What percentage is fair and 'normal'??

[pad]

Hi, I really hope someone can help.

I was approached to draw some characters using the ideas and briefing of my client.
From my notes I produced the characters and are apparently exactly what the client had in mind.

I had a release contract plonked in front of me with the client insisting I sign away all the rights to reproduction or else the project cannot continue.

Obviously unhappy I refused to sign and threatened to walk away from the work.

The client has since asked me to clarify what it is that I want.

The whole 'thing' is his idea but I do feel that the characters/drawings have my stamp on them, as will the rest of the art I do for this.

What is a non-greedy and fair percent of gross to expect from reproduction and royaties in a situation like this?

I need to go back with a number, I really hope someone can help.

Thanks

[mickeymao]

It kind of depends on the nature of the project, how much of it you're designing, and whether you're being paid up front for the designs.

One extreme would be if you were working for a big company and they were paying you an agreed-upon rate for all rights, then you would get plenty of cash now and no percentage of future profits.

The other extreme would be if this dude is paying you nothing, and you're coming up with the look of all the characters, then you should get 50% on all uses of those characters.

I'm guessing he is paying you something, so he is taking on most of the risk, but you are right to want a stake in any future successes, so maybe 10-20% -- it just depends on what you can get him to agree to, and what you're comfortable with.

It's also important to define what number you're taking a percentage of. If it's net profit (income minus expenses), that gets hard to calculate, and often ends up being zero. Gross is much better, but again that means he's taking on more of the risk, so the percentage may have to be lower.

[pad]

Thanks so much mickeymao, that's been really helpful.

I'm getting paid initially, but am charging a very reasonable rate.
So if it's a percentage of gross I'm after I could ask for 5 - 8 % and go from there.
He's also willing to write a clause into the contract guaranteeing me involvement should the project take off. Is there a proper way of phrasing this?

I really appreciate your help.

[mickeymao]

I don't think I've done a contract exactly like that, but something simple and clear should work. You should search for sample illustration contracts online or in books by the Graphic Artists Guild or Tad Crawford. There's often a clause like "The Author will be notified prior to any and all substantial changes, which will be made only with the Author's approval and participation." But you will probably want a little more than that.

[J Wilson]

It would help to know a bit more about the project, otherwise we'd just be picking numbers out of thin air.

[akosimachineman]

What percentage is fair and 'normal'??
there's no certain answer to this question, since it varies from every person. normal also varies from person to person. thats why this question can be classified as an open ended question.