Sample Artist Commission Contract

Blog Post #5 - Sample Artist Commission Contract 

{If you are here for a sample commission contract and do not feel like reading all of my insight, it is about halfway down the page for you to copy and paste}

For years I have created Commissioned artwork without an official signed contract in place (gasp*). If there are any experienced or “professional” artists reading this, I can already feel your heads shaking at me in disapproval. Shame on me, I know I know. 

Every resource you find on “Making Money as an Artist” advises that you secure a contract before doing any commission work. But prior to recent months, I just wasn’t viewing my art business in that kind of way. Most of my paid commission work has been directly via social media. Friends or relatives would send a casual message about artwork to my personal page or phone and it just wouldn’t feel like a business transaction. Or at least like my stereotypical view of one. So even when I learned of the importance of a contract, it still just felt weird inserting a stuffy contract into the conversation after being friendly and casual with this person. A part of me even felt like it perverted the carefree nature of my art - why add all that pressure to this wholesome experience, right?? I’m really supposed to send my Auntie a 4 page document detailing what her “niecey” will and won’t do for her?? Ew. But as artists, we cannot fall guilty to this flawed perspective of our craft. If we want to depend on it as an income, we have to operate it as a business! 

Honestly for the MOST part, I’ve been okay not using contracts. It might sound crazy but it's true. Ninety percent of my paid work experiences never included an issue that a contract could’ve avoided. Usually just writing the customer a paragraph of general info about my services has sufficed (Which technically counts as a written agreement). However, in that estimated ten percent of occasions a lack of a contract led to : 

• Wasted resources - time, money, energy. 

• Bringing myself unnecessary stress. 

• Misunderstandings that could have been completely avoided. 

• Ambiguity and conflict in regards to expectations from the customer. 

• A general lack of structure and guidance for my own needs of improvement.

The more paid work I got, the more I realized that a contract was needed as a reminder to myself of what to tell each customer from the beginning and how to keep it consistent between customers. I started having these experiences nearing the end of a project where a customer would request something, I’d run back to our early messages to point out the protocol for that and realize I failed to inform them of certain standards or rules in the beginning. At which point, I would feel wrong to enforce it. 

For example, for commission work I usually offer one round of revisions free and charge a flat fee of $60 after that. But if I didn’t tell someone that before they paid their deposit to secure work, I would feel wrong to now ask for more money once they were requesting more than one round of revisions. Some people may disagree with that but It’s just not how I like to operate. (So if you’re reading this and received multiple free revisions, considered yourself lucky). In order to be certain I’m completely transparent from the beginning, a pre written contract will ensure that I remember to convey all the important info upfront. 

With my recent increase in digital work, I also noticed the need for a contract for copyright reasons. Digital work can be more easily stolen or extorted and used for mass production and profit than traditional art.

 A lot of people don’t realize that when you buy art, even with digital, it DOES NOT grant you the copyrights of the work. Unless otherwise stated. 

Therefore, a lot of people will buy digital art and (without having been clear about its use from the beginning) will get it printed on t-shirts which they are selling, use it in a logo or print it on other merchandise, etc. This isn’t okay guys! I would be upset by these occurrences but I realized I could only be mad at myself for not doing my due diligence and educating the customer sufficiently. However as a general public service announcement, please be advised:

DO NOT USE ARTISTS WORK FOR ANY USES WITHOUT THEIR EXPLICIT PERMISSION. 

So anyway, to break out of these completely avoidable mishaps I finally decided to draft a Commission Contract. When I searched online for a template, I found that all the good ones either cost money or did not provide a simple way of copying/pasting the content. The other ones either did not relate at all to the kind of work I was doing or didn’t have enough detail relevant to what I needed for my services.   

The following text is what I decided on for MY commission contracts, which consists of input from various sources as well as my own experiences as an Acrylic/Oil/Digital Portrait artist. I got some really great input from some awesome people so I’m feeling pretty confident about it. If you are a potential customer, please note that this is the agreement I require.

If you are another artist feel free to use the text here for your own contract, adding and cutting as necessary. I did my best to remove any formatting so that it is simple and easy to copy paste and fill in your information but take note - formatting this in a more aesthetic arrangement helps significantly with flow and readability. Below is the text only info but the following link is showing how I tailored it for aesthetics and my brand.

SylviaPaints Commission Agreement

__________________________________________________________________________

Commission Contract 

Date: 

On this day Artist, (Insert Artist/Business Name), agrees to produce commissioned artwork for (Customer First and Last Name) at the price of (Insert money value). 

Artist First and Last Name plus DBA Name 

Address: 

Email

Phone: 

Customer First and Last Name:

Address: 

Email: 

Phone: 

Total Price (Amount): 

Deposit Required upfront (Amount): 

Remainder Due at completion (Amount):

Payment(s) will be processed through an invoice sent via (Insert artist or Business name} online store, PayPal, CashApp or Venmo. 

Medium: 

The artist intends to complete this artwork by (Date)*: 

*Late Delivery - ALL attempts will be made to complete the artwork by the above listed date but in the case of unforeseen circumstances, the customer will be notified of any delays within 72 hours of the due date or as soon as a delay is caused. Customer will be reimbursed (or discounted) 20% of the price if it is not delivered on time and reimbursed (or discounted) IN FULL if it is not completed within 2 weeks of the originally promised due date. In both cases, customer will still receive the artwork in addition to the discount. This disclaimer only exists for extreme circumstances, artwork is nearly always delivered on time. 

