Artwork commission agreement template

Artwork Commission Agreement

Parties: Artist · Client

1. Purpose

This agreement sets out the terms on which the Artist creates the artwork described below to the Client’s order, and what the Client may do with it afterwards.

2. The artwork

The Artist creates the following artwork (the “Artwork”) for the Client:

[[Describe the artwork: kind (illustration, painting, sculpture or other), subject, medium, size, number of pieces and any brief the Client has given]]

The Client may give reference material. The Artist decides on the style, composition and technique within the brief. The Artwork is made as an original work of the Artist and not as a copy of another artist’s work.

3. Sketches and changes

Before the final work the Artist sends [[1]] sketch or concept for approval. The Client approves it or sends clear comments in writing or in electronic form within [[5]] days. The fee includes [[1]] round of changes to the sketch. After the Client has approved the sketch, major changes are an extra service and, if the Artist agrees to them, are charged at [[Hourly rate or fee per change]].

4. Schedule and delivery

The Artist plans to complete the Artwork by [[Completion date]] and hands it over by [[collection by the Client / shipping to the address given / digital files in the agreed format]]. The date moves by the time the Client takes to give feedback, approvals or materials. If the Artist cannot keep the date, it tells the Client without delay and proposes a new one.

5. Fee and deposit

The Client pays the fees shown in the price schedule of this contract. A deposit of [[30]]% is due on signing, to start the work; how it is treated on cancellation is set out under Cancellation. The balance is due before the Artwork is handed over or the final files are released. The costs of materials, framing, packing and shipping are included in the fee unless the price schedule shows them separately.

6. Ownership and copyright

The Client becomes the owner of the physical Artwork, if there is one, when it has paid in full and the Artwork has been handed over. The copyright in the Artwork stays with the Artist, unless this applies: [[no transfer of the copyright / the copyright is assigned to the Client on full payment, as far as the law that applies allows]].

Ownership of the object and ownership of the copyright are separate things. Owning the object does not give the right to copy the Artwork beyond what this agreement allows.

7. The Client’s use of the Artwork

Where the copyright stays with the Artist, the Artist grants the Client a non-exclusive, perpetual licence to display the Artwork, to photograph it and to use pictures of it for [[the permitted uses, e.g. display in the Client’s premises, website and social media / personal use only]] in [[all countries]]. Selling copies, prints or merchandise, using the Artwork in advertising for others and licensing it to others need the Artist’s consent in writing or in electronic form and may carry a further fee.

The Client does not use the Artwork to train or test machine-learning models, except as follows: [[no exception / the exception agreed]]. A Client who sells the physical Artwork passes these limits on to the buyer.

8. The Artist’s own use

The Artist may photograph the Artwork and show it in its portfolio, on its website and social media, in exhibitions and in books, and may make prints and other reproductions of it for sale, from [[the date of delivery / the date the Client first shows the Artwork in public]], unless the Client has asked in writing or in electronic form, for reasons of privacy, that the Artist does not. The Artist keeps the sketches and studies it made.

9. Signature, credit and moral rights

The Artist signs the Artwork in the usual way where this suits the work, and the Client does not remove the signature or present the Artwork as the work of someone else. The Client credits the Artist as [[the credit wording, e.g. the Artist’s name or handle / no credit required]] where the Artwork is shown in public online or in print and credits are customary.

The Artist’s moral rights, such as the right to be named and to object to a distortion of the Artwork, stay with the Artist as the law that applies provides. No right that the law does not allow to be given up is given up.

10. Reference material and subjects

The Client states that it has the right to give the Artist the reference material it provides, for this purpose. Where the Artwork shows a real person, or another person’s character, brand or artwork, the Client has the permission that the Artwork and the Client’s intended uses need, and the Artist may ask for proof.

The Artist may decline, or stop work on, a subject that is unlawful or hateful or that the Artist is not willing to make. The Artist then keeps the part of the fee that matches the work done and returns the rest of the deposit.

11. Packing, shipping and risk

The Artist packs a physical Artwork with care. The risk of loss or damage passes to the Client when the Artwork is handed over to the Client or, where it is shipped, to the carrier. Shipping and insurance: [[the Client arranges and pays for shipping and insurance / the Artist arranges shipping at the Client’s cost / included in the fee]]. A damage found on arrival is reported to the carrier and to the Artist, with photos, within [[3]] days.

12. Cancellation

The Client may cancel before the sketch is approved on [[7]] days’ notice in writing or in electronic form; the deposit is then kept for the work done, as far as the law allows. After the sketch is approved, the Client may still cancel, and the Artist keeps [[50]]% of the fee for the work done.

If the Artist cannot finish the Artwork, for example because of illness, it refunds the part of the fee for the work not done or, if the Client agrees, finishes it later. Further claims are excluded as far as the law allows.

13. Liability and independence

The Artist works with care and skill. Where the Artwork follows the brief and the approved sketch, a change of taste is not a defect, as far as the law allows. The Artist is not responsible for damage that arises from the way the Client stores, displays or transports the Artwork after handover.

Except for intent, gross negligence, personal injury or where the law does not allow a limitation, each party’s total liability under this agreement is limited to [[the fees paid or payable under it / a fixed amount]]. The Artist is an independent person or business, and this agreement does not create an employment, partnership or agency relationship.

14. Governing law and disputes

This agreement is governed by the law stated under Governing law. The parties will first try to settle any dispute in good faith. Otherwise the courts stated under Jurisdiction decide, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.

Payment terms

The deposit is payable within [[7]] days of signing and the balance before the Artwork is handed over or shipped, by bank transfer to the account stated on the invoice.

Governing law

[[Country or state whose law applies]]

Jurisdiction

[[Courts that decide disputes, e.g. the courts of your city]]