Hey there Deviants! It's come to my attention that there is not much information on something potentially massive in the deviantART forums - jobs!

For those of you who didn't know there were Job Offers and Job Services forums you can find them here:

Job Offers Forum
Job Services

Job Offers Forum

The Job Offers forum is part of the deviantFORUMS where you can find jobs that other deviants have posted. These can vary from meetings in real life, to just some freelance work which you can do at home and converse on the internet via email, voice programs like Skype, etc.

This forum, as it states underneath it, is for PAID JOBS ONLY.

Common Contest SCAM

Watch out for these so-called "contests" where someone may want a logo created and the "winner" gets paid. In this situation, you could have 20 different people making all different logos for the same company and only the "winner" will (hopefully) be paid for their hard work. This sort of offer is better off in the Projects forum which can be found here:

Projects Forum

The Cash Scene

All jobs, depending on what needs to be designed, created, etc. have different price tags. If someone wants you to draw them something for free, then this is NOT a job offer. If you are someone who would like artwork for free then your submission is better off in the Projects Forum:

Projects Forum

It is better to try and find a job posting that already has a set price: e.g. "Hi there! I'm looking for someone to make me a logo for my company. I'm looking at a budget of $50." Posts that say nothing about being paid, or how you would be paid (such as Paypal, Worldpay, etc.) you should be wary of, because there might be no guarantee of payment. Also, if there is no set price, that means that someone could be looking around loads of artists (which is what a client will do until they find someone whose designs they like) and find who will do it for the cheapest and go for them, even if you've already made them a design.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY

So, let's say you've finally found a job offer that suits you - what next? You can either reply to the original post, email the person (if it is given), or send them a note. Personally, I've found if you can email them it is a lot better, and more personal - I think this makes things more professional.

SUBMITTING A PAID JOB OFFER POST

These are the basics that you should have in any post in which you want someone to work for you - it's not much different from real life where you would post it in a newspaper or something; keep this in mind:

1. Your name and/or Company Name.
2. The job description (give as many details as possible as to what the job would entail, such as the deadline, etc.).
3. Payment + payment method - at some point you will have to mention this. Also be sure that you arrange an appropriate price for what you're asking for! If you're not sure what sort of price, then ask around before you finally put a job up.
4. Contact details - This is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT; without these, you're not going to get very many replies to your post.. Also, having these at the end make people remember them because it's the last thing they read. Providing an email address and the best times to email you or when you would respond are also helpful and useful pieces of information. Include them!

Here are some guidelines which are outlined by °liquisoft for those of you looking for artists for hire after you've found the person whom you want to conduct business with:

"Contracts
Before you start a job, you need a contract. This contract does not need to contain a ton of fine print or legal mumbo-jumbo. Instead, it only needs to describe the rules of the job, and it only needs to be in plain English (or your language of choice).

The first part of a contract is the contact information. Place both party's name, address, phone number, and any other contact info on the contract, and label them "artist" and "client."

The second part is to outline what the job actually entails. Write out what the artist is responsible for, and write out what the client is responsible for. Maybe the artist is supposed to provide drawings of a character, and the client is supposed to provide monetary compensation. Either way, both party's responsibilities need to be clearly outlined. Do not waver from these responsibilities EVER. If the client asks for you (the artist) to do some additional work not listed in the contract, write up a new contract.

The third step is to make a timeline. Figure out when certain items are due on the artist's end, and when the client is supposed to pay for those items. This doesn't need to be a complicated timeline, but it needs to at least have a due date.

The fourth step of this process is to decide whether or not the client actually owns the artwork. That's right, just because they're paying you doesn't mean they get to run away with it. Your work can be used to make a ton of money on the client's end, and they need to reimburse you (the artist) fairly. So, write out what the work is to be used for. If the client wants to use it elsewhere, then they owe you a small licensing fee. All of this is assuming you don't hand over the rights to the work entirely. Remember, this step is up to you.

The final step is for BOTH parties to sign and date the contract. Each party gets their own copy of the contract to keep. Work may begin, now."

Next, double-check the brief. Make sure you refer to their forum post and TALK! Make sure you know what your client wants so that you're not wasting your time with unwanted designs. This would also be the stage that you finalize how much you want to be paid for your design, in what time frame, and how. Always make these things crystal clear so there's no funny business later on!

Now, design starts, and hopefully you end up with something your client likes. Now comes the big doozy..

What to do if your client WON'T pay you

For one, take note of the user's deviantART account and alert an Administrator as soon as the issue occurs so that they can be in the know in case the person tries to "steal" someones art again. Admins are the first people you should go to for this kind of help. Try to provide some evidence such as screenshots of the Forum post and your emails.

DO NOT start blaring profanity on that persons user page - there's no point, and it will only get YOU in trouble for harassment!

The next step is to keep being persistant with emails to your client - sometimes people will come round.


However, unfortunately, business on the internet can be unreliable, so really either way you are taking a risk; BUT here are some helpful tips to keep you on your toes about jobs submitted [these can all be found as stickies on the Job Offers Forum]:

Creative Job Value by: Liquisoft
Identifying a FAKE JOB OFFER by: DJTalyn

JOB SERVICES FORUM

The Job Services forum is where an artist can offer their PAY ONLY services to others. Obviously the services offered varies from artist to artist, but people need all sorts of things done for them so it doesn't hurt to offer!

The Job Services Forum can be found here:

Job Services Forum