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My view on furry artwork pricing
12 years ago
So 
rukis made a meme about furry prices recently and I couldn't help but think about it for a moment, this was my response and I really feel like it's more than fair:
People don't seem to realize, commercialized art has resale value... Furry art is 90% porn and half the time it's all digital. Can't say I see a lot of art galleries around the big cities with dog penis on display or animals mating with copious amounts of cum leaking from various orifices.
You need to take into perspective that most of the furry art you see isn't traditional, it's digital. Digital art is never going to be worth as much as traditional because it takes much less skill to create than something painted, water colored, sketched, on paper/canvas. I could even see wood burning etchings costing more than most digital art. Now, don't get me wrong, what digital artists like Rukis here and many others are VERY talented in their field and know the tricks of the trade and I have huge respect for what they're able to do, but what they have at their disposal is a program with TONS of premade tools for them to use.
A huge reason why traditional art is so price is largely in part due to the supplies: paint they used, time they spent, canvas board, paper, pencils, pens, ink, and all the other art tools that one would need to create such a piece costs a LOT of money. Aside from that, time and names. Time spent on a piece obviously increases the value of said piece, as it rightly should, though one needs to take into account the fact that most people who draw on paper can't just flip their tablet pens over and magically erase the line or press the "undo" button. If you mess up with paints, water colors or acrylics, that could be hours of extra work trying to fix it. That also brings up the skill of the artist, weather they do mess up or what their artwork looks like in the end determines price. And finally, the name and reputation of the artist has MUCH to do with the pricing. This part, however, gives them a bit more leeway into overpricing. Because their name is out there and the work is obviously noticed as their own, they can charge for a certain uniqueness they add to the piece.
Aside from these few things, pricing on art is a very broad range. For digital art such as Rukis' here, I'd pay a bit above minimum wage per hour of work. Set pricing isn't something I like a lot because I feel the artist doesn't get paid properly for the amount of time spent on a commission. If you're to hire someone to draw something for you, pay them for the amount of work put into it, not just a flat fee. Considering that, Rukis should charge a lot more for the work, you guys are getting a huge deal. I've watched in livestreams before and it takes a good number of hours to sketch and finish a piece, even if it is digital.
Hopefully one day, people will start to appreciate the skill of a digital artist as much as a traditional. I feel that they have just as much talent working with a tablet as an artist has working with pencil and paper.
rukis made a meme about furry prices recently and I couldn't help but think about it for a moment, this was my response and I really feel like it's more than fair:People don't seem to realize, commercialized art has resale value... Furry art is 90% porn and half the time it's all digital. Can't say I see a lot of art galleries around the big cities with dog penis on display or animals mating with copious amounts of cum leaking from various orifices.
You need to take into perspective that most of the furry art you see isn't traditional, it's digital. Digital art is never going to be worth as much as traditional because it takes much less skill to create than something painted, water colored, sketched, on paper/canvas. I could even see wood burning etchings costing more than most digital art. Now, don't get me wrong, what digital artists like Rukis here and many others are VERY talented in their field and know the tricks of the trade and I have huge respect for what they're able to do, but what they have at their disposal is a program with TONS of premade tools for them to use.
A huge reason why traditional art is so price is largely in part due to the supplies: paint they used, time they spent, canvas board, paper, pencils, pens, ink, and all the other art tools that one would need to create such a piece costs a LOT of money. Aside from that, time and names. Time spent on a piece obviously increases the value of said piece, as it rightly should, though one needs to take into account the fact that most people who draw on paper can't just flip their tablet pens over and magically erase the line or press the "undo" button. If you mess up with paints, water colors or acrylics, that could be hours of extra work trying to fix it. That also brings up the skill of the artist, weather they do mess up or what their artwork looks like in the end determines price. And finally, the name and reputation of the artist has MUCH to do with the pricing. This part, however, gives them a bit more leeway into overpricing. Because their name is out there and the work is obviously noticed as their own, they can charge for a certain uniqueness they add to the piece.
Aside from these few things, pricing on art is a very broad range. For digital art such as Rukis' here, I'd pay a bit above minimum wage per hour of work. Set pricing isn't something I like a lot because I feel the artist doesn't get paid properly for the amount of time spent on a commission. If you're to hire someone to draw something for you, pay them for the amount of work put into it, not just a flat fee. Considering that, Rukis should charge a lot more for the work, you guys are getting a huge deal. I've watched in livestreams before and it takes a good number of hours to sketch and finish a piece, even if it is digital.
Hopefully one day, people will start to appreciate the skill of a digital artist as much as a traditional. I feel that they have just as much talent working with a tablet as an artist has working with pencil and paper.
In the traditional vs digital sense, we need to keep in mind we're talking about furry art here, not something that people are going to use for gallery pieces. In comparison to an amateur traditional painter, I do believe the traditional is going to be worth a lot more given the supplies and tools it takes to make something of that nature and the fact that you can't just erase something if you make a mistake.
Now if we compare artists who make digital art for a living, such as billboards, commercials, or just having a digital gallery, they do take LOTS of time to make massive 10,000x14,000 pieces that are so intricate in detail, you could very well put them on par with some traditional gallery artists.
Personally, I think a furry artist should never be charging a massive amount of money for something they can pump out in 4-6 hours. That's just one opinion though, there's quite a few out there who are saying otherwise.
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10380940/