EXAMPLE: ARTWORK COMMISSION AGREEMENT

This Agreement (“Agreement”), entered this [date], between ________ (“Artist”) and [client name](“Client”), shall govern the respective rights of Artist and Client with respect to the artwork described herein.

I. Scope of Work Commissioned

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Artist and Client expressly agree that the artwork to be created by Artist pursuant to Client’s specifications shall be limited to, unless modified in a writing signed by both parties, the following artwork, hereafter known as “the Work”:

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• 1 Thumbnail Sketch

• 1 Color Sketch

 

Artist agrees that the Assets shall be of first-class quality, artistically produced, with aesthetic content technically correct and of a quality equal to current standards for Assets of similar character and purpose.

II. Deadlines and Completion

 

Upon receipt of Client’s specifications pursuant to Section I, which Client agrees are true and complete at the time of execution of this Agreement, Artist agrees to complete the Work upon the following schedule:

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• (14) days following the signature of this Agreement for the Thumbnails and Color Sketches.

• (45) days following the signature of this Agreement for the Final Illustration.

 

III. Rights Transferred

 

Artist and Client agree that the following rights shall be transferred from Artist to Client upon receipt of full payment.

 

Artist agrees to the perpetual license of rights as follows: the right to display, transmit, transfer, and sell, the Work to the Client. The Artist retains the right of authorship credit, creation of derivative works, and the sale of prints of commissioned items.

 

IV. Compensation

 

The Client shall pay the Artist a total flat fee of $_________USD as total compensation for the project described above. Payment shall be made as follows:

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• 30% at the start of work as a down payment.

• 70% upon receipt of the final deliverable.

 

Additional fees will be charged for revisions that are not due to any fault on the part of the Artist made after (5) minor changes, and for revisions reflecting a new direction to the assignment or new conceptual input.

 

V. Termination/Kill Fee

 

The client may terminate this Agreement at any time by sending written notice thereof to the Artist at the address provided herein. Upon such termination, the Client agrees to compensate Artist as follows:

(1) Partial Completion. If Artist has partially completed the Work, the Client agrees to compensate the Artist at twenty percent (20%) of the total compensation as an addition to the initial (30%) down payment. If this Agreement is terminated by Client after Partial Completion by Artist, Artist shall retain ownership of all rights of the copyright and the original artwork, including but not limited to completed artwork, sketches, and comps.

(2) Full Completion. If Artist has completed the finished artwork at the time of cancellation, the Client agrees to compensate Illustrator in full as otherwise provided in this Agreement.

VI. Non-Payment; Remedies

 

Any delinquent payments due shall bear interest at the highest applicable statutory rate in any jurisdiction in which the Agreement is made. If no such statutory rate applies, payment delinquencies shall bear interest at a rate of five percent (5%) per month. The client agrees that it shall bear responsibility for any fees incurred by the Artist in enforcing this Agreement, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees and court costs.

 

VII. Artist's Right to Authorship Credit

 

The Artist may use Work in Artist's portfolio (including, but not limited to, any website that displays Artist's works). When asked, the Client must properly identify Artist as the creator of the Work. The client does not have a proactive duty to display Artist's name together with the Work, but the Client may not seek to mislead others that Work was created by anyone other than Artist.

VIII. Severability; Integration

 

The Client and Artist agree that this Agreement shall not be amended except by a writing executed by both parties, and expressly state that this writing shall constitute a complete expression of the entire agreement between the parties and that no additional terms exist that are not included herein. To the extent any provision contained in this Agreement shall be found to be void, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable in any way, such invalidity shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.

IX. Unauthorized Use by Client; Indemnity

 

The Client agrees to indemnify the Artist against any and all claims and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees and costs, incurred as a result of the Client’s unauthorized use of the Work under this Agreement, including the enforcement of this Agreement by Artist.

X. Warranty of Originality

 

Illustrator represents and warrants to Client that, to the best of the Artist’s knowledge and belief, the Work assigned by this Agreement is original and has not been previously published or licensed to any third party. This warranty shall not extend to any unauthorized or undisclosed use of the Work by Client which may infringe upon the rights of any other person. The Client agrees that it shall hold the Artist harmless for any claim or liability caused by the Client’s use of the Artist’s product to the extent such use infringes upon the rights of any other person.

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AGREED TO AND ACCEPTED BY:

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CLIENT

[client signature]

Signature

[client name]

Name

[date signed]

Date

 

ARTIST

[artist signature]

Signature

[artist name]

Name

[todays date]

Date

 

Contract courtesy of https://www.docracy.com