The problem with hourly costs is that the buyer doesn't know how long you'll take. If they agree to pay an hourly wage, the final amount is still kinda up in the air. That's always a little scary for a buyer, especially with a lot of cheapskates out there. (Not every furry is one, but, you know. It's a problem.) It also prevents you from taking payments beforehand, or doing a split of half before, half after. Only after doing all the work, though that might be how you do things anyway. It's still worth considering, I think. Oh, and gaining experience and working faster would end up hurting your income, too. So lame. My suggestion (for now) would be to figure out how long you work on pieces on average, then settle on an hourly salary that you think is fair for both parties, and then figure out a flat rate from that. Of course, that's just my opinion.

That all being said, hmm... maybe like in the 15-18/h range? I hate giving out numbers.

I agree with this. When you get better, it ends up making you less money per piece. Or you will have to stop yourself once you reach what the buyer paid for, even if you feel the piece is unfinished.

I usually base my flat rates on an estimate on how long it takes and multiply that by my hourly rate (which I have based somewhere between $15-20/hr). Hourly in my opinion works great for in-stream commissions