Webcomic Alliance

Solving Webcomic Issues We All Face. Today’s discussion… Freelance illustration can be a great additional source of income, but how to pursue it?  What about creating or negotiating contracts?  What are ethical practices for clients and creators?  What is fair to expect from a large company verses a small indie publisher?  Robin Childs (LeyLinesComic.com & MokoPress.com), Dawn Griffin (DawnGriffinStudios.com) and Chris Flick (CapesNBabes.com) are joined by much-missed Drezz Rodriguez (DrezzWorks.com) to talk about illustration work and how the time away has changed him.  (The rumors were true…he wears pants now.  We were shocked too.) Additional resources: Artist’s & Graphic Designer’s Market 2017 Finding a lawyer:  If you are looking for help with a legal matter, check your local American Bar Association.  There is free legal help for folks that qualify as low-income and unbiased referrals to affordable lawyers in your area.   Contracts As an example of what kinds of things a layman’s language contract can have, here’s a list of headers from Robin’s 2-page contracts: Contact info and names of both parties Summary: One sentence summarizing project including, size, rate, and purpose. Agreement:  Details what each party is responsible for Project information:  Summarizes what the project is, the service the artist will provide, and how the content will be used. Price and Payment Terms:  How much the artist will be paid.  How to invoice the company.  When they will be paid.  Other things like Rush Rates or partial payments, etc. Schedule:  When the work starts and when it is due. Ownership and Independence:  Work for hire terms.  Intellectual property.  Establishing artist as independent contractor (ie: freelance) vs employee. Liability and Legal Issues:  Warranty, Assignability, Severability, Indemnification, Limitation of Liability, and Governing Law.  IE: The legalese portion of the document. Acceptance of Agreement:  Where people sign.  Not valid until signed by both parties, and both parties should get a copy of the mutually signed document. For other examples on writing simple, but binding, contracts:  Freelance Graphic Design Contract from Your Freelance Career  Designer Sample Contracts from Smashing Magazine “8 Contract Clauses You Should Never Freelance Without” Article Artist Plugs: Learn more about the work of Jonas McCluggage and Jackarais (the Great!) and his comic Bicycle Boy. Warning: Podcast may contain some language not suitable for all-ages