The do’s and don’ts of
taking commissions
Job offer How do you take on a commission without getting your fingers burned?
Leading illustrators share their real-life experiences and advice with Tom May
GOING THE
EXTRA MILE
Ian McQue’s iconic
floating boats form the
basis of Mileships, a
book project that’s
about to be Kickstarted
into life, for publication
next year. Exciting!
Page 29PRACTICAL
MAGIC
Step into Blizzard artist
Kymba LeCrone’s
expansive workspace,
where she designs,
sculpts and paints the
characters that appear
in her stories.
Page 30GET IN TOUCH
WITH US!
Whether something in
the magazine has made
you go “Wow!”
“Hmmm...”, we want
the hear from you. Your
letters and feedback
make our day!
Page 37Working on a commission for a client
can be a tricky matter. However
talented you are artistically, a client is
also a person, with all the flaws and
foibles we humans share. So you
need to tread carefully.
The first dilemma is how much to
charge. That’s not always easy, even
for a seasoned
professional like US-based
illustrator Annie Stegg.
“Calculating fees is always
very difficult,” she says.
“While I do go by industry standards,
I tend to adjust my fee based on how
long I think it will take me to complete
an image. If there are high-cost
materials, that’s also factored in. It’s
about striking a balance.”
Others take a similar
approach. French
illustrator and art editor
Olivier Bonhomme says,
“I usually calculate my fee
on a day rate, but it depends how big
the project and client are. I might
charge less for a small music band
project, for example: it really depends
on the context.”TIME IS MONEY
Rates aren’t always straightforward,
either, for Kelsey Beckett,
a freelance illustrator and
fine artist based in
Michigan, US. “My fees are
usually calculated basedon size, content and medium,” she
explains. “But sometimes if a client
has a vision that is complicated, such
as multiple characters, a detailed
background or narrative, the price
will increase.”
Estimating the time that you’re
going to spend on a project is
challenging, because you also have
to take potential revision requests
into account. To avoid too many ofIf a client has a complicated vision,
such as multiple characters or detailed
environment, the price will increase
“I rely more on good communication
and good faith than legal contracts,”
says Howard Lyon.Kelsey Beckett: “Clear dialogue with clients means
you don’t have to double back and fix things later.”“I prefer a loose brief, but sometimes a precise one
helps you work accurately,” says Olivier Bonhomme.