AOI Talk - Lou bones
Websites:
- Get a website
- Cargo Collective, Domain Name, Professional - Do It Now
- Image Based Website
- Name, Work, Email - Contact page should have no contact form
- No Text/Minimal Text: Work should speak for itself
- Personal Projects - Work on them all the time, should be the work you'd produce for 'dream clients'
- Should form bulk of practice
- What do you enjoy, what do you want to work on - creates the best work
- Brings in best suited clients
- Get your work in front of the right people - lists of clients you want to work for - tailor work to them
- Study the industry and discover where your niche is
- Research clients carefully
- Select clients you work is appropriate for based on their past/current output
- Avoid: Dear Sir/Madame - Address people properly - Use their name - Casual but professional
- Client lists
- Marketing material
- Printed material for Grad Show - use a quarter for the show, send the rest out to client list
- Print less at a higher quality
- If you want to catch big fish you need good bait - quality over quantity
Social Media:
- Professional Social Media - Build around personal stuff - Make it as professional as possible
- Twitter - Avoid negativity - Progressive for business and nothing else
- Instagram - Twitter - Website
- Keep legalities off of Social Media
- Handles need to be the same across all platforms - Self-promotional strategy - Easy to find
- Facebook page with Illustrations - Dont need to update - Free portfolio
- Instagram - Viable route of commissioning - Most important piece of social media in the illustration industry - Follow ideal clients - Try close ups, sketchbook pages, videos, time lapses etc - Seperate from your personal - Fluid and Creative
Freelance:
- You are a business, you are your own boss
- Have to be a book keeper for their own registered business
- Register for income tax with 3 months of starting - 3 months after first commission
- Keep up to date accounts
- Retain all claimable receipts
- Keep paperwork involved with every job
- Keep a record of all your licenses so you can follow
- Tax Return is currently once a year at the end of Jan (changing to 4 times a year soon)
- Cultural Expenditure - Claim back on materials, laptops, software, trips, understanding pop culture
- Have a personal project to work on after uni - keep working, keep going, drive your own career
- Apps for Tax Returns - Zero or Quickbooks
Copyright:
- the right to copy
- Property Right that protexts any work by a 'creator'
- Lasts for 70 years after the creators death
- It does not require registration or a copyright symbol to exist
- Independent of physical artwork itself
- Copyright/Licence-based industries: Illustration, Music, Photography, Publishing
- Where, when, how it will be used
- Lend or license out the right to copy to the client
- Copyright infringement
- Refference imagery - Use multiple refferences
- Copyright can be assigned by you to a client. We very rarely advise that this should occur.
- Money: A fee for an assignment of Copyright must cover all possible and future uses of the illustration, fo ryour lifetime +70 years
- Loss of Control: Illustration can be used wherever, on whatever without your permission or additional fees. It can also be re-sold to third parties
- Clients: They dont need copyright to use an illustration how they want to. Licensing is mutually beneficial to an illustrator and a client, they only pay for actual use, not possible use.
- Moral Rights are automatic but can be waived
- Right of Paternity: The right to be identified as the creator of a work
- Right of Integrity - The right for you work to not be subjected to any derogatory treatment (cropping, editing, colour changes, additions etc.)
- The right to not have work falsely attributed to you
- Read your contracts
- Protect work online so you can always be indenitifed as the author
- Low res files (72dpi) and name as part of file name
- Use copyright symbol on every page, blog, social media
- Read Terms and Conditions of: website/social media image use/filename
Contracts:
- Better to write contracts verbally
- No matter the size of the commission or client, accept the commission in writing everytime, before you strat any work (Acceptance of Comnission Form)
- WHO is going to be doing WHAT by WHEN and for HOW MUCH - state basic rights
- Licenses on invoices
- Acceptance of Comissions Form - available from the AOI
- Do not start any work till you've sent a negotiated contract
- Pay for actual Illustrations and promotion/expenses - one doesnt compensate the other
- Do not work for free or undervalue - detrimentle to self and industry
- Quote accurately
- No day rates - No hourly rates - Always based on licenses
Fees/Pricing:
- Where are they going to use it
- How long are they going to use it
- What is the exist size and purpose of the illustration
- Above the line advertising - paid for space
- Below the line advertising - publicity material that is not paid space advertising
- Editorial - series of three - put into context - concept driven (already a personal project)
