o: Woah thats a lot for this ~ <3 but its so cute. Love kitty cats uwu

Considering commercial freelance character art runs in the $100s, it's really not. ;)

But thank you.

Oh so trueee ;u;

>:v Theres so many things I dont know Saiten~! <3 Im still learning sorry

Hehe it's okay! I think a lot of people don't. Most people seriously underprice their commissions because they're just not familiar with what to charge or they don't do the math to figure out how much they're actually making per hour. It's a learning process. :)

;A; So how would you know exactly what to base your prices off of..? I mean my stuff is like worth 5$ or 8$ although some people paid 30$ but I think they were just being nice u_u;

A good rule of thumb is to figure out what you want your hourly rate to be. I don't recommend quoting hourly rates for commissions, flat rates are usually better, but you can use the hourly rate to figure out what your flat rate should be.

For example, if you want to make at least minimum wage (say, $8/hour) and a commission will take you 2 hours, you'll want to charge at least $16 for it. Now that's obviously the bare minimum. Might be a good place to start for, say, someone still in high school, with minimal experience and no expenses/overhead/etc. If you're a professional artist (especially if you do freelance full-time) you'd have to calculate your prices using a much higher hourly rate. This article goes into a lot of detail on it all: http://blog.illustrationcastle.com/.....illustrations/

I do still charge less for personal commissions that I do for commercial stuff since 1-Most individuals wouldn't pay commercial rates (full page illustrations can range from $500-1000+ spot illustrations $200-500+, just pulling numbers out of the Graphic Artist Guild handbook, but it varies by job, company, and usage). And 2-Commercial work often includes more involved licencing usage (i.e. they're using the image as a logo, or in a book, etc) so the additional expense is also covering those extra usage rights, whereas personal commissions are strictly for personal use (just for the commissioner to keep and display).

I'd recommend just starting with what you feel comfortable with (I wouldn't recommend you charge anything less than minimum wage, and don't feel bad if you want to try charging more...artists deserve good pay!) and then slowly increase your prices over time based on personal experience and demand. I've adjusted my prices a lot over the years as I've learned more, done more commissions, and gotten a feel for what people are willing to pay. I know not everyone can or is willing to pay for my commissions at their current rate, and that's okay with me. I'd rather get fewer commission requests at a rate that makes me feel they're really still worth doing (vs. higher-paying commercial work) as opposed to getting a ton of them but making too little to really be able to justify the time spent on them.

I hope that helps! :)

What an excellent answer, Saitenyo! Well-explained. And a very reasonable rate for your mini commissions. The kitty is super adorable

Thanks so much!

Kitty DX

Beepo the Magnificent!!! Adorable little kitty pie. ^-^

(and awesome advice up there in previous comments about pricing! <3)

cute cute X3