Artist Commission Agreement
Protect your creative work with our Artist Commission Agreement, designed specifically for illustrators and visual artists offering custom commissions. Whether you’re painting portraits or creating original artwork for private collectors, this template ensures your terms are clear, your time is respected, and your rights are protected. Includes a detailed Proposal, built-in clauses for payment, IP, and artwork care, plus a BONUS Client Contract Checklist for smooth onboarding. Add the optional Artwork Licence template for easy handover and client clarity.
Whether you're creating bespoke portraits, original paintings, or illustrative commissions, this Artist Commission Agreement is your go-to resource. It’s designed for artists who want to clearly define the scope of their work, get paid on time, and retain ownership of their intellectual property. Use it when you’re delivering custom artwork to private or business clients, whether in-person or via courier.
Looking for a simple way to formalise your terms without the legal headache? This template includes a fill-in-the-blanks Proposal, optional portrait sitting policy, and clauses for care, shipping, copyright, and refund boundaries.
Want to provide usage rights? Add our Artwork Licence Template to your order, a separate document you can issue with your finished work to define where, how, and for how long your client can use the artwork.
About the Template
Created by lawyers and peer reviewed by other lawyers for peace of mind, this fill in the blanks template can be ready within 15 minutes or less, ready for you to copy and paste into your system and send to your client for them to sign.
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What’s included?
Your template purchase includes:
- Templates in Word format
- Template User Guide pdf: Handy hints on how to update your template
- Single user licence to edit, use and reuse the template as often as you need for your business
- BONUS: Future template updates
- BONUS: Video Guide: This video walkthrough is designed to guide you step-by-step through the template, providing clear instructions and assistance to help you successfully complete it with a few tips thrown in for good measure!
Got questions? Check out our FAQs below.
Key features of this Artist Commission Agreement include:
- Clear Payment Terms: Booking fees, balance due triggers, and refund boundaries.
- Defined Scope: Proposal template included to outline artwork specs and delivery.
- Intellectual Property Protection: Artist retains copyright; licence options available.
- Portrait Sitting Policy: Optional clause for live sittings with no-show terms.
- Shipping & Risk Terms: Who pays for delivery, insurance options, and where risk transfers.
- Client Responsibilities: Outlines what the client needs to provide and when.
- Bonus Checklist Included: Helps you keep track of every step before delivery.
- Option to Add: Artwork Licence Template: Define your client’s display rights post-delivery.
This Agreement is perfect for:
- Independent artists, illustrators, and painters who offer custom commissioned work
- Portrait artists creating work based on photos or live sittings
- Visual artists who want clear contracts without giving away their copyright
- Creatives who need clarity around timelines, payment terms, and post-sale care
This agreement is all about protecting your process and the creative work you’re commissioned to produce. Whether you're painting portraits, crafting original illustrations, or accepting custom art requests, it sets clear expectations around ownership, timelines, payments, and how the artwork may be used. No more awkward convos about what’s included or whether your art can be reused without permission, this template has your back.
IMPORTANT Purchasing our fill in your blanks templates for you to customise and ensure they suit you and your business needs, utilising our free resources or having a chat with us as part of a consultation doesn’t create a lawyer-client relationship between you and Foundd Legal (sorry!). It also doesn’t constitute legal advice. Please consult with a lawyer for any questions.
We do offer templates for countries outside of Australia, you will see on the specific template page which country or countries the template is available for, just make your selection! Unfortunately at this time, we are only offering templates for the countries specified.
Our templates are however customisable for countries outside of Australia, and whilst they are a good base and potentially save you money getting something created from scratch, it would be prudent to have a lawyer in your country to review the template especially if you have any questions. You get a single user licence and can re-use the templates you purchase as many times as you want for your own business needs! But keep in mind we’re a small business just like you, offering a service and we need more people like you to help us continue to grow - just like you! So from the bottom of our humble hearts, thank you for making a legit purchase and not sharing! Use of this Site and your purchase of any digital products or downloading of any free resources, are subject to our Terms and Conditions.
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