Read Time: Approx 10 mins
…OK it’s a long-ish one, but there is a list of USEFUL ACTION POINTS for you at the end!

The latest in a series of posts themed around ‘The Trouble With Illustration…’ intended to help overcome some of the key barriers that might prevent you from taking a bespoke illustration approach for your organisation’s marketing or communications materials. Read the initial article here.

Now, illustration licensing is a pretty hot topic, and one I have written about at length before, so I won’t replicate previous posts. But…

For an easy to read and in-depth explanation of how illustration licensing works - please do have a look here - It’s consistently the most visited page on my website!

Illustration Licensing Explaiend - For the small business owner & marketer

For general background on the subject, I’d just like to mention that licensing is an industry-recognised, ‘value-led’ way to price and sell illustrations, with the fee reflecting the usage and value a client receives from the work.

A licence approach means that a client only pays for the illustration usage that’s required.

IMPORTANTLY: If the illustration will only be used in one or a few specific ways and/or for a limited amount of time, negotiating a suitable licence could potentially make the project more affordable for you, the client - allowing the project to go ahead without the larger fees that should be in play if a licence was more extensive.

Simply put: you pay for what you need, rather than all the possible uses you may never want.

Back to the specific point in hand…

The feeling of not being in control, and having restrictions imposed on how you can use an illustration you’ve commissioned and paid for

I’d like to try and eradicate this as an issue, and I believe all that is required is a slight shift in mindset.

If you’d like to make illustration work for you, then it’s good to be open to the fact that the illustration industry may work differently to your own business, and the way you purchase/own other commissioned products or services.

I’m going to write around the subject, with a few examples and analogies, to hopefully make the licensing model make more sense…

So, with reference to using illustration, what does ‘Not being in control’ really mean for you?

Here are some ways I think it could be interpreted (based on real-life scenarios):

“I can’t use the illustration in any way I’d like - for something new, that I hadn’t thought of before…”

“The illustration is much better than I thought it would be, and now I can see so much more potential for how it could be useful for me and my business. But I’m not able to use it for other things without paying more.”

“I’d like to be able to make some tweaks to the illustration myself, so that it fulfils a slightly different brief.”

And what are the ‘restrictions’?

If an illustration has been created for you, and licensed to you for specific use/s, this is what you’re NOT permitted to do with it:

1. Any use of the illustration, outside of what has been previously agreed and put in writing in your contract* with the illustrator

This could be using the illustration for a different purpose than was originally agreed, or for the same purpose, but just a longer length of time.

2. Making any changes to the illustration, without the illustrator’s permission

The restrictions (or limitations) aren’t aren’t set in stone. There is always scope for discussion and for amendments to be made at a later date - a licence can be extended in duration or to include additional usage.

*The details of an illustration licence should be set out in a contract before any work begins, so that everyone knows what has been agreed, and what the permitted usage is. As part of this, a suitable fee will have been agreed between you and the illustrator, which is based on your specific requirements at the start of the project.

When is there a problem with lack of control?

It seems to me that the issue of lack of control only comes about when there is a change in direction, if you’d potentially like to do something that wasn’t part of the original plan. Otherwise it would have been discussed and included in the licence.

I’d suggest it’s fair to say that if you were to set off on any unplanned journey, or change route mid-way through, it’s likely there would be unexpected costs along the way. So if that’s the case, illustration is no different.

But you’ve commissioned an illustration, and paid for it, why should you have to pay for it again?

Whilst it is true that you have commissioned the illustration, the agreed fee will have been set to reflect the requested usage (along with the creation of the work), and not ALL possible usage.

It’s about understanding the extra value that the illustration has for you and your organisation, when it’s used for different purposes, and not simply seeing it as a physical piece of work, a ‘finite thing’.

EXAMPLE: If you commission a piece of art - a painting, sculpture, textile piece, or whatever - purely as an art piece, it is a physical thing, which exists and has a presence in a single place. It will have a particular purpose - to enhance a space, bring joy (or other emotion), add character, or simply fill a space, for as long as it’s there.

Re-using this commissioned piece of art for other purposes, or in other places at the same time is generally something that wouldn’t be possible or expected, without additional versions being created.

Here, the idea of ‘owning’ the art is essentially the case, you can move it, put it somewhere else, display it as you wish, sell it… but it would only exist in one place, with one owner, at any one time. If you wanted to have another version of the same thing there would likely be a fee for the creator to make another one (or something similar) for you.

