How to Price Your Commissions Like A Pro
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- No more "brutally honest pricing guides" and working for exposure. It's time you get paid what you're worth.
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One thing I forgot to mention: If a client reacts to how high your rate is, simply explain how you got to that number, how little you're actually getting per hour, and how this is the amount you need to earn that week to pay your bills or w/e applies to your situation. Once you explain, they'll probably be very understanding.
Astri Lohne they will not understand because there are enough people doing art for veeeery low prizes. You just have to say no to such clients. Just my 2 cents. 😉
Astri Lohne thanks for making this video. 😊
I just wich that people that commisions art wuld do some research firts like it's super annoying to always have to waste time explaining the math behind my pricing and shit and at the same time they try to guilt trip me into lowering my prices... Like it really does not make me wanna work with a person like that... And then even if I explain the math they still won't believe me and assumes that I'm lying to them and shit... Like just fuck off then. I had a dude that wanted concept art but he didnt wanna pay for the 3 first sketches, he only wanted to pay for the final product. So yeah that wuld mean I wuld only be paid for the 1 hour it took to make the final concept and not the 3 hours it took to also get to that point. Like dude are you retarded? No who am I kidding he really is retarded. And apparently his mum agreed with him like ok so ur entire family is retarded how lovely. XD FML
Now that you mentioned it, I`ll look for some topics about it. Thanks! @@NateHolding
@@olimueller well while this is true, theres usually a reason why the person is asking you, because he/she wants your style. But as u say, if they cannot pay the price, then tell them u cant do it imo, ofc. it depends on the situation, and yes u might have lost a client. But that sets a good basis.
Value is a big issue. I always say this because what happens is we are all taught to draw as children and told that it is good. But in reality it takes years of practice to become a professional - just like a doctor or lawyer. But the common person thinks art is fun and easy and that your skills were given to you. Thanks for helping to spread the awareness by making this video. I want to do one too.
Joshua Stephens little story time:
Unlike most parents, when I was a child my mom who went to an art school herself, would very bluntly point out what I drew wrong instead than complimenting me for "how creative I was" and being the little competitive fuck that I am, I didn't sulk and drop the pencil forever, but started working extra hard, hard enough that I even ruined my hands (although being an idiot who kept quiet about the pain for years played a huge role in this), until 20 yrs later, I finally started to get pretty good. Now in her eyes I'm suddenly talented and my good results are the result of that and not of the years and tears spent drawing and she dismisses me whenever she says "my son is so talented" and I correct her saying that my only talent is being stubborn like a mule... on the other hand, last year, through a joint request (the kind you can't refuse) of my mom and grandma I ended up doing a small painting for my cousin's middle school homework (for free ofc, unless you consider dignity as a price) and his mom, an aunt I barely ever meet on Christmas and weddings, gave me a call as soon as she caught wind of what happened, asked me how much I would usually charge for something like that and made sure I got paid for the trouble.
So, my mother, who comes from a similar background and sees me drawing everyday till and though I ruined my ligaments, unable to even eat on my own from time to time yet refusing to let go the pencil and getting nervous breakdown whenever I feel like I'm making no progress at all, looks at what I do as something that "takes me nothing"; whilst my aunt, a language major who's ever only seen the finished products and maybe saw me doodling once or twice on a paper towel at a restaurant, understands that what I do has a value. Sometimes people are obtuse enough that even seeing first hand the effort it takes to do something makes very little to change how little they think of it and although I hope for extreme cases like my mom to be rare, I doubt this will ever change.
You just hit the nail on the head! People always say: wow you are really talented.. but.. it is not talent :/ I learned this, by watching hours and hours of video, enrolling in courses and using reference while trying, trying, trying, until it turns out like something I want to show..
@@crispylith9558 good work being stubborn like a mule bro
@@crispylith9558 Dear God, your mom sounds like someone who would ruin every last bit of my tiny self-confidence I had as a kid :/
When people/friends/family tell me something like “oh your so talented” I always say: thank you so much it took years of practice and I still practice. It’s like literally anything else in life really. Practice brings great skill.
I remember the time I spent over 30 hours on a $4 commission. Never again
That’s a lot of brain damage right there 4 dollars for 30 hours that’s horrible, that’s even worse than doing shit for free. Like when your doing something for free atleast you have the freedom of just saying no, even if you do it suddenly.
@@Mae64385 fruity
@@ZenitsuKunn huh?! 💀
@@pshhhyolo8534 I said what I said princess
@@ZenitsuKunn ur like how is that fruity- did i miss something?
I don't think clients understand that it took literal YEARS to develope this skill. They just see your listed price and think, "why should I pay so much for your one piece, when I can buy 3 cheaper art pieces for the same amount?"
Art commissions are luxury products. You don't actually need them to live, so of course they should be more expensive than they are right now.
agreed, there's just good artist deserves more, who aren't? deserves less.
@@OneTabbyYeiX what? Bro the point of this comment is to say that 'art' in general is luxuryous, no mater if it's 'good' or 'bad', as long as someone like it and found aesthetic on them, it's art
@@OneTabbyYeiX ...
