Commissioning Guide

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2011-04-19 00:28:12

Last author: Aeolynn
Owner: Aeolynn

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Commissioning Guide

If there is anything you see here that is missing, or you don't agree, leave a comment! We'll discuss :)

[#Digital Art]

[#Textiles]

[#Website Banners/icons or Nameplates]

[#Leather Working]

[#Sculptures]

<img:stuff/aj/1675/comielinebreakv2.png>

Prices are always up to you, but never look at your commissions like a paid for hour service. The price is basically for the final product, never the work. If you're taking on a digital commission but the final piece takes 10 hours to finish, you can't expect someone to pay you minimum wage an hour to do it... unless you are a professional artist that is.

The sad truth is, most of us are not professionals. Most of us are just trying to get by and are looking for some extra bucks here and there. Commission prices are very hard to set, just because there is such a range of style and skill and it is really only decided by you.

Digital Art:

Photo-manipulations also in my opinion fall under this category. Something like this from DeviantArt artist Shinerai http://shinerai.deviantart.com/ is 80$!!!

<img200*0:http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs45/i/2009/062/9/1/_wanderer_by_Shinerai.jpg>

Where as something like this from DeviantArt artist Pluww http://pluww.deviantart.com/ or otherwise known as our [spiritee] is 10$!

<img150*0:http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/032/9/9/glasica_by_pluww-d38lak0.jpg>

Now, it really just depends on what you are comfortable with, 1. how well known the artist is. The more popular, the more they can charge. 2. the style of said person. Some people really like realistic, while others are looking for more anime or cartoony. 3. Skill. Obviously someone that is still working out the kinks with their art is not going to be able to charge the same amount as someone who has been working with say, Photoshop, for the last 10 years and it's their main source of income.

I still view myself as a learning artist. My cheapest digital commission is for a 5$ completely colored animal/creature/dragon character bust.

Textiles:

Main focus is plushies or clothing. Again, the prices are really only something you can judge. You need to make it though so it covers the materials, shipping, and at least some form of payment. If it costs you 6 bucks for materials, you don't want to only charge 8 dollars. Try to view it as if you went to a store, and you bought a cheap teddy bear. Normally, something like that is incredibly cheap, and mass produced. If someone commissions you for a plushie, they want something one of a kind and high quality. If that's the case, you can generally be safe with 20+ dollars, and make sure your buyer pays most, if not all the shipping! Clothing is the same way. I make hats/scarves/scoodies and I charge 15-30 bucks, depending on the complexity.

Website Banners, Icons or Nameplates:

Honestly, if it takes you a half hour to make something that looks badass for the commissioner, don't be a jerk and charge em up the wazoo. My opinion for these are 5-10 bucks max. Unless you are doing it for an official website, then tack on the $$$s to your discretion, because they will be getting visitors and potential money from your design.

Leather Working:

Since I really only know one person that does this, I really can't say on the price range. If anyone can enlighten us, please edit this section!

Sculptures:

Clay is expensive. Stone for carving is expensive. Try to keep in mind that this is a unique range, because 3d art will generally take a lot more time and energy to create then most others.

I know an etsy seller that makes these cute little dragons that are palm sized and very very cute! You know how much she charges? 36$ per.

<img200*0:http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.170537512.jpg>

Too expensive you think? See the crystal it is holding? That probably cost her about 3 dollars. The clay? For a brick to be able to make the base for 1-3 dragons? Another 3 bucks. She always has at least 3 colors for all her dragons, so lets add another buck to the cost. So she is already out of 7 dollars. Add on the time and patience to make these guys? Let's just say sculpting something that small is incredibly frustrating. She can charge as much as she does because she is more or less, extremely popular. But is 36 dollars really that expensive for something that is superbly made, and super cute to boot? Not in my opinion. If you can replicate that cuteness and market it, then sure, charge that much.

Here's another example... I charge 35 for a small bust sculpture of your original character or animal, and I include glass eyes in the price. My little busts are about the same size as her little dragons. The difference is I use super sculpey, I make your sculpture unique and one of a kind, and I custom paint it. Fair? For now I think so. Once I get more traffic and commissions I will probably raise my prices a little.

When you start to get to the larger sculptures, I think you can calculate your own prices at that point. Hard to judge really unless you take the time to look around.

<img:stuff/aj/1675/comielinebreakv2.png>

Back to: Commission Me!!!

2011-04-19 [Nioniel]: This is very useful. *like*

2011-04-20 [Ghost the Hybrid]: i really like this part of the wiki, it's really helpful. i do crochet myself, but i'm still learning.

as for leather i only know that it is kinda expensive to buy where i live.

2011-04-21 [Nioniel]: Do you have an idea on prices for actual physical paintings? I got a commision for a painting and I feel that I'm charging very little for it, so it would be cool to know what I should, or could, charge in the future for my works. :)

2011-04-22 [Aeolynn]: Hmm... well you would have to take into account the price of the paint, and the price/size of the canvas. Those are difficult to judge...

How large is the canvas? And can I see an example of your work?

2011-04-22 [Nioniel]: As soon as I either get on a better computer or ET decides to let me start uploading photos, I'll be able to get some WIPs and finished paintings up. Until then, sadly, I cannot.

I'm currently doing a commision for a friend. He wanted an 11x14 canvas painting of his girlfriend's dog done. I already had most of the paints I needed, but had to buy the canvas and a few extra tubes, which ran me about $50. The most he was willing to spend was $100, so I'm only really making $50 on it, but I figured that even a cheap commision was better than none.

I'd have liked to have charged at least $200 for the project, but I wasn't sure if it was too much.

2011-04-22 [Aeolynn]: sounds like 150-200 would be appropriate. I would like to see the final product! :)

2011-04-22 [Nioniel]: Thanks. :) I'm sure I'll upload photos once I'm able to.

2011-04-22 [Ghost the Hybrid]: i'd like to do amigurumi(in my case crochet stuffed toys) commissions but there's 3 problems. the first is i don't really get too much money in the first place so i can't buy yarn when ever i want to. the second is i'm still learning so i can't do big projects yet and the last problem is that i don't really know what the price should be. any one that at least have any suggestions for things that are 10-30cm(4-12inches i think) tall amigurumi?

2011-04-23 [Aeolynn]: I would think 15-20 dollars, depends on if its 4" or 12" as you said

2011-04-23 [Ghost the Hybrid]: actually i can show you some pictures of some of the things i've done if you want to see them? if you just give me a day or two, and one of the things that probably looks the simplest was the hardest thing to make cause i had to make up the pattern as i went^^'

2011-04-23 [Aeolynn]: sure :)

2011-04-23 [Ghost the Hybrid]: i'll get to it tomorrow then since it's past midnight where i am

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