The Q&A Issue

Questions & Answers for all Your Woes

Have a question? Scroll down to our big beautiful form and ask us!

I hate the first round of sketches. Ughhhh it’s all over, the project is ruined, right?

Don’t despair. Remember you chose this person for a reason, and usually it just takes a bit of communication to get the work you want out of them. A lot of illustrators do their first sketches extremely loosely—don’t panic! If you followed this guide, you checked the kill fee in the contract and built in some extra time to the project schedule, so you have a nuclear option if this really can’t be saved. If you find this happening to you a lot, consider building in two rounds of sketches for each project. One very detail-oriented thing you can do that might weird out illustrators is ask to see their initial sketches for an existing project they have on their website, just so you know what to expect. This is useful if clients are scared by sketches, too.

I hate the finals. Or, even worse, the client hates the finals. Should I just blame the client when I tell the illustrator they have to start over?

So tempting! Usually not worth it. The stress and confusion of pretending you’re super cool, but the client is lame, won’t help you get a better result, and what a tangled web we weave, etc. It’s better to take some responsibility for the results not being what you’d imagined (vs. acting as if the illustrator messed up big time or the client is being unreasonable). Let them know you didn’t communicate as clearly as you thought you did and want to work together to make some adjustments. If you want help drafting a diplomatic but demanding email, ask Molly. She lives for this.

However, know that you can’t always just have the illustrator start over….they have a contract for a reason! In this situation, it’s time to get creative. Case studies coming soon!

I found an amazing illustrator/photographer/animator. How can I share this with the rest of Upstatement?

Add them to our directory in Are.na! We have directories for illustrators, photographers, foundries, motion designers, vendors, and much more!

How much should the client be involved?

It’s hard to balance the client’s wish to be involved with your desire to shield your illustrator/photographer/whoever from them. The client isn’t the enemy, but they often don’t know the basics and etiquette of working with an outside artist, and having too many cooks in the kitchen, and too many lines of feedback, is not ideal. You want to keep Upstatement’s relationship with the outside artist solid, the process streamlined, and the vision consistent. Try to run interference and keep all feedback funneled through you. Sometimes, we make connections between our clients and freelancers so they can work together after we’re gone. It never hurts to give both sides a rundown of what to expect and what a good process might be. It’s also a good option to suggest an outside producer who can help everyone get what they want, without Upstatement remaining involved.

What’s a reasonable turnaround time for illustration concept sketches, revisions, and finals?

It’s an annoying answer, but like so much in life, it depends! For many editorial illustrators, a week is reasonable for concept sketches, then another few days to a week for each round of revisions. Some people work better on a longer timeline (two-three weeks for concepts isn’t unreasonable, but revisions should be a week max), some are quicker. Start with this baseline and see what they say. A rush fee might come into the picture, but usually a rush job isn’t going to get you the greatest results.

When working with a photographer, what’s a reasonable turnaround time for selects, touchups, and finals?

Again, this is annoying to hear, but it depends! How big was the shoot? How much editing is needed? Definitely make sure the photographer doesn’t have a huge editing backlog before you sign the contract (some are overbooked and then take months to turn over selects). A week or two for selects is fine, and retouching should be a week for up to 15 really beautiful fashion photos. If it’s a batch of 100 headshots, I’d expect a week or two as well (maybe a billable 60 hours). Always ask the photographer for turnaround times and get it in your contract. As long as it isn’t like, three months, you’re not being scammed.

How much can I spend without client permission?

It’s different in each project (definitely look in the SOW and/or ask the producer or Jared) but unless it’s understood that the client doesn’t want to deal with any behind-the-scenes commissioning, it’s a good idea to clear the use of any freelancer funds through the client: “Hi Client, we’re planning to commission these icons on an ongoing basis, spending roughly a third of our planned budget.” It doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed, but just let them know it’s happening.

Do we mark up costs?

We add a slight commission to all illustration, photography and other work we have to art direct to account for the additional communication, planning and design work. Check with your friendly local producer to see when in the process that commission will be applied.

I’m a photographer looking to branch into art direction. What do you suggest are the best ways to do this without going back to school?

I love this question, because if there’s one thing that I NEVER want to do again in my life, it’s school. Every time I see people frantically working on homework on the subway, it sickens me. Poor things.

And you absolutely don’t need to go back to school for art direction. Please don’t. If you’re a photographer, you probably already have many of the skills you need. You probably have personal photography work that you did for yourself, not a client. Who art directed that work? You did. And you’re probably used to hearing direction and feedback from clients on your paid projects.

So to start off, you kind of just need to start calling yourself an art director. It’s a mindset. Flip that switch on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Working Not Working. You’re an art director.

Now you need to get a few art direction projects in your portfolio. Look at job listings that appeal to you and see what they ask for. See who has cool jobs now and stalk their portfolio sites. If you don’t have anything to show yet, you could take a backdoor approach and work as a creative producer on photo shoots for a while. It’s easier to get hired on projects this way since you’ll be handling logistics and won’t be fully responsible for the creative vision, but there’s often plenty of room to weigh in creatively and get more comfortable with the process. Especially on agency projects, they often need outside production and art direction help. You could also experiment with a day job. As a photographer and freelancer, you do have valuable skills in terms of creative direction, selling your work/ideas, and realizing a vision. Maybe you start off somewhere stodgy, helping a small car insurance company figure out their annual headshot needs, but who cares? At least it’s not school.

But back to your portfolio. What kind of projects would you like to specialize in? Photo? Illustration? Advertising? Everything? If you can put together a few small sample projects of your own, that helps. Maybe tap any creative connections you have already and come up with a fun theme, mood, or concept and ask people to contribute. Curating something is a form of art direction, and so is building a community. Get your toolbox up to speed: develop moodboards and keep a rolodex of people whose work you like and what types of categories they fall into (portraits, corporate, fashion, quirky start-up, whatever). We have directories on Are.na that are always growing.

Also, art direction means something different at different places. It’s a flexible and sometimes vague discipline. It might just be the title you get after Senior Graphic Designer, or it could mean providing aesthetic inspiration and references to your team (aka mOoDbOarDs) before a photo shoot or a design project. Or it can mean production-heavy illustration commissioning, or on-set prop styling and wardrobe guidance. (Tip: just make sure there’s a steamer available. I am haunted by how everyone on TV is shown lounging in bed in sheets that look brand new, still creased from the box.) So if anyone ever acts like you’re dumb, just shrug and say that’s not the process you were accustomed to on previous projects. Then bide your time until you can quietly take your revenge/google what they’re talking about/email us again.