@@sarisianturi5549 Well... no. The point of the comment is to say that art is merely something that people commission for luxury purposes and as such should be more expensive than food. Art isn't a necessity, and therefore has less job security so you need to hedge your bets by charging enough money to cover basic necessities.
Every artist who offer commissions should charge based on livable rates instead of selling themselves short.
people who browse the internet for pretty pictures only see the finished product, and probably don't often spend longer than 30 seconds on any one piece. brief positive reaction, add to favorites, move on. they don't realize that the artist deserves to be paid for the time they spent creating the painting, not for how long a single viewer spends looking at it.
yes
I once saw someone say "Art is a Luxury, not a Necessity", as art is not something you need to survive. A necessity is food and water, which can be earned through commissions. Hence, the artist is the one that has priority - health and food/water are far more important than some petty commissioner's 'necessity' for art.
I've had, what I call "ghosting clients". And no they're not the ones that commissioned you and ran away with the money, cause I always ask for a full upfront payment before the work (unless it's a big number, I will give them partial payment option). These "ghosting clients" are the ones that would email or chat with me for HOURS as if they're truly interested in your art. We'd even talk about every single details and price too, to the point that they're ready to commission me and so I sent them the invoice. Annddd poof they're gone! Didn't even say anything if they decided not to do it, they just poofed gone!
You shouldn't talk with your client much unless if they're an important person, maybe you should try telling the client an estimated price at the beginning so they don't waste your time
@@user-rc7oz6th2f I think he/she does say the price/ price range, but the "client" was expecting to run off without payment from the beginning, therefore, then "client" saw he must pay upfront and won't get to run off with the artwork done, gave up on this artist. That's what i assume.
Ah yes, the infamous silent treatment. I used to get it all the time but since I highlighted a story on my Instagram explaining that I can't stand it it stopped. Also I know tell clients the price right away so that if they're those kind I didn't waste hours on them.
@@user-rc7oz6th2f I agree. But there's so many trash people that you must be cautious
MUCH needed talk, aimed for newer artists. I myself is living of comissions and even though it still is hard for me, I know what I need to take for my work. It's really hard, especially with the insanely unfair competition there is out there, from those who charges way less than they should.
Thanks for this. Well said.
A girl told me I was greedy because my commissions were from 1 dollar to 6 dollars, she said it was too much and that my art wasnt even good to cost "a lot" like she said. this happened 3 years ago and now im super insecure about how much should my commissions cost now xD
LettuceQueen A client of mine told me I drew like a 5 year old and disappeared without paying me, I was super insecure afterwards and didn't draw for like a month. These experiences suck and I'm sorry you went through it but a good rule of thumb on how to price your work is to time yourself and get the minimum wage of wherever you live. So say it takes you 3 hours to finish something, you should get 12 dollars per hour (minimum wage in the usa, or at least I think it is). This should work when you're starting out and then you work your way up. And don't listen to assholes who wish they could do what we do, good luck!
Thanks a lot for your reply, it actually helps me a lot ;;
It sucks you also had to deal with that, I dont know how people are so cruel to take something without paying AND hurting the artist feelings?
It's a mystery to me too, ignorance I guess. I'm glad I could help!
@@sankakuatsume are you on IG? I would like to follow you and see your improvement!
@@eatmypanart I dont have IG, but aww, thank you so much
I find a lot of the people who complain about art prices are typically underage. $60 is a standard price for most art, yet I always see young people wince at it because they can't connect the effort and time put into it.
Also, if they are young, they don't have a job and to them 60$ is a lot. As a kid 30 was the mother load for me already. But I also agree that they can't connect it
You have to understand that not everyone is an artist...
People shouldn't really complain, but artists should explain why their prices are that amount
Honestly rn, I wouldn't pay $60 for just one picture only because I don't feel I would be benefiting from the amount that I paid (and I still don't understand why it's that high, so I won't judge artists), especially when I can buy something like a video game that offers a lot to do or something else with more value to me
But I'm going to start on 3D commissions/animations soon, so maybe then I'll start to see why artists charge so much for their work through experience
@@nerdgamer2749 When you buy a video game, that's not a unique product, it's something that is sold in millions of copies, and made by a company. They have many ways to profit from that final product. A piece of art made for you is unique, and it was made by a single person, and usually a personal commission isn't reused, as in, the artist won't be able to sell prints or have any other way to profit from it. Also, it takes time to develop a skill - you don't pay only for the final product, you pay for the artist's ability to do that. Usually years of unpaid practice and studies. They may have paid for classes as well. Also the material that goes into the making of the art, the living cost of the artist because they need to be alive and well to do this work, they need to eat and pay their rent, in short, they have to make a living out of what they do, so all of these goes into the price.
@@carolinej.933 I understand that, I really do, but I'm just saying...
