Requesting pricing help for my illustrations.

[Darian]

Hello everyone,

I have received a book illustration project inquiry for 10-15 images in this style for 50$ each.

The timeline is not fixed, will be self published by the author I believe and the contract is work for hire.

What would usually be the normal charges for this style for a children's book?

Thanks for your help

[mag]

@Darian Hi! Very nice style!
I am afraid, there are no "normal" prices in the self-publishing world. I got anywhere from $40-$120 per illustration when working for a self-published author. I took it as a terribly paid learning opportunity, I knew I would not be delivering the best work as I was still learning the craft, I was happy I could practice while getting paid.
So the question should be: what is your price for such an illustration? Is the price enough for you? You will never see any royalties, you will lose all rights to the illustrations (a very bad deal, to be honest. I would want to retain some rights, so I could at least make prints and sell those). The author will probably be a pain in the butt. I have the experience that the lower the budget is, the more problematic the work gets.
If there's room for negotiation, I'd definitely want a higher rate per illustration, and restrict the rights they are buying from you.
Good luck!

[Darian]

@mag Thank you for sharing your experience Mag. I usually would charge 25-50% more of the price being offered for black and white illustration without the contract being work for hire.

But like you said, prices vary, and I looking for somewhat of an average rate ballpark to feel what's the right price.
I remember @Lee-White saying work for hire contracts are a very expensive deal for the client..

[Sarah VanDam]

@Darian How long do you expect each illustration will take you? Your craftsmanship here is very good!

To be honest, $500 for 10 images of this quality seems rather painfully low to me, although it could still be worth it for the experience and to work with the author if you really like them and their work. I have also done things for a very low price before if I loved the project and expected it to “take me towards the mountain” in my career.

To share my own experience doing some black-and-white illustrations, I did this piece for a client two-and-a-half years ago, and was paid $200 for it. After doing 9 more hidden picture puzzles for that price, and getting much better at it, the price was raised to $400, and now we’ve agreed to raise it $50 per every 6 puzzles that I do with at cap at $600. It’s also work for hire, but I love working for this client. Time-wise, these usually take me between 14-20 hours consistently.

[Darian]

@Sarah-VanDam Hey Sarah, thank you for sharing your experience and insights. That's a great understanding you have going on with the client. How did you go about achieving that agreement?

For me, an illustration like this can take 1 - 3 days, depending on the details and on how quickly the idea comes to me given it is a single image. For a series of illustrations I tend to work out all the sketches first and then ink them after the sketches are approved.

[Sarah VanDam]

@Darian Sorry for the big delay in my answer: Honestly, it’s just that I’ve made friends with my client, and he’s just a really fun person to work. He gets super excited about my work, and gives feedback but doesn’t micromanage. That’s one of the biggest reasons I keep working for him.