UPDATES!

• Todd Lockwood Protege Package- SOLD OUT!

• Beauty & the Beast book package added

• Halo Mage original by Jeremy Wilson added

• Duo package added - membership with Noah's Art of Freelancing

• Boromir by Donato added

• 3 originals from Michael C. Hayes

• Winona Nelson prints added to the $40 add on section

• Erik Gist zombie portrait commissions- SOLD OUT!

• Original Magic art from Randy Gallegos

• Chuck Lukacs commission added

• Angels & Demons book package added- SOLD OUT!

• Chuck Lukacs originals added

• Chuck Lukacs added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Stanley von Medvey added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Drew Baker added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Cynthia Sheppard added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Lars Grant-West added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Noah Bradley added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Steve Arglye playmat added

• Steve Argyle added to list of pros to choose from in the Protege Package

• Socar Myles original art added

• 2 Jim Pavelec originals added

• Increaded painting sizes for both Randy Gallegos and Aaron Miller commissions

• The Grand Master - SOLD OUT!

• The Bibliophile - more books added!- SOLD OUT!

• The Vow - SOLD OUT!

 • The Patron - SOLD OUT!

• Michael Hayes book "Prologue" added to the Bibliophile perk

YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO ABOVE RIGHT?

It describes the gist of our goals.
If you'd like more, you can hear about the inception of the PACT website we're funding, and the entire discussion leading up to it on this Drawn Today podcast
(also via YouTube).
The first 45 minutes of this Ninja Mountain podcast has further discussion.

FREE

PACT will be broken up into a free area, and a members' area. The free area will be a resource destination for illustrators, with sample contracts, educational resources and a list of companies reviewed in the member's area

MEMBERSHIP

Yearly membership to PACT will be $29, but for our Indiegogo supporters you will get a Two Year Membership for that same price! You will be given access to the site four months before public launch to provide feedback--help create a tool that suits your wants and needs. A forum will be set up during this Beta period where you can discuss what you like and what you don't like.

MEMBER BENEFITS

The membership area will provide a ratings tool, the heart of PACT. Imagine it as an Angie's List specifically for genre illustrators. There you can anonymously (or openly if you prefer) rate the companies that you have worked for along four different criteria:

• Contract Terms

• Amount of Pay

• Timeliness of Pay

• Ease of Working With the Client

Scores will be aggregated with those that other artists have given the same client. You will also be allowed to leave a brief description for why you gave each rating, for others to read. We will request and enforce a culture that keeps descriptions courteous and professional.

We feel that this tool will allow members to make a more informed choice about which companies they choose to work for. Does that company pay on time? Does their pay meet a favorable industry standard? All of the stats to answer these kinds of questions will be at your fingertips.

Additionally, the members' news page will keep you updated on the actions of companies in the industry (like we have been doing on our Facebook Page). We will inform you when there is encouraging news on the horizon, bring attention to practices we feel are questionable, and report on everything in between.

You'll also find articles and interviews featuring industry professionals from both sides of the table. You will get to hear from artists and art directors alike as to their experiences in the business, and how they feel things can be improved.

Finally, we will explore solutions to the various problems we face. We will delve into the areas of contracts, spec work, contests, copyright, alternative revenue streams, the Fair Use Act, and many more. Here we hope to get your feedback in order to help create viable solutions to these problems, eventually generating a thorough FAQ section.

PACT will be a place where freelancers can learn to be more professional, to promote an appreciation and more respectful attitude toward the work we do, and encourage clients to treat us in a more professional and economically viable way. We expect it to benefit the industry overall, in a respectful, inclusive way, and with the involvement of our client-partners.

PACT will be constructed by Tecture, a fantastic Chicago based web development company. With Tecture in our corner we will be able to grow the site in any direction we need, and you will not have to worry about security, crashes, or an amateurish looking interface. But, professionalism costs money, which leads us to...

WHY SO MUCH?

Coding and development costs a lot. This will not just be some blog but a flexible, database-driven tool. Further, we have hired lawyers to draft sample contracts for your use, as well as using them to make the site airtight, so that no one can come along and sue us and shut us down before we even get rolling. As you know, unlike artists, lawyers and programmers know what they are worth, and charge for every minute of their time. But in this case, that's fine, because they will be fighting for us and helping us create a great resource.

We'll have to package and ship all of the rewards, which takes considerable time, and also takes a chunk out of the money raised.

Finally, once PACT is live we have to administrate it. This means time away from paying gigs. It would be hypocritical to ask people to work on PACT for free. The whole point of this endeavor is to help people get paid what they are worth, and that is what I will do, and that is why we need the funds.  

SPREAD THE WORD

GET SOME ORIGINAL ARTWORK...FOR FREE!!!

Just use the "Share This Campaign" link near the top of the page! Post it everywhere so your friends and colleagues can help support PACT. The more people that use your link to donate to the campaign, the better your odds are for getting the special prizes!

The top three referral sources (by dollars raised) will receive an original game art painting by Jim Pavelec! It may be a D&D interior, or if you really kick ass, maybe even an original Magic: The Gathering painting.

The top three referral sources by total donors referred (individuals that donate through your unique referral link) will receive an original drawing from Jim Pavelec! It could be a demon, or it could be a drawing from a past game art project.

QUESTIONS?

If you have questions about anything don't hesitate to contact us at pactartists@gmail.com.

THE PERKS

The base Perk will be a two year membership to PACT (making the first year FREE!)

We understand that many of you out there are not illustrators, or do not necessarily want a membership, but would like to help out. For you we have gathered a veritable cornucopia of art-related perks for making a donation. Many of the fields' biggest names have contributed to this project, because they feel that it is important, and needs to be done.

For those who want a membership, but would also like some of the art featured below, you can always add on Perks to your donation. To do so simply add up the total amount of the items you would like in addition to your membership. Enter that total when you contribute, but only select the membership (THE FAMILIAR) Perk.

Then send an e-mail to pactartists@gmail.com telling us which pieces you would like, along with any other info such as size and color if you pick a T-shirt. Also, please send us your shipping address in this email.

As an example, if you want a membership, plus a Todd Lockwood print, plus a T-shirt that would be:

$29 (Membership) + $50 (Todd's print) + $18 (T-shirt) = $107.

If you add Perks to a Membership SHIPPING IS FREE.

Protege Package Links

Just in case you might not be familiar with all the artists making themselves available for the extremely valuable Protege Package here are links to their sites so you can familiarize yourself with their amazing talent:

Jim Pavelec

Mike Sass

Aaron Miller

Randy Gallegos

Todd Lockwood

Noah Bradley

Steve Argyle

Lars Grant-West 

Cynthia Sheppard

Drew Baker

Chuck Lukacs

Stanley von Medvey