How Much to Charge Per Illustrations

[Pmel Oki]

Dear Fellow Illustrators,

I am currently a freelance artists living off of commissions. Recently I was horrified to learn from friends that I am paid below the market rates. I was wondering if you guys could give me a clear idea of how much to charge for what type of quality work, because I am lost when it comes to money.

As I illustrate, I find myself improving and I would like to charge more. I just want to make sure I am being fair to my customers and not over charging, thus losing their confidence and their commissions.

Thank you in advance for your shared experiences and advice. I look forward to them with great anticipation.


Sincerely,



Phiel

[QueenGwenevere]

Prices are defined by a lot of variables - what kind of job, who is the client, what's the market, etc. Your best bet is to get a copy of the Graphic Artists Guild Pricing and Ethical Guidelines, they list current average price ranges for almost every type of work, along with a lot of useful business and legal guidelines and sample forms.

http://www.graphicartistsguild.org/handbook/

You can probably also find it at Amazon or Barnes and Noble or similar, it's a fairly standard reference in the business...

[Pmel Oki]

It would be nice if I could purchase that. I'll see if I can find it. It would be better though if I could be informed through this thread, though. In any case, thanks.

[Kfeeras]

Always ask for more than you intended. You can always go down afterwards. 50 Bucks sounds cheap on itself, unless it's a 20 Min quick doodle

[B u r l]

The AOI have some great information about pricing along with real world examples. What was public information you now have to pay for, though, but you can still find old pages on the web archive.

I have their book "The Illustrators Guide to Law and Business Practice" which I'd recommend. It's about £25.

[Dile_]

add $100+ per painting and you're good to go..

[Elwell]

Do you have a link to your work?

[h-edition]

Think of how much you are worth per hour.

Then decide how many hours you need to finish the piece.

So if you take 10 hours to finish the piece, you are paid like...$5 per hour.

[Noah Bradley]

It really depends on what you're working on. If you're doing comics, then $50 a page isn't unheard of. If you're doing book covers, most of the cover artists around here would burn you at the stake for doing a job so cheap.

[QueenGwenevere]

It would be nice if I could purchase that. I'll see if I can find it. It would be better though if I could be informed through this thread, though. In any case, thanks.

The thing is it's hard to give any kind of useful advice without more specifics. What kind of illustrations? What are they for? What type of job? What type of client (major publisher? small press? selling single pieces to individuals?) What type of distribution (mass-market? local?) Etc. etc.

I mean, if it's, say, a spot illustration for a small-circulation newspaper, it'll be a lot less than a book cover for Harper Collins, for instance. Or if you're selling pictures to individuals at conventions or something, that would probably be less than selling to most publishers. Prices for illustrations can range from the tens through the thousands. It all depends.

[Elwell]

Prices for illustrations can range from the tens through the thousands. It all depends.

Exactly. It's like asking, "how much does a pair of earrings cost?"

[Falchion]

If you have to ask, you're not charging enough.

[Danniel]

A tool from the "freelance switch" website:

What is This?
We have developed this hourly rate calculator to give you a guide based on your costs, number of billable hours and desired profit. It is a simple tool for you to play with.

Remember your hourly rate should always take into account factors like market demand, industry standards, skill level and experience - things that unfortunately we can't put into a calculator!

Use these calculations as a guide and then modify to suit your circumstance and conditions.

It will take you about 5-20 minutes to complete depending on how much attention you give each calculation.


http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/