How much is fair to pay for commissioned artwork?

Started by vvalkingman, April 28, 2010, 08:49:25 am

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vvalkingman

I didn't really know where to post this question...guess this is as good a place as any :^_^': I found an artist to work on my project Knights of the Black Gate and I am new to the whole commissioned thing. I want to give the artist something for their work but I dont know what is fair or expected. Any ideas on this?

Thanks :)

Aqua


vvalkingman

I guess I was pretty vague about that. The level is not that high and we are talking only battler artwork. I plan on talking it over with them and see their expectations, but I just wanted to at least walk into the conversation with an idea of what would be acceptable/expected.

winkio

I would go by the experience of the artist (high school, college, etc.), how long it took them to make, and the quality of the art.

Subsonic_Noise

Well, so you have something to compare, Brian and me where promised 40$ from someone who wanted to use one of our songs, later it was cut down to 20$, what we concidered to still be good. That guy earns some money through advertisement, though.

Who knows if we ever gonna get anything... oh well, I don't really care.

vvalkingman

Well I am dealing with a senior in high school, friend of a friend kind of thing. If she draws for me, I was hoping that she would be the one to draw all of the battlers used in the game since I wouldn't want the styles of art to drastically change etc etc. She agrees to draw them all. My question is, should I pay her per drawing? or more of a "here is x dollars up front and you will get x dollars when you are finished with them all?" I'm leaning to pay per drawing, because it's safer for me in the event that she doesn't provide anything. What do you guys think?

winkio

yeah, per drawing is good.  Depending on the level of detail, I'd say 1-10 dollars each is fair.  (1 for a simple sketch, 10 for a fully colored professional piece)

vvalkingman


tSwitch

Quote from: winkio on April 28, 2010, 12:10:41 pm
yeah, per drawing is good.  Depending on the level of detail, I'd say 1-10 dollars each is fair.  (1 for a simple sketch, 10 for a fully colored professional piece)


that's massively underselling yourself, you're not just letting people use it and getting paid for drawing, you're being paid to let them OWN rights to that picture.

I'd charge based on what they wanted, and how much, and I'd charge by the hour.


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vvalkingman

I plan on asking them what their conditions are and if they can't think of any then I'll present them with something similar to what winkio described. I plan on continuing to credit them for these pictures so in essence I'm not actually becoming the owner of the pictures I am just using them for a game and paying them to create them. What do you think?

Aqua

$10 is way too little in my (and NAM's) opinions.

If I were asked to do this, I would either accept a pay per hour deal or a bulk bundle depending on how many I'd need to do.

Example numbers:

1 - $20
10 - $180
20 - $450
Now, these example numbers are for an anime style drawing with cel shading.

If it were digitally painted characters, then the price would be a LOT different.
1 - $40
10 - $380
20 - $750
Lol actually, for digital paintings, I think I'd rather have pay per hour.

Blizzard

I look at the situation from a commonly fair perspective. I charge people $20 for each hour. If I need 5 hours, it costs $100, period.
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vvalkingman

Well, I can see aqua's perspective as fair in the event that I was hiring a professional. Someone who does concept and battler art for a living. I am not dealing with a professional. I am dealing with a high school student who has taken a high school level art class and draws anime-like pictures for fun and is trying to build a portfolio (like i am). I want to compensate her fairly for the amount of work that she will be doing without paying a ridiculous amount, I have rent to pay lol

Aqua

O.o
If I did this for a living, my prices would be waaay higher than what I posted. XP

Edit:
Blizz's $20/hr is pretty yummy :x

vvalkingman

Guess I am alittle new to this haha I write stories and code things...come up with ideas...New to the project manager title and to expenses such as artwork and music. I mean it is necessary for the game overall, guess i am just worried about paying too much or too little. Thanks for the help :)

Aqua

Just make sure you negotiate while keeping in mind the artist XP

Ask questions like how much time she spends on a piece, what material she uses, and other stuff like that.

Diokatsu

The real problem is, vvalkingman, that artists generally think they're very good and that they're worth a lot more than anyone cares to pay. Artists are pretentious. Every great artist from Picasso to Schubert to Joyce, artists within every medium, think they're exceptionally brilliant and this attitude has become much more popular among the elitist youth movements which demand that people both pay for and appreciate their art. Art has become a market, rather than an expression. Fortunately, they aren't all hard to find and most of them can be convinced into under selling themselves, while some even will offer to do cheap jobs willingly because they love their craft and treat it as a courtesy for the credit they receive for doing it. Whether or not they feel this way is irrelevant though, as you only need to find the cheapest artist within your skill range. Artists who intend to do art for a living will charge you more, but I'd avoid them altogether. Anyone who tries to do art for a living, and would be in a position to listen to your request, without a secure financial backing isn't someone I'd associate with.

Subsonic_Noise

To be honest, I'd do music for free if I'd like the project, or don't do it at all if I don't like it. But I might be a bit too idealistic here I guess.

Diokatsu

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on April 29, 2010, 06:19:32 pm
To be honest, I'd do music for free if I'd like the project, or don't do it at all if I don't like it. But I might be a bit too idealistic here I guess.


I feel the same way. As long as it's appreciated, I consider it to be well worth the time.

vvalkingman

Well, she settled at $10 a battler & $5 a face(for facesets). Seeing as I am dealing with about 67 battlers total and several facesets she was happy with it. We talked alot about scope, starting and finishing the project(the whole "wouldn't want you to leave halfway and I have to start over again" thing), and the idea that I was buying the pictures but her name is on the project for drawing them. For us this is a portfolio builder as well as a challenge to see if we can do a full game. I'm excited and she is excited so I'll be sure to keep you guys up to date in the project forum about the things that come from it :) thanks for all the advice! you guys are awesome :)