Either way, many people personally don't feel like their getting their money's worth for one piece of art, and everyone needs to understand that
I'm not saying artists are making terrible price ranges or their art isn't *that* good or anything like that, just that I and many others don't really feel much benefit from paying $60 for *one* unique picture and nothing else
I only said I'll buy a video game instead because then, I feel like I'm getting my money's worth because it offers more *to me* and I know many others feel the same, I don't care who it's made by, whether it be a company, a small group of people, or even one person alone, as long as I feel I'm getting the right amount that I paid for
Again, I'm not saying artists suck and charge their work too high, I wish the best for them in their futures (especially after looking at multiple articles/videos/etc. for why art is charged as high as it is)
I'm just saying I personally wouldn't pay that much for a picture because I don't feel any value from it as I would other things that cost that price
@@nerdgamer2749 Of course, I understand that. A piece of art is not everyone's piece of cake. It's a luxury, for those who really love it and take joy in commissioning an artist or purchasing a piece of art. If it's not something that seems worthy enough to you, if you're not willing to pay the price it has, well, you just don't buy it! Nothing wrong with that. What's wrong is people devaluing the work of the artist, like, because a person doesn't see the value of it, but for some reason wants it or feels entitled to it anyway, that they feel the right to devalue it. It's also generally due to people's ignorance about what goes into a piece of art - the effort, time, energy, supplies, artist's trajectory, etc. Of course, there is also bad art, not all art has equal worth, but that is another subject.
when astri said the thing about minimum wage and the western hemisphere, i was cracking up because i live in venezuela
A lot of Venezuelans play Runescape (online mmo) to make money. I think they can make at most 3m gp (2.25$ per hour). Have you heard about Runescape or isn't that common as I thought?
Yep, I'm from the eastern hemisphere and the minimum wage here is literally a portion of lunchbox. Yes, a lunchbox. Usually fried chicken leg or fish with tofu and an orange, always with rice.
When she said that the minimum in the USA was 8 dollars I could only think that I charged 5 reais an hour and that in the USA is equivalent to 1 dollar. You can buy a piece of pizza with this, a single piece, not the entire pizza
laughing in iraq
@@jhessicacomjh and here we are, nervously laughing in brazilian :'D
I was a factory working engineer in bangladesh, thanks for putting the word out there, we don't get paid anything for the amount of work we do
I can't thank you enough for this video. I'm a very introverted man and that's why I chose my life to be about art. Now, because of people that charge nothing for their art, I just don't have clients... (I charge 80$ per painting, and I think it's VERY good price for a 15-20 hour painting). And even though I can confidently say that my prices are lower than they are supposed to be, I don't have clients! It's just unfair, they always commend my artwork (saying that my style is beautiful and things like that) and at the same time are telling me that they are not willing to pay the price... I hope that soon artists would up their standarts and actually charge fairly for their work, otherwise I'm screwed....
$80 for a 15 hour painting is dirt cheap! It really, really sucks than people have so skewed views of what our work is actually worth. There are plenty of people who are willing to pay fair prices though, it just takes a while to find them. Hang in there.
@
BecciuMaxim I know that feeling. For 3 years+ I've open commissions and of those 3 years, I got only ONE person. After that, no one comes to buy and it sucks as A. I bend over backwards and push myself to improve on my art then when I open, no one comes and B. Job hunting hasn't been very good as almost noone wants to hire me without some experiences; so I try to open commissions to help pay off my College loans but thats not going so well either. Its rough and downputting for me.
@@Astri_Lohne I charge about 80$ for 1 hour of software development and that is alot less unique as a piece of art. It is kind of whats keeping be back from moving to artistry at the moment
if people wont pay 80$ its because it doesn't have that value for them. either drop prices or add value. wait i just googled your work. its not worth any dollars. i see so many errors, no technique, no style. its not professional work.
I feel there are few points. If someone else can do same job in 8 hours then maybe you not overpricing. As well it depends on skill. But some artist maybe self confident and not charge enough.
Than the people who call you expensive have no idea, how much work it takes to get to a finished render. If you turn the tables and ask them to make artwork like yours they will get cold feet. The worst thing I ever encountered while doing a study of tree is that someone asked me my sketch for free. A business woman I was stunned, I told her no I can't do that I am an artist if I do that I'll be giving everybody free artwork. I just simply said NO.
You made a really good point here. Usually hobbyists charge a low amount and clients don't understand the difference in quality or status if you are hobbyist or proffessional, so they apply low prices for professionals in their head as well. If your art has the Quality and you have to live of it, - then always charge more than less. It's better for you and every other artist on the internet. Especially Illustrators. I have very similiar experiences in this field. And Always charge companys more than private commissioners, they can afford it ;) Btw your Art and your Voice is really great =) And you make high valuable TH-cam videos! Glad I found you here =)
This year I decided to put your advice in action and I made like $800 in a month, it still might not be much for some (in my country it’s at least twice over minimum wage) and I’m so happy! I also had to turn people down for the first time 😂 and got some regulars that really appreciate what I do. I wanted to thank you for your help, I’ve been following for some time now, your are really a big inspiration for me, thank you for giving us all your insights and talking to us about your career, you make yourself look really approachable in your videos and I guess that helps a lot too. I hope everything’s going well for you, Astri ❤️ I’ll keep painting and improving, I hope I get to live from doing this some day
I'd like to add that clients who are not willing to pay the higher price are probably not worth your effort anyway. Clients who are willing to pay higher prices are generally much more respectful of your time and easier to work with. Clients who are on the cheaper and tend to be more difficult (e.g. want more revisions, complain about how slow you are, etc).
