FRICK FRICK FRICK OMFG THE CATAGORY I WANT TO PUT THIS IN WONT LEM ME, CRAPPPP


Here's a few tips I gave to misskittyoooo when she made a journal about the very subject.

Make sure you have a contract, and get all parties to agree and sign before ANY work is done. This'll give you a valid reason for not giving money back if they vanish for 6 months then show up unexpectedly requesting their artwork they paid you for.

In the contract, politely demand that you have a percentage upfront. This is how commissions are done in the industry, so if your client says they are not comfortable with a contract, tell them to deal with it, everybody else who doesn't want their work used without payment/not paid for their work, does it.

If you're doing a commission over the internet, a great tool to have is a Paypal account. Paypal allows for the client to pay with a credit card, or their own Paypal account. eCheck's are also available, but they don't transfer instantly, so if somebody sends you one, wait till the check has cleared, and the money as been added to the balance in your account before submitting ANY artwork without watermarks on it.

Watermark your work, and save it at smaller sizes/lower resolution/quality for previews for the customer. Have the watermark text repeat in a standard font size across the whole page. It's much easier to remove a large single watermark than to remove tons of small text, and it'll be a pain in the ass for anybody who tried. It won't make your work 100% unrippable, but it sure will help.

Here's a contract I use for my own freelance clients, feel free to change/modify/rape whatever parts of it to suit your needs.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN WORK-FOR-HIRE AGREEMENT



This AGREEMENT (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") is made effective this DATE by and between GRAPHIC DESIGNER'S NAME(GRAPHIC DESIGNERS COMPANY NAME), (hereinafter referred to as the "Graphic Designer") and CLIENT'S NAME, (hereinafter referred to as the "Client").



WITNESSETH:



In consideration of the respective covenants contained herein, the parties hereto, intending to legally bound hereby, agree as follows:



1. Artwork. The Graphic Designer will be engaged in the creation of original graphic design for the Client in conjunction with the following project: PROJECT NAME (hereinafter referred to as the "Artwork").



2. Copyright Assignment. The undersigned parties hereby agree that all rights, copyrights, titles and interest in the Artwork created by the Graphic Designer on behalf of Client, belong solely and exclusively to the Client, free from any claims whatsoever by the Graphic Designer.



3. Compensation. The enticement and consideration for this Agreement is the promise by the Client to pay the Graphic Designer the amount of 25% upfront (AMOUNT), and the remaining 75% after the work is completed and emailed to the client. This is compensation for Graphic Designer's services (known as a "work-for-hire") and Graphic Designer understands that this will comprise Graphic Designer's payments. The amount of compensation will be $120 Canadian Currency and the Graphic Designer will be paid via [link] to the account, YOUR PAYPAL EMAIL.



4. Schedule. The Graphic Designer shall send the Client a contract and the Client will sign and send the document back to the Graphic Designer. The Graphic Designer will receive 25% of the overall cost of the design upfront, and upon receiving, start working on the rough copies of the design. Graphic Designer will show the Client rough copies and will then decide on a direction for the Artwork.



5. Delivery. Graphic Designer shall deliver the Artwork to the Client via email, complete with all necessary support files for replication.



This Agreement is entered into in the City of YOUR CITY and Province of YOUR PROVINCE/STATE/OR BOX and is guided by and governed by the laws of that Province.

If contract is breached by Client, the Graphic Designer is permitted to retain the monetary compensation paid upfront.



IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the day and year first above written.



AGREED TO AND ACCEPTED:




BY:

THEIR NAME

THEIR COMPANY/PROJECT



_____________________________

(an authorized signatory)