[whetink]

I'm in the starting stages of developing my brand. I'm looking to get artists to create designs for my brand and pay them a percentage of the profit that is made from their designs. It would be like designbyhumans.com but more exclusive.
Does anyone have experience with this? I need an idea on what is a fair amount to pay my artists.
Does 40% of profit sound fair?

 

[limey]

Ask yourself how many shirts do you think you are going to sell?
Much easier to pay up in advance then try to pay as you go unless you think you might not sell many.
Most artists need to eat and all money now is probably their preferred option plus it gets the art completed something which I have seen a lot.
Just my opinion , which is not worth much.
Good luck

 

[treefox2118]

The better/best artists won't do this because they don't want to work on "spec". There's a website dedicated to protesting spec work: NO!SPEC

Personally, almost ALL my income over 30 years has been on spec. I disagree with those who think it's taking advantage. Still, you will find your best artists by paying them up front plus residuals.

My favorite local artist charges a minimum of $500 for a design, plus 10-20% residuals per sale. And I'm sure he's getting paid that. Sounds insane, but that's the market.

 

[whetink]

So I don't have the budget right now to pay for a design upfront which is partly why I was thinking of paying by percentage.
What I gather from you two is down the line paying for a design upfront would be the better way to go.
Do you mind me asking what percentage you make on spec or what the standard is? Do you charge an upfront plus percentage of profit?

 

[limey]

I would say Brian is more experienced in this side then myself with his time spent in the industry.
I totally understand the rational behind commission only for designs but the artist is taking more of the gamble then you (time).
I think it would be more reasonable to agree a lower cost art undertaking, with an agreed cap of say 5 designs and review after this and raise the upfront fee.
Better still find an artist who has already created the work or one that can easily be adapted and you would not be asking so much of his/her time in the creative process.

Sean

 

[treefox2118]

I would pause on your quest for a successful t-shirt line until you organize your finances better. I help dozens of people a month locally get their design line off the ground, and the #1 reason I tell people to wait is: finances.

Can you cut back on spending somewhere? Turn off Cable TV, downgrade your phone service, eat out less, drink/smoke less? Can you earn more somehow? Get a second job, take odd jobs, etc?

Not having money to pay for artists is going to crush you. The reason I say this is because the good artists are BUSY with people paying them today AND paying them residuals tomorrow. You're going to the same people and saying "I can't pay you today, but maybe we can make money tomorrow." I'll be honest: you won't find good artists this way.

I work on spec because I run my own websites where I sell my designs. Therefore, I am working for myself. I take all the risk, but I get all the reward. No way would I give a design to someone else when I can sell it myself. Most good artists would do the same thing -- why give you the art if they can sell it online themselves and take the same risk but make more money?

Most people think the t-shirt game is about making money easily. Well, it is. I make 6 figures a year on my designs, and I'll be honest: I am a terrible designer with horrifying designs. The thing is, I had to pay thousands of dollars a month in the beginning to market my designs, to give out freebies to random followers on Twitter or Facebook, and to offer my designs to retail stores to sell (I gave each store 12 free shirts, to keep or sell or whatever, with no reimbursement to me unless they reordered).

Can you make money by starting with $0? Of course you can. But you have a better chance of success by investing some of your "skin in the game"!

 

[whetink]

So I failed to mention I make designs for the brand myself, so this would be extra to spice it up. I won't be relying 100% on other artists.
My finances are tight but not too restricted. I wouldn't say I'm investing much of my "skin in the game" . I'm hoping that running a Kickstarter will help with that.
How long did it take before you started seeing any real cash flow?
If I were to take this route without paying artists upfront, what do you think is a fair percentage of profit to pay them? (I'm assuming more than the norm since they're only getting paid this way)

 

[TygerPromotions]

I am a full time Graphic Artist. I do everything from art creation and design to laying out the sheets and running separation. I am also the only artist working for this company.

Basically I was hired on an hourly basis (making less than I'd like but *shrug*) and guaranteed X-number of hours each week. All work that I do onsite is considered company property. I find that this arrangement works well for us simply because it helps stabilize my paycheck in between the larger art projects that pay me extra (through the same company)

Occasionally I will pitch the boss an awesome design and he'll buy it outright. Some of the designs I give to him, simply to see my ideas print. Mostly I grind 9-5. Maybe I SHOULD be asking for a percentage back but it sounds like it would be difficult to track 100%