I unfortunately confirm
I'm 17 years old concept artist self taught i have been drawing for 4 years now i practiced alot but i still need to improve, 3 days ago i got contacted on fiverr and that was my first commission ever 40$ for character, weapon and accessory i know that the price is low but i need reviews so i can get more clients also you learn new things it feels like a practice, even tho the price is low i enjoyed doing it i guess better than keep doing fanarts that nobody will ever see, once i have more clients im planning on rising the prices PS: if you practice speed painting like Anthony jones in 1 hour you could do alot
As a freelance artist I struggled with pricing for such a long time. I'm super self critical, so I often undervalue myself, even though it was my only job at the time, which was super tough financially. Thankfully a couple of my closest friends basically slapped me and woke me up to the fact that I wasn't even making minimum wage. I've started charging more, but it's still a struggle. Thank you for standing up and making this video!
This video simply saved my professional life. Thank you for giving me an idea so that I can charge my clients without feeling devalued and without feeling that I am charging more than my work is worth! You're a goddess! : D
totally agree with u, is sad how the artist community is so underrated knowing that to get to a level that's noticed as an artist could probably take years of experience, I'm still improving as an artist I'm a graphic designer, working as translator and also developing in other areas, so yeah if u aren't good enough the ladder could be really hard. always though one of the most hardest ways of living is to be an artist and sometimes it's frustrating and depressing, but at the end it might worth a lot the effort and tons of hours developing each skill that's needed to be a good artist.
Great advise. As an artist myself I'd like to add something: talk about money. Do'nt be afraid to ask other artists how much they are charging, or tell others how much you charge. Even "famous" artists are usually willing to answer to these questions.
Talking about money will help change the idea that we do this "for fun", and it only takes us "5 minutes", and we should look for a real job.
It's just so good to hear that someone actually spoke out the real prices..... like everyone say that artists need to higher their prices but no one mention it that it can be up to hundreds of dollars. When a not as experienced artist starts to calculate the price/ hour stuff and they realise it would cost more than a hundred dollars they just get uncertain about everything. Thank you for this video! (And oh gosh I love your art)
A few thoughts on the matter from someone who studied finance and now works in that field.
Take what you can get. If you are a known and beloved artist and the market flexibility is that you get enough work at a certain price you should take it, if you can life from that you are a professional artist.
Keep in mind that your work is substitutable by other artist to some point.
The minimum wage in germany by law is 8,5€/h but in the end that should not matter, the question is do you have a place to life, something to eat and to wear.
Super helpful video!
I remember that time where I charged 20 USD for a piece that took 60 hours. YIKES!
I have a couple memories like this. What? At least the art I did was fun and I felt good having accomplished it and the client loved it. Hope you got some good from the experience also.
hmmm, good point
Art takes me hours and there are so many people who ask me to commission, but then when I tell them what their asking will cost £25 they act as if that’s too much. Thank you for making this video!
Wow, I never really considered it, but yeah pricing your art too low reduces the value of art overall.
I recently got a commission from my fiancé's friend to do a poster of two characters and I'm paying such close attention to detail and making sure it's a full drawing with a completed background that I haven't even finished cleaning up my line art yet and I've already invested like five hours into this piece.
I told him it would probably be around $50, and we agreed to discuss the price after it's finished.
Usually my clients are generous because they have some sort of personal connection to me (I don't advertise myself so my commissions are from people that know me or know someone who does) so I'm hoping he'll see all my hard work and give me a tip of some sort.
So I’ve done a full body painted commission that took me 10 hours to finish and all I charge is $20, but my ig account following is so small that if I make my prices any higher no one will buy so right now I think this is fine even though it drains me. I’d love to make art my main source of income but it’s hard especially since getting well known is very hard.
I feel exactly the same. My instagram following is only 150 and only a handlful are actually active, and out of those, I’m left with nobody wanting a $10 commission that I spend 4 hours on
Potato Lady Apparently commissions usually come more from those who do not follow you, If that’s useful in any way
Tags are your friends! Use them, they help alot!
A friend of mine told me to take the time in hours a piece took you, charge at least $10 an hour, then double that total price; so you should sell that for $200 not $20 by his standard, though I’d say jumping up to at least $100 for something that took you 10 hours.
@@emilyvalentine4565 10$ per hour seems a little to much for me for people to be paying that, even with my artstyle (@eatmypan_art on instagram). Maybe it's because the place where I live, getting paid 10$ per hour is a luxury!!! I wish!
