mulattafury:

so here’s something i’ve been thinking about and kind of hoping might catch on

commission info pages without prices

maybe ballparking a price like “starts at about $50/character for artwork creation” but don’t put hard prices on anything? ‘cause like, here’s some scenarios

u price your art at $50/character because most of your client base comes to you for character designs like this:

(source)

And someone hits u up one day like “it’s $50 for a character illo right?” and you’re like “yah man” and they’re like “cool cool here’s my character” and it’s more like this:

(source)

Like, that puts you in an uncomfortable position of either doing waaaay more work than you anticipated for a small amount of money, or trying to renegotiate after you’ve already “agreed” on a price without seeming like you’re bait-and-switchin’

Another scenario:

You make an “emergency commissions” post (and y’all know my feelings about those) and someone emails you wanting to buy all 10 of your miserably underpriced slots!

Also, they’re representing an indie card game developer! So they expect to purchase 10 illustrations from you for $25 per, and then print them on cards which they will sell at conventions.

Again, that puts you in an uncomfortable position, because asking for more money after you’ve already agreed to one amount is a weak negotiating move because you’ve already established how little you’re willing to work for.

Other things to consider:

You might be fine working for a client with a smaller budget if their project is something you will really enjoy drawing. Conversely, you might be more motivated to work on a project you don’t really enjoy if you’re able to charge a little more for it

You need to understand usage scenarios and how to price accordingly for them. When someone commissions you they are paying you to create the artwork – they do not own the artwork. If they want to do anything with it besides gaze at it adoringly, they need to pay you for permission to do so.

So yeah, bottom line:

Flat-rate commission pricing puts the artist at a 100% disadvantage. Don’t feel pressured when a client demands your price before even discussing the details of a project with you. Before you agree to a price, you should ideally know:

- Full scope of the project. That is, what, exactly, you will be producing, and how it will be used.
- Client’s expectations. In terms of quality, timeline, deliverables.
- Client’s budget. This one is tricky and you might not get it but if you do, congrats, you now hold all the cards.

Once these are established, you can then offer your client options within the proposed budget, as well as options a little above the budget they quoted you.

THEN you create a contract putting your agreed-upon terms in black and white (here is a website for making contracts, there are a lot of good templates for freelance illustration and design on here as well). THEN you have them pay you (if using PayPal, by invoice.) 

And then I guess you draw their anime OC haha

Happy hunting, and never forget that commercial illustration is a skilled profession that deserves to be taken seriously. Don’t short-sell yourself just because everyone else is.

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