East Gall Bladder forever if there are no jobs there. Those smaller markets tend to be more saturated because of the limited jobs opportunities. The pay tends to be lower and the skill requirements do too. That can help you find work if you are properly trained but probably won’t sustain you fulltime. Once you conquer the local market it is time to consider going to where the jobs are. You have a much better chance of getting an art job in Los Angeles or Seattle than South Dakota.



Create your business identity

This is often overlooked starting out. Have a professional looking website or blog and show only your best work. Secure your domain name and use an email with it for work. Don’t advertise for Hotmail and Google. Your email should be your name. Like soandso@yourname.com. Join as many professional networks as possible. Avoid creating blogs where you express your opinions on aliens and the illuminati conspiracy.

Have business cards that have all your contact information. Get in the habit of handing them out. While it is okay to have a digital business card to share if you have a smart phone but smart phones only make up 19% of the market.



I will come back to this  in a couple of weeks with more on the actual process of running a business. Invoices, contracts, tax strategies for a sole proprietor and the like.

Village Square Demo

By Armand Cabrera

I had a great week of painting with my friend Paul Vosper who was out visiting from the Seattle area.

One day we drove up to Winchester and painted in Old town there. It was a beautiful spring day.


We were both drawn to this café scene of the Village Square Restaurant. They were just opening for the local lunch crowd so we set up and got right to painting.


First I made a relatively careful drawing of the scene. Scenes like this one require a more careful approach than your usual outdoor landscape painting. I decided on the placement of my larger shapes and marked those on the canvas.¬


Next I placed the elements in relation to my initial drawing.


Since most of the scene was in shadow I started blocking in my darkest shapes so I wouldn’t paint the rest of the shadow planes too dark.


I then proceeded to work around the canvas to establish the big color shapes of the various elements. Usually I just focus on the value and colors aspects at this stage having already locked in my drawing but in this case because the drawing was so complex I am correcting small errors in size shape and angle as I go.


As the lunch crowd arrives I place them for interest before going on with the rest of the painting. While patterns of light move through the scene I pick and choose their placement to enhance a sense of movement.



I finish with the trees and background buildings and tighten up the people. I let edges go where I think it is appropriate. The complete painting time is three hours. This painting will be the basis for a larger studio painting of the same scene.

 The village Square 12x16 oil on linen

Donald Teague

by
Armand Cabrera

Donald Teague was born in Brooklyn New York in 1897. After high school he studied watercolor briefly at the Pratt Institute before attended more extensive studies at the Art Students League under George Bridgman and Frank Vincent Dumond. In 1918 Teague served in the Navy at the end of World War 1 On his return to the states he continued his studies at the Art Students League and met and was helped by Dean Cornwell. Teague credit Cornwell as having the most influence on him as an illustrator.


Teague landed his first illustration job in 1921. HE received his first assignment for the Saturday Evening Post in 1923. After the Post he quickly gained recognition and began working for Colliers, McCall’s, American and Women’s home Companion. The work helped him to meet and friend many other illustrators of the day. Teague became friendly with Harrison Cady, Harvey Dunn, N.C. Wyeth, Mead Schaeffer ,Norman Rockwell and Tom Lovell just to name a few.


In 1927 Teague moved to London and rented a studio in Chelsea. He met Frank Brangwyn and Norman Wilkinson. Teague Studied watercolor and marine painting with Wilkinson. After returning to New York it was a meeting with Henry Quinan the editor of Colliers Magazine. Quinan encouraged Teague to focus exclusively on Watercolor’s promising him all the work he could handle. It was a pivotal point in Teague’s career and helped to establish him as one of the premier watercolorists of the 20th century.


As his success continued Teague continued to travel the world in between his magazine assignments. In 1937 he sailed the world going from Brooklyn to Cape Town on a cargo ship and then continuing to Zanzibar, Mombasa, Singapore, Bali and finally returning home. Teague painted all along the way completing hundreds of watercolor sketches.


His family had always vacationed at a ranch in Colorado Which instilled a love of western themes in the young Teague. When Teague met and Married his wife Verna, the two moved to Encino California. Encino was the center for western work for Hollywood. From Encino Teague was surrounded by cowboys and ranch life; all of which added authenticity to his illustration assignments featuring western themes.


In 1949 The Teague family moved to Carmel. In Carmel Teague continued working at an illustrator but also had branched out into national art shows where he had won awards for his watercolors. In 1958 when Colliers stopped publishing Teague left illustration to concentrate on landscape paintings in watercolor. His timing was perfect and immediately became a successful gallery artist.


Teague went on to win many awards including gold medals from the American Watercolor Society and Gold medals for Western Art from the Franklin Mint. In 1969 he joined the Cowboy Artists of America where he won three gold medals and two silver medals. Teague was also a member of the National Academy of Design The National Academy of Western Art and The National Watercolor Society. =His work is part of the permanent collections in The Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis Indiana, the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa Oklahoma and The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. Donald Teague passed away in 1991.




Bibliography

Donald Teague: A Life in Color
Claudia Meyer
Nygard Publishing 1988

Forty Illustrators and How They Work
Ernest Watson
Watson Guptill Publications 1946

The Illustrator in America 1900 to 1960
Walt Reed
Reinhold Publishing 1960

The Illustrator in America 1880 to 1980
Walt Reed
Madison Square Publishing 1980

The Illustrator in America 1860 to 2000
Walt Reed
Watson Guptill Publications 2000


Quote

There is always someone who comes up with a new angle on time tried landscape subjects, an arresting arrangement of familiar objects or a different aspect of a figure subject which stops the viewer on his tour of an exhibition. I suggest that those things are arrived at by more acute observation, by an increased awareness of the possibilities involved in any subject, but most of all by the process of good solid cerebration combined with an intense emotional reaction.~ Donald Teague