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Creating Comics (and more): Hireillo launches “Ultimate Artist Contract” for creators

By John Freeman on April 1, 2025

Hireillo - Ultimate Artist Contract Promotional Image

Hireillo, a UK-based independent service for professional illustrators and other creatives, has published its Ultimate Artist Contract, which could become an essential part of your workflow as a comic creator.

The Ultimate Artist Contract is a specially created contract template that you can tailor to different commissions without it taking hours of work and becoming an incomprehensible chore. It has been written for artists, illustrators, art directors, self-publishing authors, anyone who commissions or creates art. It makes your life easier and ensures you have all the essentials covered when working together on projects.

“Every artwork agreement should have a contract,” says Darren Di Lieto, founder and creative director at Hireillo, who has been advising illustrators and connecting them with clients for the last 20 years.

“I’m not a lawyer,” he continues , “but one of the things I’ve done regularly for our artists and clients is to review their contracts and make suggestions when needed.

“Most of the time, the contracts I review make no sense or are plain terrible, often because they are free contracts found online that aren’t right for the situation, and people aren’t sure how to customise them to their own needs. There’s always the option of paying a lawyer to write your contract, but that’s simply too expensive for many people.

“This is why I’ve created the Ultimate Artist Contract. I’ve poured my 20 years of experience into writing the contract and hired a qualified lawyer to review and edit it.

“The thing is, you don’t need a completely new custom contract for every different job,” he continues. “There’s a lot of crossover with artwork usage agreements, whether you’re hiring an artist or are an artist yourself. With the Ultimate Artist Contract template, you’ll have the basics covered and feel confident that both parties are getting what they want.”

So, if don’t want to get tripped up by misleading or unfair contracts, make the Ultimate Artist Contract part of your toolkit and workflow.

“Until something goes wrong, you don’t realise how vital a good contract is,” Darren, who spent hundreds of hours creating the Ultimate Artists Contract template, says.

“Don’t get caught out, make the Ultimate Artist Contract an essential part of your workflow.”

• Buy your copy of the Hireillo Ultimate Artist Contract here | Buy once, use forever (guaranteed) | Free updates when Ultimate Artist Contract make revisions | Lawyer-reviewed (sections 3 and 5)

Hireillo was founded as Hire an Illustrator (HAI) in 2005 by former freelance illustrator Darren Di Lieto on the back of the success of the Little Chimp Society (2004-2021). Hireillo members work across the full breadth of the illustration industry, including advertising, publishing and editorial. With wide-ranging skills, covering everything from animation to painting billboard-sized murals. Hireillo helps clients find creatives and connect creatives with clients.

The Hireillo team consider all membership applications; looking for skill and experience – or the potential to succeed in the creative industry. “The most important aspect of a successful application is our belief that an illustrator’s work is commercially viable.”

• Check out Hireillo at hireillo.com | Linktree

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.