9 Sept 2020, 18:17

I would recommend that you DECLINE this offer ASAP. It is so incredibly low that it doesn't even make sense. The absolute lowest rate would be around $7500 (even that is pushing it) so that shows you how far they are off on their price. If they are a well known publisher AND this is a trade book, this offer doesn't make much sense so I feel like something might be off here. If it's just for the cover, then it starts to make more sense. But doing a whole picture book for $1500, no way.

One other thing, unless you are amazingly fast or have a VERY simple style, a one month turnaround doesn't make much sense either. You need to do all research and character studies with thumbnails, then produce a full sketch dummy, followed by a round of revisions, and then move on to final art. A picture book typically takes anywhere from 3-4 months to a year or more. So be considerate of all these things, not just how long a finished image takes.