Open for Children's books Illustrations
Interested in getting your book illustrated?
See the samples and read the terms below.
See the samples and read the terms below.
Below is an example of open space vs full page.
Terms and conditions
Terms and Conditions
-2 types of working agreements: Limited control and mid-range control.
Limited control- Author allows interpretation of the text by the artist to bring the story to another level of visual story telling. Approval only sought from the author at the storyboarding phase. After this, the artist will follow this conversation and storyboard to complete the illustrations without seeking additional approval. This is more input than an author would get at a traditional publisher.
Mid range control- Author will check at the storyboard phase, sketched or inked phase (depending on the medium). Full changes to the images can only be made, until color is applied. Once color has been added there should be an understanding that the art has been agreed upon and changes to the art or redrawing of a page will be an additional cost. This price may change depending on the medium that the author has chosen.
Mediums- There are a variety of art mediums that can be chosen to create a story, and some are more labor intensive than others. Because of this, some will cost more than others.
These are the possible mediums (see samples below)
Prices are generalized and may be subject to change if detailed backgrounds or complex/ large groups of characters are required
-Crayon- $50 - $100 per page
-Color pencil- $75 - $125 per page
-Copic marker- $85 - $150 per page
-Tone- comic black and white toning- $95 - $165 per page
-Ink and digital color- $85 - $280 per page
-Watercolor- $100 - $170 per page
-Paper cut outs- $100 - $270 per page
-Acrylic paint- $150 - $300 per page
-Pastels- $160 - $350 per page
Styles- My style changes slightly with different mediums, but I will still stay consistent. I will not mimic another style or artist, as this is currently what AI is doing and in that case, I am not needed to help achieve this. I will also not draw copyrighted characters, but background characters that lean in that direction can be included (example: a purple dino with blue spots). Pages can be full color- meaning that most every corner of the page has color, background or some type of image on it. Or they can be more open-spaced. A classic example of this is the original Curious George books. I recommend a combination of these types, but typically leaning toward the open space style as that makes placement of text more natural.
What the Author gets- Unless there is an agreement to split royalties and other profits, the illustrations will be purchased outright, and the author does not need to give any additional compensation to the artist unless additional art is requested for covers, promotional work etc. That will be in addition to the purchased art. All art is original and created by hand with no use of AI. If digital coloring is requested, programs such as Photoshop or Gimp may be used to color the image. These programs can also be used to clean up an image, or add text. This is done by hand using filters and tools not AI technology.
The Artist's chosen name (pen name) will not be removed, changed, replaced from the work through any printing or editions that are made of the book. This description of illustrations does not include the original created art, but instead digital versions of the illustrations and the rights to use them however they wish as long as they do not claim the art was created by someone else.
The price will be determined by style, page count and level of work requested (just the illustrations of the pages or additional art, layout etc). If only art is purchased, the Author will receive high quality files of each image to be used in the story, numbered with the corresponding page number. I recommend PDF as it are the most commonly used in the industry and it can be opened and used without super expensive program subscriptions. Files will be delivered via Zip and also mailed on a flash drive (if the author does not live near by). The original art will stay with the artist, unless additional agreements are made to also purchase the original artwork. This would be under a separate contract, and a much higher cost.
What the Artist gets- Payment for the unlimited use of the art in Digital or print (digital recreation) of the illustrations. Payment will be agreed upon by both parties and included in a formal contract.
There may be limited adjustments to the art to help it fit in to the story flow or best suit the text, like cropping, separating an image or simple edits that do not change the bulk of the work. But redrawing, any use of AI on the images, recoloring or other major or noticeable change would create this contract void and the rights of the art return to the Artist. If something isn't right, please ask for changes first. If it's reasonable the charge for changes will be low.
The artist's name and credit for creating the art should never be hidden or removed from the published work. Please add the Artist's name on the cover, copyright and title page, but it is not necessary to add it to the spine or in advertising. It is also not required to allow the artist a dedication in the book or an “about the artist” page. This is up to the author if they would like to include that.
The Artist will be granted 10 copies of the book. They may do as they please with these 10 copies. Keep them, share them, sell them etc. (this would never be done before the author has a chance to start selling/distributing the books themselves). If the author is having trouble with the funds, additional copies of the book can be negotiated in compensation for cost of the illustrations, with no limit of what they do with agreed upon copies.
The Artist has the right to use any illustrations created as samples in their portfolio or on their website. This is non-negotiable. Links can be connected to the images or elsewhere on the artist page to where the books are for sale.
If requested, only the illustration will be shown no text or title of the book they are from.
The original art (drawings, paintings etc) will remain with the artist, unless purchased in addition to the right to use them. There will be a contract created stating that the original art was created by JB Jensen, and was sold to the author and the credit of creating the images does in no way shift to the author because the images are in their possession.
Possible additional services:
- Illustrations for cover.
- Illustrations of limited merchandise- bookmarks, stickers etc
- Illustrations for advertising- banners, bookmarks, posters, online content.
- Digital layout- set up pages for typesetting
- Typesetting- Add given text to pages (this is more than just dropping words on a page. This, when done correctly, adds the visual and allows the text and images to merge into one)
- Cover set up- set cover up with title, spine, back etc. Can also set-up for hardcovers, and dust-jackets at additional cost.
- Full package- illustrations to printable file.
- No text editing offered; that is the responsibility of the author.
Payment:
Once a price has been agreed upon and the contract has been signed by both parties, half of the payment will be required at the start of the project and the other half on completion.
The author will get watermarked files for final approval. Once the last payment has been received the author will get the un-watermarked files and previously mentioned flash drive.
Prices are not guaranteed from project to project. If an author wishes to hire the artist for multiple projected or a series. Unless the number of books and price is agreed upon before the contract is signed and included into the contract, the prices may change.
Timeline:
If the author requests a very tight turn around or they request to jump to the head of the line they will be charged a RUSH fee. This price will vary, as they may need to pay compensation to other authors who's book may be delayed.
PDFs will be delivered at a predetermined date. The author is also allowed to request check in dates for progress. It is recommended that these dates be listed before the contract is signed.
There can be late fees or discounts in there are delays. Such as other jobs requesting a RUSH (It will be discussed before taking these jobs with any current authors), laziness or unwillingness to complete the work. In case of unforeseen circumstances like illness, family illness, accidents, and other acts of nature, the artist is not required to pay late fees or offer any discounts if the deadline is not met, as long as contact is maintained and a new deadline is agreed upon by both parties and met.