Buying art

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

If I'm putting out a book and I wanted to have some cool pics to set the mood of the game,module,supplement how do I go about that? Can I just buy something off someone? Do I have to have a recipt? A document saying that they are willing to allow me to use their art? Also what are some price ranges for typical art?

 

[Morrus]

Generally, you pay an artist to draw something for you. Alternatively, you could contact an artist with a pic you like and ask to buy rights to use it from him/her.

Recipts and documents - you don't have to have anything, any more than if you buy a Snickers bar you have to have a receipt or a document saying you can eat it. The purpose of such documents are to resolve later disputes - because you have proof in writing. It makes sense to have something in writing.

Prices vary massively, depending on the artist. Your best bet is to look around a few publisher sites and see what they pay for art. Art in the EN World Player's Journal, for example, is $25 for a quarter-page black and white piece, and $80 for a full coouor cover. These are fairly low.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

Is there a general format for the "art contract"? How is this done over the net?

 

[Morrus]

Is there a general format for the "art contract"? How is this done over the net?

Not really. Every contract is unique. I s'pose you could persuade a publisher to let you look at theirs and modify it.

 

[Rhombus]

Is there a general format for the "art contract"? How is this done over the net?

I'd avoid most of the 'template' contracts you can yank off the net. Apart from the hassles of making them fit on a case by case basis they also tend to be unnecessarily bogged down in legalese. A plain English contract will work just as well as long as everything is covered.

How things are generally handled over the net is the contract is put into electronic form and emailed to the prospective contractor. Contractor prints it out, signs it, etc.

After that there are 2 ways to handle things... Either the contractor snail mails back a signed copy of the contract and the laws of physics and the vagueries of various mail systems come into play.

The alternative method is that the contractor prints out the contract, initials each page, signs the final page, then scans the lot and emails the bundle back to the client... Some people will even skip the page initialling.

 

[Rhombus]

Art in the EN World Player's Journal, for example, is $25 for a quarter-page black and white piece, and $80 for a full coouor cover. These are fairly low.

Actually, $25/quarter page is about standard for a garden variety illustrator in the biz... However, $80 for a full colour is way below the usual - about 1/3 to 1/4 the going price.

Still, prices vary and negotiation is always viable.

 

[jmucchiello]

Actually, $25/quarter page is about standard for a garden variety illustrator in the biz... However, $80 for a full colour is way below the usual - about 1/3 to 1/4 the going price.

Remember the artwork on that publication is only half a normal page so $80, while still low is not out of the ball park. Go to the other EnWorld Journal threads to find the mock up of the cover.

You should actually look in the RPG.NET freelance forum if you are on a budget. Many up and coming artists get tips there from established artists and calls for work are always welome. That's where I found the cover artist for my latest work. He's great.

 

[Rhombus]

Remember the artwork on that publication is only half a normal page so $80, while still low is not out of the ball park. Go to the other EnWorld Journal threads to find the mock up of the cover.

Good point, an A5 sized cover will naturally cost lest than a regular sized cover.

You should actually look in the RPG.NET freelance forum if you are on a budget. Many up and coming artists get tips there from established artists and calls for work are always welome. That's where I found the cover artist for my latest work. He's great.

Indeed... but I would add one caveat. Anyone looking for free art should just skip that forum all together and save themselves the trouble of being lectured.

 

[Wolv0rine]

I definitely can't speak for everyone, but for myself I tend to like to keep things as simple as possible. I try to avoid contracts, hoping that any publisher I work with is somewhat trustworthy (a practice reinforced by the fact that I don't tend to remember to put anything into the snail-mail for months at a time, whereas I check my email anywhere from once to a dozen times daily). I have worked with contracts with some publishers, although most seem alright with the 'Gentleman's Agreement' method I prefer.

As for pay rates, I've been sitting fairly in the $25/B&W illustration field since I started freelancing. I don't really know color rates, I haven't perfected my color techniques well enough in my own eyes to offer color work yet.

RPG.net's forums (Freelancing and Freelancers, in specific) is a good place to start. There's a healthy mix of experienced and inexperienced artists there, a healthy mix of skilled and unskilled artists. And if you post an inquiry for a paying job, you'll get more responses than you can wade through.

Remember that artists are a kooky bunch, many are 'free thinkers' and most keep a delicate balance of mimicking what the more experienced artists tell them is acceptable practice mixed with doing things by the seat of their pants (meaning every artist you work with will have a 'procedure' of their own that they've either made up themselves, or are just used to).

Good luck!

 

[Mytholder]

Direct link to the rpg.net freelancers forum. It's a great resource.