How to Commission an Illustrator to Create Artwork for Your Original Song or Cover Video

Here’s a brief introduction about myself.

Hello!
This is my first contribution to Sound House. I’m just an anonymous illustrator who loves music.

The content is as the title says.

I am looking forward to your comments and suggestions.

It gives me great pleasure to see my music, even though it may not be the best, to be listened to by a large number of people.

However, the assumption is that we have to live in this age of digital content. It is no exaggeration to say that videos are the most popular form of digital content today.

These days, no matter how good the sound source is, a video with a thumbnail (≒cover page) that only displays “NO IMAGE...” will only be clicked on by the purest and most crazy music lovers.

Well, there's a little more to it than that.
A less difficult and yet quite effective way to add a little visual flair is the recently trendy “one-picture music video”.

What is a single-picture music video?

The genres that are particularly mainstream are “Vocaloid original songs” and “I sang it” videos.

Seeing is believing, so let's start with the following video link.

Chinozo's “Goodbye Manifesto”.
I am sure everyone has heard it at least once.
Some people have produced a video of him playing the song, which was filmed after he took this pose.

“Yoake to hotaru” (Daybreak and Fireflies) by n-buna.
This is strictly a self-made cover video by the person who created the song, but it’s easy to understand and it also has a very nice acoustic arrangement, so I wanted to share it with you.

Many of the videos posted on this site can create a big difference by preparing a single illustration and editing the video to include the lyrics, credits, etc. It’s simple but a cool way to create some sparks with your music.

If you want to simplify the process even further, just paste a single picture and just go ahead and paste the lyrics and credits! Then, simply add the lyrics and credits into the video. In any case, the common advantage is that a single image by itself serves as the visual for a catchy pop thumbnail. As a result, there is a high potential for a jump in the click-through rate of the song video.

Now, assuming that the readers of this article have their own original song, how can they get the illustration?

Ask an illustrator (artist) to do it!

The answer is simple.

“If you can't (or won't) draw, have an illustrator or an artist to draw it for you for a fee”.... I just thought of that, sorry.

First of all, let's look for an illustrator whose image is close to the image of the finished sound source.
Of course, you can also just say that you like the illustrator's style.

As for a specific method, you can find many illustrators simply by using hashtags on social media platforms.

You can also search for artists who are looking for “illustration commissions” on “SKIMA,” a so-called commission service.

If you find an illustrator you like, find a way to contact him or her to let them know that you would like to commission an illustration.
In the latter case, there is probably some kind of message function within the service, so you should have no trouble at all.

First of all, many artists who are engaged in drawing illustrations as a business, regardless of the size, should have their contact information listed somewhere, such as in their SNS profile.

Even if there is no such indication at first glance, if their DM is open, it is one way to inquire directly.
Even if their DMs are blocked, you can use the reply function to politely ask,“Are you currently accepting orders for illustrations?”

The most important thing to remember is to praise the illustrator's work.

Many artists, as well as songwriters, thrive on praise.
They will jump at the chance to work after receiving a compliment, and they immediately go silent at the first bad review.

But don't worry.
There is no need to use super polite language.

From the artist's point of view, it is an honor to be able to present your illustration to a sound source that you love so much that you consider it to be your own child.

There is no need to offer poor compliments, and even if your vocabulary is not very good, it is no problem at all. Just be frank and give the reason why you liked the artist's work.

Essential information when inquiring

Although it is acceptable to communicate this information at the same time as the order acceptance or rejection mentioned above, there is some information that artists should be aware of when they are working on illustrations for a job.

Just by keeping these points in mind, you will be surprised how directly it will affect how smoothly subsequent transactions go, so I would like you to keep them in mind. The following is a bullet-point list.

• Budget and deadline
• Whether there will be other uses for the artist’s illustrations besides your music video
• Size and file format of illustrations
• Composition of the illustration, image, amount of drawing, whether or not there are any different copies, etc.
• Other remarks

*Bolded items are especially required.