100000% It's frustrating seeing so many people charging WAY low on commissions. Cause then you look at that and go, "well is anyone going to even want something from me if I charge higher?" even though you know your time is worth more than that. Pricing is exceedingly hard. And a lot of times the value we place in ourselves and our talents can showcase in the prices we choose. I have a BFA in Graphic Design and really focused on Illustration... But I was the underdog of my class and I look around and see all this gorgeous art and ask myself "why doesn't my stuff look like that?" and then you devalue yourself. I'm still struggling with this (looking at your art in this video is NO JOKE), but I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that... yeah. I got a higher degree, I studied and worked hard to learn, and I've been practicing my craft (though it looks much different than yours) for a long time. I do deserve a living wage. I deserve to not have cheap people coming my way to discredit what I've gone through and disvalue me as an artist. Thanks for taking the time to spell that out for others on this video. Even though I have my prices set, this video surely made me feel a whole lot better about them.
I'm just fining this video and I like your explanation. I also came up with another reference.. I've been saying a plumber electrician or even an IT guy is expected to charge for their craft and no one really complains about the prices because it's just how it is, so I say just like those hard working people that I also have to use my craft to pay my bills like they do. I also say I charge like tattoo artist at 100 or more per hour, if people really want the product they will pay. The others who say it's to much aren't going to buy anyway so I just politely tell them that my target is for those who appreciate good artwork and are willing to pay thousands for something the can hang above the fireplace.
As a consumer, I've generally spent around €300-500 for commissions. If you are charging less than that for a full painting I will honestly assume you don't respect your craft and that will translate into me not respecting your work to the point of wanting it to represent whatever I intend to use it for. As a music producer I guess it seems pretty obvious to me, but most people who don't work in creative fields probably have no idea what they are even paying for.
Another thing I do is state my budget limit up front so I don't waste the artist's (or my) time.
Nerothos I’m not sure that’s necessarily fair, particularly looking in an international scope. To say I don’t respect my craft because I don’t charge your minimum (more than double my most recent commission with conversion, I believe) is ridiculous. I live in a low income/low cost of living rural area and price my art based on that because I’d be an absolute idiot not to from a business perspective, and to charge more for my clients abroad (beyond shipping) just because they have higher income/cost of living and “expect” it seems rather cruel.
seems like FATE sended me your video
earlier this day i had someone DM me for making him an artwork of green arrow
and i said jokingly that the price of this commission will be 20 dollars
long story short, she couldn't afford it right now, but she said to charge her anyway and she will pay.
And i responded with: nah i'm not a pro. I will gladly do it for free, but you owe me a coffee and hug/kiss!
And after that i see a notification of yours video "how to price your commissions like a pro"
is that fate or CIA monitoring my pc?? xD
Ragnar Sköll do you have an insta or something ? How can we see your art?
Haze Main yes you can actually!
Instagram: instagram.com/alejandro_foyn/
DeviantArt: alejandrofoyn.deviantart.com
Tyy for the interest 😁
@@dannyfischer2597 thanks! :D
3 points.
1 Charging higher benefits you the artist allowing you to support yourself in society with your work; the laborer is worthy of their reward.
2. Charging more benefits all other artists as prices capable of supporting them become more widespread and accepted as the norm, as they should be for skilled labor.
3.Charging higher benefits the buyer as they have a product universally recognized as a valuable asset and with a higher starting price for resale.
Its a win win win.
I had a visiting artist at my school. She said that she asked for 500 bucks for this important magazine, but they came back to her and told her they'd pay 800 or something. That's a pricing issue, if your client is literally giving you more money than you think you deserve. And then later she found out, that all the other artist's the magazine hired, got like 1600 bucks for their artwork in the same magazine. At that point, art is not just about how many hours you worked, but also how much exposure it's going to get, the purpose of your art, and your own art brand.
Im soon starting requests and such, my mom is co finder of the charity dogs4dogs and im gonna do animal portraits as digital art, printing it and stuff, but in my country, $50 is too much to pay for art... I work 15-30 hours on each art work
My idea is that 60% of my profit of my art will go to the dogs4dogs charity to help animals in need
I have been scaling my prices for a little while like this:
- How many hours will it take approximately -> how big is the canvas, what medias am I using
To negotiate the first price and if they are willing, how much they are paying up front.
I prefer splitting the money in half, just to ensure that people are actually paying. (I have gotten scammed a few times pretty badly)
When I am done and realize I have gone way over my estimated work hours, I re-visit with the client and tell them that (If there is a good reason as to why i have gone above) the price has gone up a bit.
Since I tend to be a perfectionist and work about 20 hours on most comission pieces, I always make sure to stay above 100$.
That's still disgustingly low, but as I am still fairly young and not too well known, I don't mind it that much.
A lot of people still think that that's still way too much money, but often enough, they can be swayed when you explain it ^^.
Thank you so much for this video, I will soon get out of college and I KNOW i cannot keep charging as low as I do if I wanna make a living of it. Most clients DO give me tips and offer more than I ask for! I lack knowledge and confidence to charge more as I was a self taught artist who undervalued herself a lot in the past, but now I need to throw all that away and become an adult! Thank you also for the inspiration, your art is GOALS!
Thank you Astri for bringing that up about charging, IT IS THOSE ARTISTS THAT ARE HURTING OTHER PROFESSIONALS!
