How much are you charging?
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I have a commission with a client of a few years now and we have created a number of watercolour illustrations. I mainly work digitally now though for this special client I am creating an image, part watercolour, part digital which they will print. We are creating it, not rushed but certainly with a close deadline. We will iron out the details tomorrow. I was wondering how much people are charging these days for a one off piece. I believe this will be A4, or letter size, 21 x 29cm. Thanks
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@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson there are a few ways most artists price a one-off piece.
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Charge per square inch. Multiply the height of the piece by the width (that's your total square inches) and then multiply that by the price per square inch.
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Estimate the number of hours it'll take to complete the work, then multiply that by your hourly rate.
As far as what fair pricing or going rates are in your area, you can ask fellow local artists if they wouldn't mind sharing their rates, try Googling hourly illustration rates in your country/state, or check out the Association of Illustrators for pricing and contract guidelines (theaoi.com).
Hope this helps!
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@Melissa-Bailey-0 Thanks Melissa, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. I have not been taking on commissions for a while and I felt like I was also under charging. Now with a few years drawing experience I know I need to adjust prices so I have figured out my hourly rate and will take the work if my client agrees to the adjustments. Thanks again.
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@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson I'd need to know if it's for commercial use or personal use to give a client a quote.. If it's for personal use, then I'll usually just charge for my time + materials.
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@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson you're so welcome! Hope it all goes swimmingly!
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@NessIllustration Thanks Ness. It is for personal use and I did create a ball park quote which the client is happy with. I am doing these type of commissions less as I focus on the children's book market. Another thing is my quotes have stayed the same since I begun 10 years ago and I know I could do with an overhaul if I continue to do certain commissions.
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@Judy-Elizabeth-Wilson It definitely makes sense to increase our prices every couple years, for sure! Especially as we get better and faster with experience - if we charge based on time for personal use and get faster, we'd essentially be giving ourselves a pay reduction over time which is a bit backwards to say the least!
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i can tell, how challenging charging for your intellectual property can be. you need to find the sweet spot between maintaining your worth and being competitive in the market, because there are plenty of freelancers out there who are willing to undercut your price, unless you can't offer a convincingly higher value