The re-use of illustration could be equated to something more consumable perhaps?

EXAMPLE: If you were to hire a chef to cater for your event, the cost would be based on what/where the event was, what type of food and for how many people. The chef cooks amazing food that everyone loves, so much so that you decide to hire them for your next event too. Obviously, the catering for any subsequent events would incur additional cost.

EXAMPLE 2: The travel ticket - A single, return or monthly/annual travel pass? You buy one ticket for one journey. If you want to do the same journey again, or take a different route, you will need another ticket. And then, depending on how often you’re likely to want to travel, you weigh up whether it’s worth investing in the travel pass which would give you more freedom and be more cost-effective.

Be Informed and Take Control

The perceived lack of control comes when things are unplanned or just simply aren’t clear.

If the project has been properly discussed from the outset, and a contract in place stating the agreed usage for any created illustrations, really there should be no surprises. A professional illustrator should ensure this is the case - it is of benefit for them as well as you.

ACTION POINTS

1. Take time to fully consider the potential for the illustration/s you’re commissioning

Think about the different ways you could use the illustration/s or elements from them.

It’s likely you may not want to do everything straight away, but useful to be aware of the possibilities.

Re-using an illustration in different ways can add value for you, and potentially make things more cost effective.

ALSO TO NOTE HERE: It’s absolutely fine not to know all the usage you might want at the start of a project. Licenses and the related costs can always be adapted and extended, to account for extra usage. BUT it’s important to realise that requesting an all rights, in perpetuity licence for an illustration where this isn’t neeeded (ie. you don’t have any/many additional re-uses) will significantly add to the cost.

2. Ask for options

If you’re not sure how you might want to use the illustrations, or how long for, ask for some different pricing options at the quote stage, to reflect different usage.

I often quote a range of different fees for the same work - this could be the same usage but for different lengths of time (eg, 1 year, 3 years, and In perpetuity) OR to include additional uses.

Having different options means you can select which suits you the best, and potentially keep costs lower initially to see how it goes, with the option to extend later once you know the illustration is working as you hoped. Also, it means you have a handle on what the additional costs might be, if you decided to extend the licence later.

3. Have a plan for your illustration use (or a possible plan!) - and go at your own pace

You should know what the costs implications are for any separate uses of your commissioned illustration/s. What’s included in the licence you’ve agreed and what would be additional?

It’s then upto you to control if you’d like to go a stage at a time (to see how it goes and spread the costs) or go all out from the start, with a licence to cover all the usage you’re ever likely to need.

4. Communication is key

As is often the case, it absolutely makes sense to talk any options or issues through with whoever you’re working with. Mutual understanding goes a long way, and I think it can be really helpful for both parties when it comes to licence negotiations.

5. Don’t worry if your licence doesn’t cover all the usage you could possibly need!

The key to this is that it should be an informed choice. Are you happy to have limitations on permitted use (which importantly still allows for the usage you want at this point) on the basis that the fee is more workable for you?

The specific licence, and therefore the fee, should have been selected and agreed by you, to best fit your needs at the time.

There is flexibility to extend the licence and pay additionally for any extra usage you’d like at a later date - or not - depending on whether you feel the extra value is worth it.

Conclusion - Who’s in control?

It’s very important that you should feel informed when it comes to the licensing of illustration and know exactly where you stand. Ideally you should have been given some options which would allow you to use your commissioned illustration/s in the way/s you want, and with suggestions on how things may be made more affordable, if needed.

I would hope that from reading this post, any restrictions on illustration usage do not make you feel like you have a lack of control, but instead put you in more of an informed position - one where YOU are in control of deciding how best to licence your commissioned illustrations at any point in time

It’s your decision to extend the licence at a later date, for an additional fee, if you feel there’s a need and you can see the value in doing so.

The aim of the illustrator is generally not to get one over on you or ‘hold you to ransom’ if it turns out that you need extra usage than was originally agreed. Licence agreements can change over time, and I’d suggest it may be in your best interests to use that to your own advantage.

…Why pay more, for something you may not need?

I hope you’ve found this post useful, there’s a lot to take in I know!

As always, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts or do feel free to get in touch if you’d like to ask any questions about the points I’ve discussed here.

Thanks for reading!

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