Hello! How are you? Good...good... glad to hear it. I myself am also good. I'm also pretty busy. But, that is nothing new now is it?

So, you want me to do some art for your band,  clothing line, company or gang. Excellent!! I am always happy to be of help. New projects are awesome and a lot of days are the only good reason to get out of bed. Ya' heard!?

So here is how we proceed. You tell me who you are and what you need. You give me any ideas you have for the project. You probably have some vision of what you'd like. You might even know EXACTLY what you want. Sometimes maybe you just want me to "do what I do". Awesome. Sometimes you don't have any ideas at all. All of those are perfectly acceptable. I can work with any and all of the above scenarios in any various combination. After all I am a "professional". This is why you came to me in the first place. And yes, I understand you want it to be "brutal" Who doesn't, right?

Then we discuss your budget. This is where it gets tricky. I will give you a figure for what I think this project will cost you. My quote will be very low. I know this as I have been in this business a long time and I know what a lot of other artists charge. I am also realistic about what these underground/ grass roots type projects can afford. When the Big Dogs come calling... I charge them the Big Dog price. Believe it. I'll assume for the sake of this post that you are a smaller fish. Totally cool. I love you guys more than the Big Dogs... believe me. I will probably actually like your band!!

So, while I am not going to give any exact figures, as each project is very different, I will break it down like this. You can have it:

1: Good
2: Fast
3: Cheap.

Pick any TWO of those three options. I'll give you any two of them but not all three.

I may also ask you to pay me 50% of the agreed price up front. In the great big world of graphic design there is a thing known as the "kill fee". This is basically an amount of money I will be keeping if we can not come to an agreement on a final design. To a lot of you this might seem strange. I know, I know, but, This ensures that I don't end up working for free. If the project is small-ish in budget the 50% will likely be the kill fee amount. If the project has a bigger budget a smaller kill fee will be negotiated. If you are in a band you can think of it as the "guarantee" you get from a venue.

Don't ask me to do something for free. I am not going to. Just the same as you don't work for free and you will not be giving away whatever item the artwork appears on for free. If you are indeed giving it away for free, I suggest maybe devising a better business plan. There is no money in giving things away for free.

 If I am doing a logo for you I'm going to assume that you will be using the logo on merchandise. You will sell this merchandise for profit. I will also assume you will use this logo for many, many years on lots and lots of merch. I have had bands using logos I have done for them for upwards of 10 years. So, you are going to have to make an investment in the artwork in the beginning. Same applies for shirt designs, etc. You get the long money. I am just asking for the short money. Sounds perfectly fair to me.

I think it is awesome that your friend or little brother or friends little brother or whomever will do a piece of art for your project for "way cheaper" . That is pretty cool. You should totally go that route if you don't have much money. Just remember that you get what you pay for. If you are coming to me it's because you like what I do. It also indicates that you are serious about your project and want it to look professional. That is what I am here for. If you are serious... then be ready to make a little investment in your project.

Oh, and too all of you Big Dogs I referred to earlier in the post... ignore all of this. It doesn't apply to you. You can continue to treat my like your bitch and I'll continue to take it. It's worked pretty well for both of us so far right? Just keep those checks coming!

I know this is coming across as slightly sarcastic,some might say "assholic"  possibly even arrogant but really it's just me trying to be funny. Those of you who know me know that I can be a bit of a wise ass. And those of you who have worked with me know I bust my ass for you at a very reasonable rate. Just the fact's Ma'am. Really though I do this stuff for the same reason's you all do. I do it because I love it. But, I also love to eat, drink beer, buy cigarettes, pay my rent, feed my kids, etc, etc..  These are jokes people... JOKES!!!

Carry on...

Mike


PS, I am also against the idea of doing something for extra cheap because your project is "going to be huge" and it will give me a ton of "exposure". I can't survive on exposure. And, really, at the risk of sounding egotistical, I have a pretty good profile right now. So, I'm all set in that department but thanks for thinking of me!!