Arty folks help please?!

E

el_Snowflakes

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Hello,

first of all this is no way an advert.

I have been asked to do my first commission :) a 12" x 12" colour pencil portrait of someones 2 horses. Can someone please advise me how much to charge? (incuding framing & possibly a price for without frame incase buyer wants to frame herself?

Here are a few of my drawings from my sketch book to indicate quality. These didnt take me very long- one is half finished!.....

any CC welcome also ;)

rage2_zps5b8e847b.jpg

securedownload.jpg

finished-Copy_zps340dfc53.jpg
 
They are lovely! Especially the second one, beautifully observed.

As for price, it's really hard to say. Have a look on some artists' sites at their prices for comparable work.

In the end, artwork is worth what people are prepared to pay, so perhaps discuss it with the people giving you the commissions?
 
It all depends on whether you have a proven sales record. If you have, then base the commission's price on an even par with work you would produce to sell. If you don't sell very often, then it's more tricky to price your work as you don't have the guidance of knowing what people will pay for your work.
Generally speaking there are 2 common approaches to pricing your work:
1) by size
2) by time taken to complete.
I tend to price mine mainly by size, as larger works tend to take longer to complete....not always, though....so if I have a work where I spend a longer than usual time on them I tend to add a small premium to the size price. Having said that, even a more detailed work would give me an hourly rate less than the national minimum wage :eek:
Your work is good, and I'm sure your client will be pleased....have you sold much before? If you want to let me know the size and how much you've sold before for (if you have sold before), I'd be happy to give you a suggested price, based on my own past experience....you could maybe then see if you'd be happy with that as a starting point....
Hope this helps, and if you want some "provenance", here is one of my drawings:
imagesize.php

This one is priced at £225
 
Mohawk61 has given you very sound advice.

I agree with pricing by size, that way the customer can know in advance what will fit his or her budget....most important in our current finacial climate. This approach may work for or against you as per time spent on the commission, but overall, you will average out.

This approach will also make it much easier for you to 'lay out your goods' on your website....if you have not got one, get one! A lot of internet providers include free webspace.

I would also invest in a lightbox, this tool is ideal for tracing outlines and will serve you well in saving LOTS of time and angst when you get busy with commissions if your main focus is on portraits from photos.

Dont fall into the trap of pricing too low to undercut other artists...people generally equate quality with price, if your price is too low people will perceive that your work is inferior, sad but true...pricing is an art in itself and can take some trial and error. Your artistic style will sell your work, no one can copy that as it will be unique to you, and customers will either like it or wont, there is plenty of room for artists in this field because of that very fact.

With each sold commission, include a few business cards, word of mouth is your greatest marketing tool.

As you become more established, if you find you are overrun with work, raise your price a little, its a fine balancing act but you will become intuitive to this with time.

If work is thin on the ground, dont despair, enter open art competitions, your local galleries and local government arts dept will help you find links. Above all keep practising and seek out shops and venues to display if not sell your work, eg cafes, bars, tea rooms, dentist and doctors waiting rooms etc.

I wish you good luck in your artistic endeavours.
 
Mohawk61 said:
It all depends on whether you have a proven sales record. If you have, then base the commission's price on an even par with work you would produce to sell. If you don't sell very often, then it's more tricky to price your work as you don't have the guidance of knowing what people will pay for your work.
Generally speaking there are 2 common approaches to pricing your work:
1) by size
2) by time taken to complete.
I tend to price mine mainly by size, as larger works tend to take longer to complete....not always, though....so if I have a work where I spend a longer than usual time on them I tend to add a small premium to the size price. Having said that, even a more detailed work would give me an hourly rate less than the national minimum wage :eek:
Your work is good, and I'm sure your client will be pleased....have you sold much before? If you want to let me know the size and how much you've sold before for (if you have sold before), I'd be happy to give you a suggested price, based on my own past experience....you could maybe then see if you'd be happy with that as a starting point....
Hope this helps, and if you want some "provenance", here is one of my drawings:
imagesize.php

This one is priced at £225
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the sound advice. I havent sold any before. Have been tooing and frowing about it thinking im not good enough but reckon if people are asking for my work then they must like it. Thats a lovely picture, I love the 'liquid' look of the eye.

tankgirl1 said:
Wow! Great drawings - you talented person you!! Perhaps some photo comparisons would help re gauging price?
Click to expand...

Thankyou so much :) the 1st and 3rd pics were drawn from pictures in magazines and the second one is of my own horse, it was the first time i had drawn in years and I am quite pleased with it. I will post a pic further down the page for you to see.

hackneylass2 said:
Mohawk61 has given you very sound advice.

I agree with pricing by size, that way the customer can know in advance what will fit his or her budget....most important in our current finacial climate. This approach may work for or against you as per time spent on the commission, but overall, you will average out.

This approach will also make it much easier for you to 'lay out your goods' on your website....if you have not got one, get one! A lot of internet providers include free webspace.

I would also invest in a lightbox, this tool is ideal for tracing outlines and will serve you well in saving LOTS of time and angst when you get busy with commissions if your main focus is on portraits from photos.

Dont fall into the trap of pricing too low to undercut other artists...people generally equate quality with price, if your price is too low people will perceive that your work is inferior, sad but true...pricing is an art in itself and can take some trial and error. Your artistic style will sell your work, no one can copy that as it will be unique to you, and customers will either like it or wont, there is plenty of room for artists in this field because of that very fact.

With each sold commission, include a few business cards, word of mouth is your greatest marketing tool.

As you become more established, if you find you are overrun with work, raise your price a little, its a fine balancing act but you will become intuitive to this with time.

If work is thin on the ground, dont despair, enter open art competitions, your local galleries and local government arts dept will help you find links. Above all keep practising and seek out shops and venues to display if not sell your work, eg cafes, bars, tea rooms, dentist and doctors waiting rooms etc.

I wish you good luck in your artistic endeavours.
Click to expand...

Thanks v much. The lightbox is a great idea which i never thought of! Im with you 100% on the pricing thing. People absolutely equate quality to price so i will need to find a happy medium as i dont want to charge the same as those who are very experienced in the field. Quite excited about getting business cards etc. I would love to have a trade stand with my work to take to shows and other venues! (a little goal of mine!) unfortunatly i have little time as I have a busy job and trying to balance this with keeping horse fit for showing season! but we all have the same number of hours in the day - we just need to use them effectively.

Tai.Ni.Po.Ni said:
Try find someone on the Internet to similar standards of yours, then just have a look at their prices :)
Click to expand...

Thanks :) this is what i have been doing so far to get a rough price but its difficult as they are established and i am not........yet! ;)


Heres the pic I copied the 2nd one from.....my girl modelling!!

P1030038_zps08441b4a.jpg


and the pink powder advert which I copied from also! I dont have an original pic for the lovely 'dressage cob' as he was in a magazine somewhere!!
pinkpowder_zps2747b2dd.jpg
 
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