Chewing Pencils

In the ideal world, a client would know what they want and would be able to communicate it to you clearly and effectively.

In the real world, clients have a vague idea of what they won’t, have no idea how to let you know and expect you to read their minds.

So, taking a brief, or a list of things to include in the project is an art form in itself. It requires the cartoonist to ask the right questions and sift through the answers in a way that grabs onto the important stuff, but leaves the useless stuff for the trash bin.

In the worst case scenario, the client will say something like:

“I kind of want something like Larson,  but not really like that, but I want it to say what we do but in a way that leaves people guessing a little bit. You know what I mean… just do whatever.”

And you can almost garuntee that whatever you come up with for the first draft will be wrong!

So once you’ve landed your client, here are a few questions that you should ask to make sure you have a clear idea of what the client wants:

1. Firstly, ask a general, “What do you want?” type question. This gets the ball rolling, and communicates that the client has a role to play in getting the best result. Even though you’ll probably ignore most of what is said at this stage (!), take some notes and use them as prompts for further questions.

2. Ask if your client understands the quote you’ve given them and all the copyright issues. Asking this early makes it clear where you stand. Be sure to emphasize additional fees for changing finished work.

3. Ask what size they are after, or what final dimensions thay would like the work to be. This will impact what size you do the drawing (most things are reduced for publication) and whether you use a bitmap or vector image.

4. Ask if the final artwork is to be black & white, greyscale or color.

5. Ask if they have any preference for what text should be included in the image (if any). Do they want specific words, a product or company name included, and do they want a specific font or hand lettering? Sometimes your client may request that the text be editable so they can translate it into other languages, so be sure to ask about this aswell.

6. Ask about the deadline - when exactly do they need your work. Sometimes a client will say we need to have a project finished by such and such a date, but the reality might be they need your work a couple of weeks earlier to get it to the printers on time. Negotiate if a deadline is unrealistic. If you can’t meet the deadline, refuse the job.

7. Ask what format they would like the finished piece in. I’ve only ever had one client request a ‘hard copy’ - everything else has been digital. Be sure to ask about file formats and be sure that your software can save your work in the format they’re after.

8. State your terms (ie payment withing 14 days of completion etc) and then ask for a 50% deposit.

With these questions answered, the only remaining thing is the artwork itself. Keeping your client informed at every step of the process helps avoid significant changes at the end. I tend to let them see a VERY rough pencil draft, the line work before I begin coloring and then the final piece. I encourage honesty at every step and make the changes the client asks for.

At the end, hopefully you’ll have a happy client and a few more dollars in your pocket.