Questions about hiring a color flatter

[Pandastrophic]

Hello everyone,
I've been considering hiring someone (Paid) to do the flats for my comic but I'm still debating it as I've been working on this comic the past 6+ years on my own and never worked with anyone else before, i don't even work in the industry so i have no idea how any of this works and what the industry standards are.
I have a few questions if anyone has worked as a flatter or is working with a flatter.

How much does it typically cost?
I've seen prices per page but my comic is a webtoon format with around 20-30 panels, and the panel number is inconsistent.
Does the price include backgrounds as well? I'm looking to do flats for characters only, my backgrounds aren't linearted and i sometimes use 3D objects that don't need flats.

How long does it usually take?
i'd just like to know how long it typically takes to finish flats so i know when to provide the artist with the linearts.

How/When does the artist typically get payed?
I've payed commissions through paypal which is my preferred payment option. Does the artist get payed before or after the panels are flattened?

My comic updates every other week but I'm hoping i can update weekly if i have some assistance on it, i'd really like to finish the comic in a year.
Here are the flats i do for my comic (excluding the bg) for reference, (Click to view the 3 example panels) My lineart is a bit sketchy and my flats aren't usually super clean as I'm doing them as fast as i can.

Thanks for taking the time to read, any advice about this is helpful even if you're not answering the above questions!

[hjpetersonauthor]

Freelance colorist, here - I'll see if I can't help you out.

Cost:
Cost is pretty dependent on the artist, as you likely already know, and what it includes is also going to depend on the artist. For me, I charge anywhere from $20/page to $45/page, depending on how soon you need the pages done, how detailed you need the coloring, etc. The best thing to do when figuring out where that leaves you in webcomic format, just ask the artist about charging per panel - for me, that would translate to about $4/panel to $9/panel. The lower end will get you some nice flats, and the upper end is more for full airbrushed rendering.

How long?:
Pretty artist dependent. Depending on how much time I have and my deadline, I can usually turn out a batch of flats (about 3 pages, or about 15 panels) in a day or so.

How/When does the artist typically get paid?:
Also artist dependent, but for myself and a lot of artists I know, I usually ask for half up front, half upon delivery. I've had too many clients ghost me while doing their work without ever getting paid for it - the down payment tells me that you're serious about this, and that it isn't going to be a waste of my time to do your project over someone else's project.

Hope that helped!

[hakei]

I have a color flatter/assistant.

Method: We use a Google Drive with two separate folders (some use dropbox) to exchange the files. I upload the uncolored file to Folder A, and the assistant uploads colored files to Folder B. We communicate via Discord, to let each other know when the files are uploaded. Before starting, I did show them how I organize my layers and what tools/colors to use.

Cost: The average pay I've seen is $2-5 per panel, if doing only character flats. With my assistant, we agreed on a flat amount. (I don't have a background flatter, but I'd assume backgrounds are an additional charge.)

Time: Flatting is usually very quick, but does depend on the assistant's availability. My assistant gets me back 40-60 panels within 12 hours.

Payment: I'd say most artists use and prefer Paypal. I pay my assistant bi-weekly because that's what we agreed on — you can ask a potential flatting candidate what their preferences are.

[Pandastrophic]

@hjpetersonauthor
Thank you so much for the responses, it honestly helps so much

We use a Google Drive with two separate folders (some use dropbox) to exchange the files.

I was wondering about this too, thanks for sharing your experience it's really helpful!

Another question if that's okay, where do you go about finding a color flatter? I've only seen artists searching for assistants on twitter.

[hakei]

I've seen people call for flatting & lining assistants on both Instagram and Twitter (or even Reddit), kinda like this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CbfhbQ1LsSL/

Basically you want to be upfront about what you're expecting, what programs you use, what turnaround time, what payment method, etc.

My flat assistant is a fellow creator who I've been talking to before, so I didn't have to put out a search post haha.

[system]

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