I disovered you a few days ago.Im from Spain and in my country is so dificult to find job of this kind.Im a titulated illustrator and im working as freelance,I know how it feels.Thanks for your words,is good to know that there are other people in this world figthing to get their dreams.
The way you talked in this video convinced me as an artist that artists have a chance in life lol I've priced my commissions 14$-20$ and they usually take me 8 hours so this video was an eye opener. I don't have many subscribers or followers so I guess I still need to lower the price a bit from 14$/hr perhaps 10$?
Anyway thank you _so_ much for this video!! ♡♡
you know, that giving a value to your art is a two sided sword...at least for me. I've been told so many times that doing art was not a REAL way to make money that i was just feeling ridiculous asking for any amount of money for my art...when people askes you how much you charges and then laugh at your prices, not because they find it way too low it feels as bad. I got that voice in my head that saying me that i'm stealing people when i charge them for stuff...and it went to a point where i didn't want to draw at all. i'm trying to get out of that infernal wheel; but crap it's hard.
Totally agree with what you said about other artists charging $20 for their artwork. I’ve been looking at other businesses to see how much I should charge and some people are charging as low as £15 (I live in the UK) for a full family portrait ! How are you supposed to compete with that ? This video has made me feel a lot better about this though so thank you !
I fully agree! But charging more is a great way to lost customers xc because "I know someone who will do it for 5 bucks!" The only way to do something is this case, is if we artists unite and charge respectively
If someone is gonna say that to me they can buzz off lol
Yes I know how this feels like. They always tell me that I am too expensive and the long hours you put into that artwork. People just don't know that making great art takes a long time and you should get paid for it fairly! You're so right.
I charge like $20 an hour as an estimate. I live near San Francisco and not only is it very expensive here, but thats a little less than what someone would make for an entry level career position there. Something like graphic design, IT tech, illustrations, it all starts at around $25/hr
EXCELLENT VID Astri. Commisions (one off) art, is absolutely a luxury item... it always has been. Another way of justifying the Fair Rate is to provide the customer with assurance that the art will not be reproduced in any way beyond examples in the artist's own Portfolio. Also... Game companies and book publishers understand that when their product uses your art, there is exclusivity of usage. This next bit may seem obvious; Ones Art Is A Product... an artist's speculative work can easily extend to secondary markets and create greater exposure... Prints made to various products and substrates (mugs, cards, fabrics...etc) can mantain another flow of income... best of all this lets more people have your art in their life for an affordable price.
I kinda feel bad because i can't choose a certain price of my art.
I like to do art like riot Splash arts, but i am afraid to people find it expensive.
The first comission I did was for a friend (Yone from LOL with a customed skin made by me. Topik: crystals).
It took me 1 week and a half to finish it (20 hours of work), he said he would pay anything (lies).
When i said him according to the details (2 full body characters, customed, full background, etc) it would cost at least 60 dollars (I talked about that with my family and they supported me with it) and he said "I don't think i would pay $60, i wish i earn that money for a day of work". It really made me blue because it was like my work wasn't enough... People think digital art is not a great thing and anyone can do it. Luckily I only showed him halfway through the process and I didn't get scammed. That is my first and last comission. Obviously now i am afraid to make another and repeat the story. Unfortunately all my drawings are detailed and 15 hours minimum for an own need, effort and love.
I was unsure how much to start charging in dollars for my drawings and this video helped me. Thank you!
Most people don't want to pay high prices for art, but those who really love your art are willing to pay the price.
But are hard to find at first.
I am freelance and I believe I produce a certain quality, however when I announced before 80€ for digital painting which took me time, some dared to offer me 2€, of course I refused.
That is ridiculous! I would not even open Photoshop/Procreate for 2€, it's insulting. Do people seriously think art just magically appears by pressing a button?
@@julimibz unfortunately some people think so...
Thank you so much for this video! I really admire your honesty since there aren't, surprisingly, many videos about this topic. I find your work and attitude really inspiring, gives me more courage in the industry.
Wow , so beautiful! 😍 when I saw the final piece on the "cover" of the video, I was like " whoa , she kinda looks like lorde "😅
So, I actually fit that portrait description. I just finished my first commission (while it may be my "first" I have studied art for a long time, and simply didn't start until now because I didn't believe my art was commission worthy yet) and I charged $50 for a portrait that had a complicated outfit and took me about 30+ hours to complete. However, that puts me at making about....$1.50 an hour? It was a fully painted digital piece, and while I learned a lot while drawing it (I was able to pick up leather-shading, metal-shading, and skin-shading techniques) everyone I showed it to was surprised and almost livid that I charged what I did for that piece, when I "could and should have charged double that." I'm charging $40 currently for a full-body colored piece that has absolutely no reference and only a text description; and I have two full bodies like that. It's been kinda ingrained in my mind by all of these other commissions videos that you need to price your commissions low if A. you're a small artist, and B. because nobody will buy them for that much if they're what they're worth because they're "too expensive." I only have a couple of followers on Twitter and a couple of subscribers on TH-cam, so I don't have that big of a following yet. Really; what should I charge for my art? It's not like I'm dependent on it, but I hope to be in the future. Should I price them honestly or.....?
