Destroying the market
Original post by Alexzoe: HELP! Charge for commission?
Thanks to [icon=ArcaneDesires], I'm considering doing commissions. But I have no idea about how much shall I charge for this...
So could you guys give me any reference or suggestion? Thank you so much!
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Me:
Since a lot of people push the prices and thus destroying the market for illustrators etc, I'd strongly advice you -against- doing prices like:
full sketch: 5$
full character - 20$
etc
Which you see around here a lot.
DON'T. DO. IT.
Artists are unsure and desperate, plus the costumers want it cheaper and cheaper these days. It's horrible! Because you put a lot of work into a commission for too little money. So I'd say do pricing after hour. 10$ per hour is a good price to start with. But with your skill and talent you can demand more than that. Far more (maybe 15$ and up. Good artists on dA get 40$/h or more). Your art is quality, so people who recognize this, will be more than willing to pay for it accordingly. Besides, this way you are more flexible to the wishes of the costumer (and so is the costumer, too).
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Kiterie:
That is actually the way I think it shold be done but a lot of people may balk at doing it that way because it's hard to know if you'll be charged fairly or if they'll inflate the price after.
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Me:
True.
But you have to live somehow, right? And if there's not enough trust between costumer and artists, what's the whole point of doing commissions?
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Kiterie:
yes but there's also the fact that some artist take forever on coloring something that really isn't up to 40 or 50 bucks but might be worth hmm 10. I wouldn't be willing to pay 50 bucks for my Pirates piece and it took way more than even 10 hrs to color and it's a nice piece but... not a $50 piece IMO.
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Me:
If you commission someone, you know what they have to offer. You know their portfolio and their rates. You know what to expect. If you are not willing to pay for the workload (because that is something different than just the mere result), then perhaps you should reconsider what you really want from commissions.
Many illustrators have to live from this job. Not all artists there are out there, of course, some want "just" extra money because it's a hobby to them. But that doesn't mean they don't work as hard.
I certainly wouldn't paint 10h for a paltry sum of $10. Would you? That'd be one dollar per hour. One Dollar isn't even as much as one Euro (e.g.). To get payed less than one Euro per hour for something that you consider your job, something with which you have to pay your rent, foood etc ... wow. That's below the poverty level. How long would that person have to spent drawing drawing drawing to even manage to get over 100Dollars? 10hours of work. Just for a colouring. Consider that.
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Kiterie:
Like I've said it's a good concept but not a practical one. I wouldn't pay a hundred bucks for one of Kristal's or Demona's pieces and I do love their art, but for ONE piece, whcih is maybe a cover for a story. Until an artist is able to crank out a full color peice in an hour or two they can't ask for 40 bucks an hour, it's not going to happen. Increase your skill and your speed and then consider what your commission is worth based on roughly how long it will take you, then set a price. When a person is first starting out they're still learning. Pirates for example is the second piece I've done with that style It probably took me 20 hours or more to get it how I wanted it BUT I was learning a great deal and in that regard I was compenstated. If an artist is can't accept that in truth commissions and sketches which will be at a greatly reduced hourly price are in all honesty... advertising they get paid for. It's the same with fanart. It's a way for the artist to get their name out there, show off their skills so that people will buy their prints which is where their money should be comming from.
I do the same thing. I write fanfiction BECAUSE I want to have a fanbase that will buy my original stuff when I print it. If I get paid a little extra for it, great.
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Me:
I might have found the problem in our little... disagreement.
You tell the artist how long you want them to work on the pic. They even give reference in their portfolio how long they take for what kind of quality. That's how I always did it. You know what you will get. Just like with saying "Full character $20" only that it's really more fair for the artist.
You could even tell them what you want in the picture, but some things have to suffer because of the time limit (e.g. you might want it in colour, so the lineart has to go, but a nice, clean sketch with colour might do the trick just as well.) But I get the feeling that you want high quality for dumping prices. I mean, if you are -really- smitten with someone's works, I am sure you'd be willing to pay accordingly. Because you know what you'll get. And right now I have the feeling you are too skeptical of the quality and the artist's honesty and quite stubborn about getting a great piece of art for little money just because. There's certainly nothing wrong with that conception, if an artist is dumb enough to do that... *shrug*
Commissions are a different thing from printing, btw. Commissions are for a private (usually one) person, printing isn't.
I also don't think that professionals offer commissions because they want to learn from it (not much anyways).
If an artist is can't accept that in truth commissions and sketches which will be at a greatly reduced hourly price are in all honesty...
advertising they get paid for.
I am afraid I don't understand this sentence, sorry. English is not my mouthertongue. Could you rephrase that? :)
Until an artist is able to crank out a full color peice in an hour or two
That's unrealistic. Albeit it might depend on what you consider a "full colour piece". Cuz I have in mind sth along the lines of Jana's works when I hear these words. And that won't happe in "an hour or two". In the end you don't just pay for the workload alone, but for the experience of the artist and their skill, as well.
Like with furniture. You can buy Ikea of course. But if you want like, say, a real antique that looks marvelous and is wonderfully worked, crafted by skilled hands, not done by a machine, you are willing to pay a higher price, too, right? ;)
I also don't think that most people who offer commissions (and are successful with it) need to build up a reputation and gain a name. They already have it.
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Kiterie:
No /I/ don't want a high quality image for a shitty low price /I/ however doubt that, especially given the current economy, an artist will be able to get very many commissions and would be better served concentrating on 'prints' being their money maker. People just aren't going to pay it. They won't. Even somebody of Jana's skill won't get what they're worth, especially not with artist out there who do a nice job and expend time on it and charge less. That's the /joy/ of being part of a capitalist system. There are a lot of artist out there that are currently out of work but so is everyone else and while people might want to commission an artist... unless the artist is going to give them a high quality print to go with it (most of which don't) and printing rights (to use say as coverart) they're not going to be able to get half of what they're worth.
They mgiht deserve it but ART IS A LUXURY not a necessity and when people are scrapping by to pay their bills... it's unrealistic.
People who are successful with commissions started at the bottom doing cheap work. And if the person has never done a commission before they can't immediately demand 50 bucks for a single image.
Jana is a very skilled artist but frankly I wouldn't pay 700 bucks for a full color piece. Which is basically a month's rent for one person.
I'm sorry but I really just don't see it ever happening. Only an artist who is the exception to the rule is going to be able to get paid by the hour and then frankly they should be working on games or with a gallery not online commissions. It's just not going to happen in the current economy, deserved or not.
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Opinions?