I know I have been in this situation many times — and email comes in and someone has a project with a small or non-existent budget. Usually it’s a personal project. Usually it’s for an existing piece of artwork.
Since most of the work on my website and blog are commisioned projects for clients, it’s easy enough to say no — the artwork they’re asking about was created for a client’s logo or mascot character and is not available to use by someone else.
But I do have some non-client work on my site, and this is where the free use issue comes in.
Tom Richmond, quoted over at The Daily Cartoonist, says
It would be so easy to just say, “Yeah, go ahead and use it”. After all, it’s already done and will take you no more time, right? So therefore it has no value?? That is the perception of many would-be users and sadly of some creators.
Continue reading 'Cartoonist/Illustrator Tom Richmond On Why You Should Never Give Away Your Artwork For Free'
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
Just posted this funky cartoon skull illustration to my iStockPhoto illustrator account. I was trying to get a good chunk of Halloween imagery uploaded for the upcoming holiday, but with other work projects I just have not had the time to get much done, and it’s getting pretty close to printing deadlines for October/Halloween this year.
Regardless, I have always loved drawing skeletons, and anything Halloween related - monsters, zombies, The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula - you name it.
Continue reading 'Cartoon Skull & Pumpkin Halloween Art Available for Licensing'
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

My previous post about those vector cartoon coin illustrations which didn’t make the cut over at iStockPhoto has a pleasant update – for some reason, they have been accepted! I put a pretty good amount of time on these, as they were a pet project of mine for years and I have been itching for a reason to get off my lazy butt and create final vector art of these cartoon coins. I’m glad I finally did. Move your mouse on over and check out (and download) these cool cartoon coins (direct links below)! And don’t forget to give me some rating feedback (5 stars of course).
Continue reading 'Cartoon United States coin illustrations now available for licensed download'
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.

So I have recently wrapped up a series of very fun new cartoon illustrations for my initial upload as a contributor to iStockPhoto. (more art on the full article page – link below).
All artwork has to go through a mysterious screening process to be accepted, which is kind of cool – it keeps the crap out and makes sure the end users get quality work to use for their projects.
The not so cool part is that I have been rejected, on grounds of needing a model release. The bizarre thing here is that the artwork is a series of cartoon versions of United States coins, which obviously feature human faces (the U.S. Presidents that are featured on the coins – Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Franlin “FDR” Delano Roosevelt and George Washington).
Continue reading 'Model Release Forms for Cartoons of Presidents on United States Coins'
by George Coghill -
View my cartoon character and mascot illustration portfolio
Contact me to get started on your own custom cartoon illustration projects.
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