Is it ever okay to have another artist (Artist B) finish the

Depends if Artist A lets you have the rights.

>>2967265
I paid in full for the art already; they just did sketches. Can't I take those sketches andd go to someone else and have them redo the sketches?

I mean, I made the mistake of paying in full and then I've been getting the run around by an artist who is super lazy and just cares about money.

>>2967261
Depends on the contract I have. Wait, you don't have a contract?

You see, a contract could state that you get a 100% refund if the work isn't completed on time, and have time goals for each step - x for sketch approval, y time for completed work. Kill fee of 50% if you stop the contract before the allotted time, refund if the work isn't delivered. Standard stuff.

Always have a contract for paid work. You can get a standard one off the internet and modify it in Google apps.

As for the rights...sticky issue here, if it's a specified commission with all rights being sold as part of the job. This is another reason to have a standard contract spelling out what happens to the copyrights - in this case it would be a 100% buyout, with all rights reserved by you if the work isn't completed. Now, they may - MAY have a case, but I doubt they can afford a copyright lawyer or the cost of a suit (they start around 5k for a retainer, how much the lawyers have to spend in research and court will determine the price.)

Start using contracts!

>>2967265
Ah, no.

https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf

It's a little more complicated than that. If a judge determined this was work for hire, then the OP retains the rights.

>>2967305
If OP paid already, the work belongs to him NOT the artist.

Paying for work does not necessarily mean the client is retaining full rights with no restrictions. It's usually laid out in a contract (you DID ask for a contract, right?). If the artist doesn't lay out the terms though, I think it's reasonable to assume that the client is buying full rights to do what they want with the sketch of Artist A. Not to mention that Artist A sounds like a complete fuck up.

OP - I'm guessing this is a personal commission, so this copyright jargon matters even less. Go ahead and hire the more competent Artist B. Sorry you got burned.

Also - never pay in full upfront, especially to an inexperienced artist who might be unprofessional. 50% upfront and 50% on delivery is very standard.

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Having now had two bad experiences in a row hiring artists I know why the 'starving artist' cliche exists -- they have NO business sense at all.

I as the customer am trying to give artists money for a service and what I get from them is no regard for deadlines and vague estimates.

It's not tricky. State a price, state amount of time needed then stick to that.

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Just keep communicating with the artist. Both artists and commissioners vanish and halt communication, then blame eachother for it.
This is one of the biggest problems in this "industry". We have instant, widespread communication. Sometimes the artist can't complete work on time, sometimes the commissioner can't pay on time, it happens. Especially when neither requires it for a living wage. If one needs something, say it. No ifs or buts. And no bitching about it to someone else when you haven't done shit to fix it.

>>2967684
Stop hiring children.

>>2967261


There is copyright and author's right (or moral right). They are not the same thing. Copyright, as it says, governs the rights to make copies of a certain thing. Author's right is the assertion of authorship. That a person is the creator of a certain thing, be it an invention, architectural work, book, artwork, etc.

Copyright can be transferred. The creator of an artwork can transfer the rights to copy something to a client. Usually the limits of that contract are defined in the contract. I don't know what is the custom in the USA, but it is in general bad idea to transfer all copyrights to the client, at least without adequate compensation. Especially a graphic designer or illustrator would be very precise with this, to avoid the client from using the artwork on everything without appropriate compensation.

Author's right ( moral right) can not be transferred. It is the clear assertion that the creator has made a specific artwork, and nobody is allowed to just change it, or change it and then re-use it. Contrary to common belief, there's no "I bought it so I can do with it what I want." Unfortunately it happens that bad publishers commission illustrations, for example for a children's book, pay once and then modify the illustration to re-use it. It's illegal, though it's hard for an illustrator to fight it.

So, practically speaking you're not supposed to ask someone else to finish the artwork, until, for example, the flakey artist surrenders authorship. Basically saying "I deny authorship of this unfinished piece, i'm not the creator, it is property of the client or the person who finishes it."
>>2967684

The kind of people you're referring to don't deserve to be called artists. They aren't.