Initials: 

The piece of artwork will satisfy the following requests of the customer: (Include info such as framing, what it will look like, what kind of file it will be delivered as, number of figures, etc). 

Canvas Dimensions or Shape (if applicable): 

Special color preferences for background or other content: 

Initials: 

Reference Photo (s): Quality reference photos matter and make a huge difference in the end product of portraits. It also helps to have multiple reference photos for the best capture. 

The Customer confirms that reference photos are of the best quality available, well lit and without significant obstruction such as graininess or blurred images. If the supplied photos do not meet these qualifications, then the customer will be notified and understands that it may heavily impact the success of the artwork as far as recognizability and realism. 

Initials: 

ANY alterations/changes requested from the Reference photo(s): 

Initials: 

Right to Refusal: The Customer retains the right to not purchase commissioned artwork at any time. Please note that any money already paid before refusal, will not be refunded to the Customer under these circumstances. This statement relieves The Artist of being indebted to Customer if this occurs. 

Initials: 

UPON COMPLETION 

Upon completion, the Artist will supply images of the completed work for approval. If the Customer has not paid in full then the images will be heavily watermarked. These watermarks will not obstruct the view of the artwork so much that the Customer will not be able to determine approval.

Revisions: Satisfying the customer is of utmost importance but there ARE limits to what will be altered at the request of the customer. The Artist will only make revisions that are within the confines of existing style and that do not clash with the mission or vision of the artist. This is for the intent of staying committed to business purpose and brand. 

One (1) round of revisions are offered free of charge. After that there is a flat rate of $60 for revisions. The Customer will be notified of a new completion date at the request of any revisions. 

Initials: 

Copyright: Artist retains all copyright of the produced artwork. Ultimately this means that the customer has permission to share the work publicly and use it on display for private use but any reproduction of the work, especially reproductions that will be used for profit or commercial uses, is strictly prohibited unless approved by the artist in writing. Failing to do so is a crime and may result in legal action. 

Initials: 

Is this piece approved for any kind of reproduction use?* : YES / NO 

*If yes, this does NOT constitute the selling of copyrights. These are merely the approved circumstances of the reproduction agreement: 

Initials: 

Sharing of Art: Social media sharing and other public sharing of artwork are vital for marketing purposes of the Artist. This includes, but is not limited to, artwork potentially being displayed on artist’s Facebook, Instagram,Twitter, website, studio, brochures, web and print advertisements and business documents. The Customer consents to completed work, as well as reference photos, being used for these purposes.

If there are things that the customer does not consent to then they are as follows. This may result in a higher price as it ultimately hurts the Artist’s ability to advertise business representatively: 

Initials: 

The Artist agrees to place a hold on the sharing of artwork if that is necessary for the plans of the customer (such as birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, usage for an event etc). Are there any dates/times that the customer prefers that sharing of the artwork be held until: YES / NO 

If yes, these are the details of the hold: 

Initials: 

When sharing work publicly, the Customer agrees to give the Artist credit though clear and visible labeling, tagging or verbal acknowledgement. If sharing multiple times in one place, one initial credit is sufficient for remaining displays. (For example if the customer posts the artwork on Facebook multiple times, it is only necessary to tag the artist once in the first instance). Remaining tags are appreciated however! 

Initials: 

Delivery of Physical Art: In person delivery is always preferred over shipping. For physical artworks Delivery will be provided to the Akron/Canton area free of charge. Delivery within the driving area but outside Akron/Canton (anywhere in NorthEast Ohio) will be provided at a listed delivery price. Anywhere outside of the Artists driving area will require shipping by mail. This can get pricey and may be upwards of $100 depending on the size and weight of your canvas. 

If getting artwork shipped, please note that the Artist is not responsible for any possible damage during shipment. The Artist will pack artwork with the finest packing materials for fragile work and label the package “Fragile” but it does not guarantee damage free delivery.  Shipping Insurance can be purchased by the customer ahead of time. 

Applicable Delivery Fee, Shipping Fee or Shipping Insurance Cost (if desired): 

Initials: 

Delivery of Digital Art - files will be uploaded to a Dropbox folder. A link will be sent to the customer for access to this folder. The Artist will leave the Dropbox folder available for 2 weeks after completion, unless otherwise requested, so it is vital that the Customer downloads the files as soon as possible.

 If the Customer requires the files be sent again, the Artist MAY require a $20 fee. Rendering, downloading and uploading may be required again which takes significant time and storage fees may apply for the Dropbox access. This fee can be avoided if the Customer manages to remind the Artist to hold on removing the folder. 

Initials: 

Customer Signature: 

Date: 

Artist Signature: 

Date 

__________________________________________________________________________

With how dense this ended up being, it’s truly hard to believe how I EVER managed to operate without a Commission Contract. 

Since most people are interacting via their phones and computers anymore, I plan to deliver this contract via DocuSign or Hello Sign, both digital signature applications. My experience with that will likely be illustrated in a future blog posting.  If there are any details you think I left out, be sure to reach and let me know below! Either through the Contact section or the Comment section. 

As always, thanks for reading and I hope this helped someone today! 

Sylvia Sykes 

Creator of SylviaPaints