FAQ

I sell drawings, not time.
By paying me at an hourly rate, you are in fact asking me to work as slow and inefficient as I can get away with. So, we’ll discuss the scope, purpose, timeline and other details of your project in advance and I’ll give you fixed quote.

Yes!
But you’ll need a very good reason to convince me.
Reasons listed below are not considered good reasons:

• “We are just starting out and can’t pay you (yet), but we think we will make tons of money in the future and will pay you on future projects.”
• “We won’t get a lot of profit out of this project.”
• “We are nice people. We are a good cause.”
• “We have lots of followers and will post your work on our social media!”
• “We are pitching the project to our client and would like you to make a proposal.” See question: “We are an agency. Would you make some drawings for our pitch?”

Yes I do, but not very often.
It’s very difficult for me to work on projects against my values. But I’m not against business and making money in general, so feel free to ask!

Yes, but … It’s just too exhausting for me to work for clients or projects that don’t align with my values. So when it’s not a good fit, I might decline. If you can’t disclose the client, I won’t do it.

If your client and/or the project are a fit for me, there are two possible scenarios:

Case 1: You have an idea and you just want me to make some sketches to make this idea clear to your client. Send an email to willem@willempirquin.be and I’ll make you a fixed quote for these sketches. I’m less picky in this case.

Case 2: You want to propose me as an illustrator to your client and you think your chances of winning are higher If you add some ideas and sketches in my style already. If you win the pitch, I’ll get to do the drawings as well. Hooray, you might be in for a discount!

I’ll make separate quotes for the pitch and for the actual work once we ‘d get the job.
For the pitch, I’ll invoice 50% in advance. Experience learned me that once the pitch is lost, it’s really hard to get paid. So I’ll only get to work once this invoice is paid.

If your agency does not win the pitch, we both loose and cry together: I won’t send you an invoice for the other 50%.
 
If your agency wins the pitch, we both win! I will invoice the other 50% as well. We’ll have a party together and get to work.
 
This solution motivates me to give my best effort to win with you, but also gives you the possibility to pick another illustrator for the job in case you win the pitch, but the client asks for a different style or wants to work with their own illustrator.

Also: I will never ever pitch on for the same job for two different parties. Yes, I’ve been asked to do this.

Congratulations!

If you know me very well, just ask me and I’ll do this for free.
If we don’t know each other, I wont do it.

But: you can use one of my “Greeting Cards for Every Occasion” for occasions like these. The back is blank, so you can add anything you’d like. If you want to buy more than 50 cards at once, send an e-mail to willem@willempirquin.be for a discount!

Full Disclosure: My so-called company is just me slouching around my house in Antwerp. I move between my desk, sofa and kitchen table to keep the creative juices flowing. My cat Ricky manages my breaks by asking for cuddles or food when I neglect him for too long.

If you are still interested, and you’re not allergic to Ricky, you can apply by sending an e-mail to willem@willempirquin.be. If I think I can teach you something you’d want to learn, we’ll make it work.