These FAQs are generated, in part, by questions asked me by clients and through customer queries. Some I just answer succinctly; others require longer explanations. For those who prefer succinct, I apologize for the ones which can't be answered in a simple bullet point.
Short Answer: No.
Longer Answer: No. When you engage a graphic artist and designer, you get the finished product, not the files associated with creating that finished product. The reason is that, often, an artist will use elements in creating the finished product that they own and/or have created and have incorporated into the finished work, but that element, by itself, remains an asset of the artist, not the art client.
When you are satisfied with the job, not before.
Sometimes. It depends on the constraints of the elements utilized in creating the art. Sometimes I can only provide a perpetual license. What you DO get is exclusivity, that is, THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE THE IMAGE IN PERPETUITY. But does that mean that somebody won't copy your cover or artwork? No. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that some scam artist won't clone something they see. Nobody can offer that guarantee, especially today with the software available to recreate almost anything. Of course, you can go to court to try and get them to cease and desist, but, honestly, that still won't stop them or somebody else from doing it again.
PayPal, which accepts all major credit cards, and, no, you don't have to have a PayPal account to use them. and yes, I have a verified business account with PayPal.
The reason I don't sell Internationally through my websites, my shopping cart, or PayPal, is because of VAT (Value Added Tax). I don't want to expand my bookkeeping to include calculating the VAT rates, which vary country by country, with all that's involved, including but in no way limited to a LOT of beaurocratic hoops that prove a nightmare, never mind the quarterly payments, then refund cycle, required by those countries.
A picture is worth a thousand words. These are examples of illustrative figurative book covers:
First, because "everybody" else does. In other words, because a LOT of artists out there do them, and do them well. The biggest reason, though, is because I build art that I like, make book covers that would draw my attention as a reader, and, mostly, because I'm a 'zen' artist, a conceptual artist, and an abstract artist.
I have done and still do some illustrative work and some work involving figures, but, by and large, if its genre standard like for Fantasy, Regency Romance, and the like, no.
Of course. I expect changes. It's part of the process. And you never pay for what you don't approve of and sign off on.