Because I've been told by people that even my $40 charge for a fully painted portrait is too much, because they could get the same thing from an artist in the Philippines who charges $25 for a full-body painted piece.
Philippines has much lower costs of everything, that's why artists from there have very low prices.
It's not only about how long you do something I guess, it has to be in a very high quality OR you need to have a huge amount of followers so you'll have a lot of customers paying lower prices. I.e. people doing not too demanding jobs don't have to be highly skilled to work and make a living but if you want to live as an artist you HAVE to be a specialist... or you can simply sell shirts with your art, comic books, printables, stickers ect. even if your art isn't on a very high level yet and still you'll be able to make a living out of it. Choose high quality or high quantity.
I came here for tips and now I can't stop looking at your art.
I remember that when I started selling paintings and a friend said $6 for a painting, that took me a long time, expensive! She got it for $5
Thank you so so much! I have no idea where to start and this helps alot! Your art is gorgeous btw
A piece of art's monetary value is simply whatever someone is willing to pay for it. All about demand!
Yup and artists should market where the demand is, there are people who value any art at £0 to £0.50 and there are clients that value it at £500, if you got for option A you'll think your art is worth 50p.
Artists can't eat on "exposure" or "favours". We artists have to train our clients. If they refuse to pay our prices, we can just decline. They can find another artist to hire. If they really wanted you, they would pay the price you are charging. Other professions even charge a deposit for just a consultation to discuss the job. As well, practice using contracts that both parties have to sign, as well as invoices. That way, clients cannot ghost you without paying, and you cannot ghost them if they paid you upfront for work. And if they haven't paid after a certain day, charge interest.
Oh, and when it comes to doing work for corporations or big brands, you gotta charge A LOT.
Thank you for this. I have been struggling with prices, mostly because if I raise it, I get no work, and so a constant fear of working for lower rates, but this was very helpful :)
I love your artwork Astri when you painted Sylvanas wow that's amazing! and thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!
I don't have to watch it all to know it's good advice, but I must stress to any new viewers that when you have no following, no renown or no identity, you have to not only be churning out works to show what you're capable of, but you will need to start lowballing yourself to start bringing in a portfolio of clients. When people see that other people are paying for your work, and they see what they receive, you make it less of a mystery for the buyer, you establish yourself as a commercial artist. You will have to raise your prices both over time, and as you increase in skill. Never back down when someone calls you out for raising your prices 6 months down the line when you're much better and demanding you to make a new work based off your old price. They paid for your work and skill as it was then, now they are paying for it now. Your price also is based on your availability. The fuller your client booking is, the higher you're gonna have to charge because it's now a premium or a luxury to have them on your list.
Great video! I am glad I did it as you suggested it here 4 years ago and it worked perfectly!
Wow, I just happen to check your channel to watch previous videos I haven't seen yet, and now there's a new one!
:D
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO! In a month I'll be out of art school and I'll have to start looking for jobs, and I'm actually feeling kind of lost because in school they never taught us these kind of things .-.
Also this advice is even more precious to me because it's coming from one of the artists I look up to the most
Once I was offered 135 dollars to design the graphical user interface on a mobile game which also means creating the characters, many background and icon design. That is insane! (oh, and they wanted all of this done in 2-3 weeks).
I politely refused them. The sad part is that most probably they will find a desperate artist to do this. The company is from East Asia and salaries there are lower, but still, that amount is insulting.
This is such a necessary thing! Thank you for talking about this, Astri.
Just visited your deviantart! I love your art, thank you so much for the advice, I will surely send this to a lot of people!
Thank you for making this video ! I feel more confident about my prices and my Work.
I started making stuff for free some years agol After I got bigger I started taking money and rised the price slightly. It was really annoying how people cried because of my prices. They think you have some sort of program where you can put in some variables and press a key and done you have your product in 2 min. This is not how it works. I think people need to see how much work got spend on these kind of things.
I started charging by the square inch.
Black and white for example charging 3 dollars per square inch. Full color 4 dollars a square inch. So a black and white on 16x14 I would change $672.oo.
To be honest as an artist myself, I wouldn't feel comfortable over charging for my art simply because my name was popular, in my opinion at least, it doesn't seem like a fair trade. Not to say that artists should undersell themselves because it does take a lot of time and effort to create something and should have fair priced commission for said pieces (also, everyone's idea of a fair price differs so there's also that to take into consideration). Also, there are a lot of artist who aren't doing it for a living and who take that into account when they price their art. I feel like it should be up to the artist themselves what they decide to charge for their commissions, prints, etc. I've had a better and more successful experience with my selling art when it was an inexpensive (not cheep though) but still fairly priced and I'm pretty content with that.
Hello, I'm not an artist but I can speak as a customer, concentrate your energy in offering a service that let the customer make money, for example creating artwork for games or studying how to create a webtoon, a manga, a comic, create character animations, vfx, the fields of application are very vast. Knowing how to draw is an excellent ability but you have to take the next step, evolve to develop new skills and apply your knowledge in more areas. This Will let you be competitive and for sure you Will gain more Money.
