Comission Price

Ross Cuellar 0

Hey everyone. I have a lot of friends who play Dungeons and Dragons, and a friend talked me into opening up for commissions for characters. Here’s my pricing guide. Do you think I’m asking too high? If you were looking, is this a price you’d be willing to pay? Is there anything you’d change? Thanks in advance!
For reference, it would be comic book style, not fine art or realistic rendering or anything like that.

Bust Only
Sketch-10-15
Clean Linework-15-20
Full color 30

Full body
Sketch-15-20
Clean Line work-25-30
Full color-40-45

Whole scene-environment
Sketch-30-35
Line art-35-40
Paint 60-70
+20 for each additional character

VeronicaMui

These prices sound fair to me, not too high, not too low, at least a good place to start and see if they’re generally accepted

NessIllustration

@Ross-Cuellar-0 These look quite low to me considering how long it would take you to do. Let's say a full body in color, how long does that take you? If you're really fast and can do it in say 5 hours (personally it would take me at least twice that) then you're paying yourself... $8 and hour. Most likely closer to $4 an hour. You might as well work at McDonald's and make more! Let's just remember that a) your time is valuable and b) drawing is SKILLED labor.

Coreyartus

I think these prices are a just smidge low--maybe add $5/tier? You can always adjust up or down. There are so many illustrators in that particular niche that are hobby artists that the fees are fairly low across the board. If you have never done commissions for this type of work before, I think this is a good starting point for that particular segment of art consumer. But @NessIllustration is right--you can't really sustain that. Use it as a learning opportunity with an eye to increase your rates as you develop more skill, reputation, and a workflow you're happy with.

There are some higher-end commissions artists in the D&D character rendering genre (Steve NIckel being one) who charge around $500 (or more) for a fully rendered full-body sketch, but Nickel in particular spends around 2 full working days on each one if not longer, and he's been at it for years--has his own Twitch stream where you can watch him work.

jsnzart

I think they're a bit low, too.
You can add on materials costs, and taxes.
Definitely work out how long it'll take you and consider your hourly rate.

korilynneillo

I work a lot in this market, and had a couple years where I was making most of my income from commissions - it's very hard to give a good answer without a couple bits of info!

How long does it take you?
Let's see some samples!

Always remember that you want to be charging a fair hourly wage for yourself, and that if you're freelancing you have to make roughly double the amount of a W-2 Employee if you're in the US (30% for taxes, and then healthcare/retirement savings that employers would normally help cover). The market isn't always in the right place for charging that amount (depending on your style/how long it takes you to complete), but it's always a good starting point, and then you can take your work and compare it to others with a similar style/skill level to see if you're roughly on par with the market.

Another thing to factor in is client communication takes a lot longer than you think! My lowest tier when I have my commissions open is $30, because anything less than that I'm usually losing money and time with going back and forth with my client, even if the actual art from that tier only takes 30 minutes. When I started out I had a lot lower prices, and it was 100% worth it taking on less commissions for more money - a lot less stressful too!

ambiirae

@Ross-Cuellar-0 like others have said make sure to take in your personal value and what your bringing to the table. Keep in mind these are one of a kind art pieces that can't be bought just any where and that alone is very valuable.

Hope to see some samples on this! We also play D&D and have considered this a few times. I would love to see your take on this considering there are so many directions this could go.

Ross Cuellar 0

Thanks everyone! I think you’re right, I’m probably aiming too low. Its hard for me to remember that just because I enjoy it, doesn’t mean i shouldn’t get paid well. I often get so lost in making a piece i don’t realize how much time it actually took. Here are some examples of Sketch, Line art, and finished work. Let me know what you think!

ambiirae

@Ross-Cuellar-0 these are awesome and I love how well they show personality defiantly should be charging more!