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Commission prices (and life update)
6 years ago
Hello everyone! C:
Well, I rarely write such journals and I apologize in advance for a lot of text (and grammar errors ^^'). I was thinking about raising the question of my commission prices for a long time, and today I saw a tweet, which says that artists should to value their time and skill, and they should not charge less than $ 25 per hour for commercial work. This made me seriously think, because I feel that I ask for my art much less than I actually put in it. For example, for the work on which I spend about 25-30 hours, I ask about $ 250-300. If I asked for a minimum payment of $ 25 per hour, then such work should cost $ 600+. It turns out that I ask for my skills half as much as I should?
Your opinion will be very helping to me, because it's difficult for me to evaluate myself from the outside. In general, I quite often doubt myself and my abilities :C And also I can’t ignore the opinion of my potential clients and I need to know if people are ready to pay that kind of money for my level of work. Please write what you think about this. Are you ready to pay me:
$ 600+ for this level of detailing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24659651/
$ 250+ for this level of detailing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31224797/
$ 100+ for this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/33270325/
$ 50+ for this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/30435874/
If not, then please indicate the price that you consider appropriate for my skills. The opinion of my clients is very important to me <3
There is another reason why I raised this topic. The fact is now my main occupation is graphic design. I have been engaging in this for more than 6 years since I graduated from the university. And to be honest, I'm sick of it >_< I just can't take it anymore! Until the New Year, I had such a heavy overload that I got burnout. I thought I could come to my senses and have a good rest on the long New Year's weekend, but it didn’t work. I still hate what I do. Now I really want to quit, send everything to hell and just relax... and at the moment I'm seriously worried about my mental health.
Commissions has always been an entertainment for me and a way to earn a little extra money. I like to draw and this activity is like a relaxation for me and it always brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction. So now, having such a strong hatred of my main job, I seriously thought, “Could I live from my art?” I made some calculations and realized that $ 1000 per month would be enough for me to fully satisfy my needs for a start, but at the same time I understand that, having my current prices, I will have difficulty to live normally. I know that $ 1000 seems like a ridiculous amount in Europe or USA, but these are realities of life in the Russian outback. A salary of $ 400-500 is considered normal here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Of course, I will not starve to death and I will not be kicked out of the house if I lose my job tomorrow. There is my loved ones to support me, but I wouldn't want to be a burden for my family.
That is why now, when I'm on the verge of a serious decision that will greatly affect to my life, your opinion about my prices is very important to me. Please spend some of your time and share your thoughts. Thank you so much C:
Well, I rarely write such journals and I apologize in advance for a lot of text (and grammar errors ^^'). I was thinking about raising the question of my commission prices for a long time, and today I saw a tweet, which says that artists should to value their time and skill, and they should not charge less than $ 25 per hour for commercial work. This made me seriously think, because I feel that I ask for my art much less than I actually put in it. For example, for the work on which I spend about 25-30 hours, I ask about $ 250-300. If I asked for a minimum payment of $ 25 per hour, then such work should cost $ 600+. It turns out that I ask for my skills half as much as I should?
Your opinion will be very helping to me, because it's difficult for me to evaluate myself from the outside. In general, I quite often doubt myself and my abilities :C And also I can’t ignore the opinion of my potential clients and I need to know if people are ready to pay that kind of money for my level of work. Please write what you think about this. Are you ready to pay me:
$ 600+ for this level of detailing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/24659651/
$ 250+ for this level of detailing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/31224797/
$ 100+ for this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/33270325/
$ 50+ for this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/30435874/
If not, then please indicate the price that you consider appropriate for my skills. The opinion of my clients is very important to me <3
There is another reason why I raised this topic. The fact is now my main occupation is graphic design. I have been engaging in this for more than 6 years since I graduated from the university. And to be honest, I'm sick of it >_< I just can't take it anymore! Until the New Year, I had such a heavy overload that I got burnout. I thought I could come to my senses and have a good rest on the long New Year's weekend, but it didn’t work. I still hate what I do. Now I really want to quit, send everything to hell and just relax... and at the moment I'm seriously worried about my mental health.
Commissions has always been an entertainment for me and a way to earn a little extra money. I like to draw and this activity is like a relaxation for me and it always brought me a lot of joy and satisfaction. So now, having such a strong hatred of my main job, I seriously thought, “Could I live from my art?” I made some calculations and realized that $ 1000 per month would be enough for me to fully satisfy my needs for a start, but at the same time I understand that, having my current prices, I will have difficulty to live normally. I know that $ 1000 seems like a ridiculous amount in Europe or USA, but these are realities of life in the Russian outback. A salary of $ 400-500 is considered normal here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Of course, I will not starve to death and I will not be kicked out of the house if I lose my job tomorrow. There is my loved ones to support me, but I wouldn't want to be a burden for my family.
That is why now, when I'm on the verge of a serious decision that will greatly affect to my life, your opinion about my prices is very important to me. Please spend some of your time and share your thoughts. Thank you so much C:
I do believe that you should increase your prices, as someone that loves your art so, so much, it will hurt me financially but I will happily do it if it saves your mental health and gives you joy! There is nothing you could do that I would stop me from getting art from you. I assure you that you are exceptionally skilled and you should not doubt them, not even for an instant!
Let me say that again, DO NOT DOUBT YOUR SKILLS!!! You are amazing!
More than anything I want you happy and healthy and I will do what ever I must to ensure you succeed!
You have my full support and I will quite literally do anything within my power to ensure you are happy and healthy.
You deserve it. The quality is well worth the hike in price.
I understand what you're talking about, but it's not just about the fur. The point is in the level of detailing. Even if the character doesn't have long fur or it have a completely smooth skin, I'll still spend a lot of time trying to convey the body shapes as carefully as possible. In the examples, I tried to show exactly that point.
You definitely gave me a point for reflection, as I see people don't really understand why one piece is worth $ 600, and the other is half as much cheaper.
Look at the work of other artists of comparable abilities and see what they charge for their work, and then set your prices accordingly.
Just keep in mind that there are laws for self employed, so check out what you need to do.
As an accountant, I would also recommend constantly looking at the 'market' every so often, once a year maybe?
Time change prices move and shift, and working freelance comes with this price:Fluctuating market of commissioners.
Honesty, I wish you all the best. And hope I can someday comission you as well ^^
I periodically look at the prices of other artists and realize that I work for a much lower price. But it's really hard for me to evaluate myself. What if I overestimate myself too much? And people will not be ready to pay me that kind of money? It is very difficult :\
I'm sure more people will agree ^^
I think you should do it - the $600 example looks good enough to be on a book cover or promotional art for Wizards of the Coast. It's very good.
As for other artists... Man. There are artists-who-won't-be-named who are charging 3x to 6x what you do for lesser-quality work - all they have over you is notoriety.
I would commission you for those prices; after my tax returns come in, maybe I will :3
Thank you very much for your support! I actually feel more confident reading your comments С:
Your quality is very high. You're work is absolutely worth the prices you wrote above. :)