I love your art!
I needed to hear this so bad. Thank you so much! 💛
In my case, I price my works at $5 to $15 for Head/Half body and it do not bother me that way cause I'm not known enough to get the audience's attention.
I'm aging because I wonder why no one request me a commission after sending to every facebook group pages, DeviantART commission groups, FurAffinity commission list a least? Am I too "transparent"? Is posting on those groups just won't help because other artist are "bumping" others?
Beatiful drawing, thanks for the advice!
Yoo odd, this video just showed up in my recommended and I just took my first 'proper' commission :0
The first ever commission I took, I drew my friend and her bf, and I charged 15 dollars.. lol. Took me days QQ
This recent one is a pic for their Insta, and its 45 usd. I thought it was a lot, but friends recommended I asked for 75 - 150 :S Well lol
Basic marketing: Perceived Value - if you charge too little, the customer will believe what they receive is not worth much.
Personally I dont price by hour but by size and complexity, which is more reflective when buying a product instead of a service.
Im going fallow this advice but also have a list of what the supplies cost me to purchase and a rate of $X an hour and about how long a piece of X by X size well take to do so people can gage how much they’ll pay before I even start the work...
I love you, keep doing what you're doing!
I was thinking you sound very much like me.. xD And then I noticed you're also from Norway haha
before you show the client the drawing if you dont want to be scammed) (if its not somebody you trust) you should put a big watermark on it when finished and show it and when he/she pays then you can take the watermark off and give it to him/her if the paying is at the end
Astri's videos are always so good!
People complain about how much an artist charges to *create a realistic representation of them…*
…but then pay over a *hundred dollars* for one meal which is gone within 48 hours.
I'm really afraid of opening commissions because i don't feel like the people who would commision me would like the result...
Aszith thats why you have them sign an agreement where they must pay you whether they like the results or not. You can also have revisions in the agreement but charge per alternations
Currently struggling as Ive had my prices at about $10 an hour. My rendered and painted commissions for example can take anywhere from 7-10 hours. Nobody is buying. Im scared because if I lower them, I may be underpricing, which hurts me AND the community. Its just been so tough.
Preach, sister.
thnks for the advice my sister... really helpful...
5:26 minimum wage is actually $7.25 federally
In the USA
Why don’t the artist come together and set a price range that’s good for all hehe just saying
How do you know that you're ready for commissions?
by getting clients.
I mean if somebody wants to commission you you seem to be ready.
This is late but, give yourself a benchmark artwork, make your absolute best work and evaluate how difficult it is. Ask yourself if you're willing to put in more or less effort and whether you're proud of it. Then set that all aside, and post on your social media that you're open for commission. Then evaluate the interest people show and start at maybe 20$ and get higher based on demand
Usually when you stop being nervous talking to people who want to commission you. That means you're treating it like a job you're used to rather than something you have no experience on. You know everything about it, know exactly how long it takes you to do something and how to get the best results. Hope this helped, good luck!
^All of this and I'll add one more: when you're willing to work for the hourly rates you can get. Even a child can get commissions; they'll likely be pocket money for an equally bad (but probably still time consuming at their level) job. A lot of young beginners who have a style and have a fandom/crows they're active in will get gigs just with those two things. And I think when you're starting out it probably feels good to take some of these just to get a feel for how it works. But ultimately if you're gonna do it as a side job or even full time job it's gonna become a question of: how muc is my time worth, compared to what I could get in any day job (or spending my time on any other thing, like teaching myself stuff). So there's definitely a question of "when will I become fast/skilled enough to get high paying gigs but the point is, you can't just sump there and train in silence to get there. Because taking on jobs is one way you'll get the needed experience on what skills you'll need, what clients expect. And you can jump into that anytime.
my prices are like 5 dollars minimum and it's because my country is not that appreciative when it comes to art
i feel like you'll only get commissions if they're realistic and/or super creative and i'm just in the middle :(
Some people told me i should make my price cheap since I’m a traditional artist which made me wonder why?
Since I do spend a long time on my traditional art? They told me to price my art at 5 dollar even tho it fully shaded,fully color,and took hours for me to do?
I started doing commissions just at school and people keep telling me I'm charging too much. The most money something is is $7. And since my art isn't that good I don't charge for that much money.
I charge 8 dollars for like 5 hours of work I guess and people are still like too much
Hi, it's a very good advice, thanks for sharing it! I'm new at your channel and I'd like to know how do you get clients? Where do you find them?
Thanks again and congrats for the content!
A dollar in our place is 50 pesos. A lot artists get mad when I dont raise my prices but...I know no one will buy 1000 pesos for a chibi. So what is the advice for that?
I don’t know what to do because i am 14 and I really don’t need money at the moment but in the future I would like to be a somewhat popular artist that does high quality commissions. I want to get experience yet I have no clue how I should price. As for the minimal wage thing I am quite a slow artist, even for some of my worst work I take a long time because I tend to experiment throughout the process. I don’t want to overprice my work just because I took long on the commission. oof I’ll go with $15 perhaps?