These are the most I can think of.
I will go into further detail in each bullet point one by one.

● Budget and deadline

How much money can you afford to pay for the illustration you are requesting?
This is the amount of money you are willing to pay for the illustration, and when you would like it to be finished by.

Although it is difficult to determine the budget in particular, there is actually a general market price.

Examples:

• Rough-draft of a person only, single-color background, no difference: ¥3,000 - ¥12,000
• Full-body portrait with a simple background (with small differences): ¥5,000 - ¥15,000
• Very elaborate painting and drawing: ¥15,000 and up
• Additional fees (per piece): ¥500 - ¥5,000

The above is really only an example, but the average of SKIMA's fees is about this much (of course, the fees will go up and down “considerably” and will widely depend on how busy the individual artist is and their achievements).

However, if the price for a single illustration is less than 3,000 yen, it is most likely due to either the artist's low price or special circumstances (e.g., low price for initial PR purposes).

First of all, the hourly rate jumps just for the time spent in consultation.
The original consultation fee, which you can't even get for free, will be almost nothing.

And bargaining is not an option. Basically, don't do it.

● Do you plan to use the artist’s image in other forms of media besides your MV?

In some cases, there may be legal issues involved here. If you want to keep the budget low, it is safe to simply answer “no” and avoid using it.
If you are only using a single picture as a “music video illustration,” there should be no need to do so.

As an exception, if you want to use it as a social networking icon, I think it is unlikely that the artist will be that nervous.
In most cases, permission will be granted unconditionally, so if possible, obtain permission in advance.

If you make a mistake, do not sell any items with the illustration without permission…

Illustration size and file format

The recommended image size, resolution, and file format are listed here in the guidelines of the video service. Generally, the size is Full HD: 1920(w)×1080(h)px / resolution: 72dpi / file format: jpg, png.

Size is the size of the illustration in px (pixels) and is also called “canvas size”.

The resolution (unit: dpi) is not a concern.
The resolution required for color printing is 300 dpi or higher, but on a monitor, the unit of resolution is almost meaningless.

The above two file formats are the most common image formats.
Both formats do not require much effort to output an illustration, so you should request the file format specified by the video submission service or both formats for delivery.

In rare cases, there are artists who have difficulty delivering in full HD due to their working environment, so you may need to consult with them on this matter depending on the situation.

● Composition of the illustration, image, amount of drawing, whether or not there are any different copies, etc.

If you have an image, write it down in as much detail as possible as a request.
It is best to start with a rough draft of an image and provide further details at the consultation stage.

At this point, you can be flexible about the means by which you would like the artist to visualize your concept.

It is also acceptable to specify the illustrator's previous illustrations and say, “I want an image similar to this one!

If you are comfortable with music and lyrics, it is also quite effective to provide the lyrics themselves as reference material (personally, I have found this to be more informative than just the melody, and in many cases it is possible to fully grasp the musician’s world view).

It is also not completely wrong to just send the outline and leave it to the artist, although it is honestly difficult to leave it up to the artist (laugh).

Work flow of the illustration production process

This is the general workflow of the illustration process.

For some money, use an outside service as much as possible.

And, commission services will take care of your money so you don't run the risk of having your money stolen. You can also try a third-party Japanese only app “Azukari”, which is a service that allows you to commission artists directly and safely within the app.

Rough drafts and polished drafts can be retaken a limited number of times, and if not, ask for as many as you want until you are satisfied.
The artist does not want the client to be overly quiet or reserved about their opinions.

However,refrain from making changes to the composites that deviate too much from the original request.

Illustration complete!

Once the illustration data is delivered, it is yours for your use only.

You are free to insert your own lyrics and text, or to edit the video with cool effects to make it look a little more elaborate.

There are also video artists who are skilled at editing videos and are looking for work at various services. In some cases, you may want to bring a little more attention to your video to make it even more eye-catching.

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May your music reach as many people as possible.

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