In recent years, with the spread of social media and the increase in the number of communication sites, artists and illustrators have become more and more active. However, on the other hand, we also have to face up to the heart-wrenching situation of disputes between companies and illustrators, and illustrators wailing.

Now, based on the current situation of illustration work sites, some Japanese media have also made a visit to Wèn, director of Whomor Co., Ltd., an illustrator company that has many illustrators and illustrators, and has illustration partnerships with many major companies, so that current artists and illustrators can avoid getting involved in their work and make their work run smoothly. I asked him about some things to keep in mind when working as an illustrator.

Whomor Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive company that provides illustrations for social games, and is engaged in a wide range of fields such as 3DCG (spine) production, manga production, and music production. Not only do they take orders from their clients, but they are also committed to the development of illustrators. Now let's see what the company's director, Miki Shibatsuji, has to say.

INTERVIEWER How many disputes have actually occurred between freelancers, illustrators, and companies?

Shibataji: I think the number has decreased compared to before. In the past, start-up IT companies were accustomed to making social games as a new business, but there were no in-house human resources who were proficient in illustration, or they did not have the experience and know-how to make them. Therefore, the market of the cost of the system cannot be correctly understood, and the process of the system is not accurately grasped, which are the key reasons for the frequent occurrence of problems.

However, similar problems have almost all been resolved now, especially in large companies, and it can be said that such disputes will hardly arise anymore. Conversely, as the situation in the industry continues to improve, those companies that are still experiencing problems are in some sense more visible. Channels such as bad reviews, guò, and SNS immediately spread.

INTERVIEWER Although the number of disputes is decreasing, what are the reasons for the problems?

Shibatakaji: I think both companies and illustrators have a responsibility.

For example, in the illustration stage, the company says that it is possible to correct this feeling, but sometimes the illustrator changes it in a completely different direction, which increases the working hours, delays the schedule, and increases the cost. Disputes like this are frequent.

This is due to a misunderstanding of the way the client is expressed and the illustrator is misunderstood. Therefore, we cannot simply attribute the responsibility for a dispute to one party.

However, in practice, there are cases where customers make unreasonable demands. From the standpoint of receiving orders, "if you refuse the other party's request, the order may not be accepted." Because with this in mind, the illustrator can only say nothing, and try to meet those unreasonable requests as much as possible.

INTERVIEWER Is it important to make an agreement with the company in advance on the scope of work and payment of fees?

Shibataji: If I could, I would, of course. However, if you discuss some details with the client before the work, the client is likely to get impatient and terminate the next cooperation. Therefore, it is very difficult to grasp that degree, and it is not easy to build a relationship of mutual trust.

INTERVIEWER What are the least things that a freelance illustrator should confirm with the other party before taking the order?

Shibatsuji: Before taking the order, "What do you do?" Do you have a specification book and an instruction book? Where is it published? Calendar? Amount? Do you check the work schedule? "If these issues had been considered and confirmed, there would not have been so many disputes.

If there is a temporary pause in the planning along the way, it may be better to check in advance how much you will be charged for everything from line drawing, drafting, and coloring.

Then, it is important to keep these clauses as evidence not verbally, but by e-mail, etc. The question of "said or not said" can happen anytime, anywhere.

When it comes to money, think about it in a straight line: "If you can calculate your hourly wage by comparing the amount of time you spend to complete this work and the fees paid by the other party, is it okay to be 1,000 yen less than your expected hourly wage?" "Set a standard of judgment in your heart like this.

- Thank you for your comments. However, on the other hand, when the work is finally delivered, and when it comes to the stage of paying the fee, the customer suddenly loses contact, and this happens from time to time. So what do you think is the reason behind such an incident?

Shibatsuji: In the past, big companies would take the lead in doing this, but now there are almost no cases like zài. However, there are cases where a development company that receives subcontracts from a large company spends too much of its budget during the development stage, and the budget allocated to the illustrator is gone, and such disputes may occur at the payment stage.

If the other party's customer is a small company, there are also cases where the company really goes bankrupt and disappears, but it is a very rare case.

INTERVIEWER What should I do first if I have a dispute after delivery?

Shibataji: If the two parties are still in contact, please clearly state the deadline for the other party to respond. If the other party still shirks this, you should send a letter of request and attach a record of real evidence.

If you still can't contact the other party after sending all of this, you need to find a higher-level customer company that placed an order with the illustrator, that is, contact the company that originally issued the contract. This is also a solution.

Therefore, at the stage of accepting a job, it is necessary to know in advance which company the job is related to. This gives you peace of mind in the event of an emergency.

The last resort is to resort to legal means, but because hiring a lawyer and going through various necessary procedures will cause considerable physical, mental, and economic burdens, so "prevention before it happens" is the most important thing.

In addition, in order to prevent more victims, it may be an effective means to disclose information on social media.

INTERVIEWER "Prevention before it happens" is the most important thing. In a sense, is it better to work with an intermediary company like Guòwhomor? Can you talk about the benefits of taking orders with Guòwhomor for illustrators and illustrators?

Shibatsuji: The advantage is that the company manages the money side, so there is no risk of "not paying the fee", and the painters can focus on their creative activities with more peace of mind.

In the unlikely event that the manuscript is not accepted, we can also pay the artist accordingly.

In addition, in other manufacturing companies and intermediary companies, there are cases where the original contractor orders are re-sold, but our company has hired an art director and has a sound negotiation system with customers.

In addition, we are engaged in activities to expand new business every day, so there are bound to be a variety of job opportunities.

Since we are engaged in intermediary work for client companies and illustrators, we will deduct this part of the cost from the production fee as a corresponding handling fee, although the result is less than the remuneration that the illustrator gets when he or she directly takes orders, but it has more benefits. First, there is no need to worry about money disputes, second, you can get corresponding remuneration according to your own work content, third, you don't have to worry about negotiation with customers and communication at the production stage, fourth, you can accept the guidance of the art director, and fifth, you don't need to worry about publicity and marketing. These benefits are far better than monetary losses.

- What should I do if I want to take orders on whomor?

Shibataji: Just sign up for our website. There are now about 2,500 illustrators on our website. After the submission of the work or packaging paper at the time of login and the review of the folder, the work order will be received fairly and impartially.

- Tell us about your vision for the future.

Shibatakaji: From the creator's point of view, the use of illustrations in recent social games has been in the hope that the creator's art style will be closer to that in order to unify the worldview. It makes it impossible for creators to give full play to the advantages of their own painting style. We hope to provide a platform for creators with alternative art styles to survive.

Also, because I've always dreamed of becoming a manga artist myself, I wanted to apply Crowdsourcing. It refers to the practice of a company or organization to outsource work tasks that used to be performed by employees to a non-specific and usually large mass network on a voluntary basis. ) to carry out some business such as comic creation.

In any case, it would be nice to be a company that takes care of both the creator's position and the business side.

- Thank you very much this time!

In this interview, we can conclude that "prevention in advance is the best medicine to prevent disputes". To achieve this, freelance illustrators may want to consider working with a number of agencies. In addition, if you insist on taking orders by yourself, you should at least confirm the following items for customers:

1. What exactly do you create?

2.Can you produce a specification book and instruction book?

3. Where is the platform to be published?

4. Schedule

5. Amount

6. Is there a check work schedule?

7. How much can I get paid for line drawing, drafting, and coloring?

These should not be merely verbal agreements, but should be kept in the form of e-mails.

With the rapid development of the animation, game, and manga industries, the number of places where creators can play an active role will continue to increase and expand. If you want to see wonderful works, you must have excellent creators. I hope that in the future, we will work together to create a creative environment where creators can feel more at ease.