Quick answer
Usually, paying for illustrations is not the same as owning the copyright. Copyright often starts with the illustrator who made the art, and the agreement may either transfer ownership or give you permission to use it. Before the book goes to print, check which art is covered, which uses are allowed, and whether those rights match what you plan to do next.
The art comes back. You drop it into the layout, and the thing in your head turns into a real book. You paid the invoice. You have the files. It feels like yours.
Then somebody asks who owns it. (A printer. A buyer. Your future self, in the sequel meeting.) Paying for the work answers one question. Holding the final file answers another. Neither one tells you who may use the art, where, and for how long.
When I built Joli Jaunts®, I treated the illustration agreement as part of the book, not as paperwork to deal with later. That made the rights question something I could answer from the page instead of from memory.
Who owns the art at the start?
Copyright often begins with the person who made the original art and put it in a file, a sketch, or some other form. Three things may change that starting point: employment rules, a valid work-made-for-hire agreement, or a signed transfer. A paid invoice is not one of them.
What should the agreement name?
List each piece of art. Add the file format, the revisions, the due dates, and who approves the work. Then name the uses the author or publisher needs. Print, ebook, marketing, new editions, translations, products, or whatever else is planned. If a use is not in the deal, do not assume it is.
Should you use an assignment or a license?
An assignment hands over ownership of the rights it names. A license gives permission, and the illustrator may keep ownership. Neither one is always the right answer. The paper should match the price, the work, and the future use both sides expect.
What about old work and stock items?
An illustrator may bring in things that already exist. Characters, tools, fonts, textures, or stock materials. The agreement should say what was made for this book and what came from somewhere else. Check the terms on anything from a third party before you promise rights no one can give.
What if I want another book?
Will the same characters or art show up in a sequel, an activity book, a product, or a school program? Check that use now. A license for one edition may not cover every later project. New work may also need a new fee and a new schedule.
What should the illustrator keep?
From the creator side, check credit, portfolio use, payment, and changes. Check any limits on the author’s use too. Clear terms protect both sides. Each person can see what they promised.
What to do next
Before you use the art again, find the signed agreement and mark three things: the work it covers, the rights it grants, and the uses it reserves. If the next use is not clear on the page, pause and get the answer first.
Frequently asked questions
If I paid, can I put the art on my website?
Only if your agreement, or some other written permission, covers that use. Marketing is the use people forget to list.
Can I use the same art in a sequel?
Check what the assignment or license actually covers. One book does not always mean every future book.
Does work made for hire apply to all freelance illustrations?
No. For commissioned work, the federal rule is narrow. It also needs a signed writing.
Can an illustrator show the work in a portfolio?
The agreement should say whether, when, and how portfolio use works.
Where to go next
If you want the full Create It. Own It. Grow It. framework, start with the Warranted Works overview. And for who owns the other pieces of a book, read Who Owns the Copyright in a Book?.
Start with the free Warranted Works Quick Start Guide, or explore the Author Illustrator Services Agreement Kit for hiring an illustrator.
You do not need to assume the worst about the person across the table. You do need a shared answer about the art before either side builds something new on top of it.
Make the next use clear,
Tia
P.S. Find the signed agreement tonight and read it once with those three questions beside it. Paper you have read is paper you can use.
This post describes U.S. federal law as of October 2026. Laws change. State rules vary by jurisdiction, and the rules outside the United States are different.
Sources and further reading
U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics — https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
U.S. Copyright Office, Works Made for Hire — https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf
17 U.S.C. Chapter 2 — https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html
About the author
Tia Hooper is an author, entrepreneur, Air Force officer, and an attorney. She writes the Joli Jaunts® children’s book series and built Warranted Works™ to share the groundwork she put in place for her own press. Learn more at warrantedworks.com.
Warranted Works is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Warranted Works (warrantedworks.com) is an educational platform providing general information, content templates, and IP-related resources for independent authors, publishers, and the creative professionals who work alongside them. This post is for educational and informational purposes only, and nothing in it is legal advice about your situation.
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Talk to a lawyer about your own situation. Before you sign, send, publish, or rely on anything, have a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction review it with your facts in front of them.