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Reblogged from askfordoodles
fryingtoilet:
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Pricelists Industry vs Fandom.
Finally made.
If anyone would care to donate a coloured comic page for the comic industry standard list I’m willing to accept one and will give credit c8 I would’ve made one if I had an example but I don’t -A-
But yes that’s off my chest.
Of course this is based off my own browsing over price lists and how I work unfortunately my commissioner homie went idle so I can’t confirm the most vs the least one can spend.
I’ve only found one artist thus far that charges nearly as close to industry standard. Even then it’s under the standard. As far a I’m concerned anyone under the standard shouldn’t have complaints about expensive art. Fandom average is hardly one you can live by.
Would you like to get paid $30 for 3-7 days worth of work?
Yeah hey, everyone look at this. This is what EVERY artist should be able to charge, even if just the lower rungs.
Gosh
ahahah ok, this actually made me remember one moment that happened on a local Con this summer, we were doing commissions there, and we were drawing A5 format chibies for 5LT(2$) they were lined, colored and looking all nice and this girl comes to us asking about prices and we tell her that chibi drawing is 2$ and she said: wow that`s too expensive and walked away.
ahahahah if only she saw this post :”D
mandatory reblog
seriously though. I sell my stuff for so cheap when I could get away with much more. Mostly because my friends are either highschoolers or college students and I can understand not having access to or having the money in general, but I’ve sold a print of an unfinished piece for $175 before to an artist/art collector friend, so I know my stuff is worth or close to being worth industry standard prices.
Its hard to see people whine at me that $10 is too expensive for a fully shaded single body when i should be selling them for more 8( But I know a lot of other people enjoy the prices because they can actually buy stuff at that price, so it’s worth it for them more than anything.
Pay attention.
PLEASE spread this message guys….
I’ve seen this around a lot, and for the most part I agree entirely with the message.
HOWEVER, Industry is going to have you draw exactly what they want, exactly when they want, and often make insanely specific demands, change their mind and have you start all over, etc. This is from what I’ve heard from artists who have worked professionally as well as graphic designers. It can often be bucklingly stressful and you can end up way overworked for your payment. Basically, unless you’re lucky and your employer is a rare, genuine human being, Industry can be hellish. You could say that comes with the price tag of doing work for them.
If you consider yourself more of a Fandom / amateur artist (ie, one that is not professionally employed), there are key things to consider. Firstly, the people who are commissioning you to draw are not Industry. (Unless it’s for a con, in which case this still applies to them because cons are often built on the support of communities and underfunded.) They are not made of money, and if you get it in your head to start pricing anywhere near Industry standard, they’re gonna permanently baulk. THAT ISN’T TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULD GROSSLY UNDERVALUE YOUR TIME AND EFFORT. That is to say that, if you want to offer commissions, you have to consider your audience, as well as how much you value your time and work, and how much they value your time and work. When their time is at a premium, many artists charge higher fees. This is fine. It limits their commissionee audience, but there will still be some people who value their style enough to continue to pay them.
Secondly, people who follow you from Fandom will often want you to draw fandom-related pieces - which you have generally proven you greatly enjoy drawing anyways. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t enjoy what you do. However, those who work professionally have to draw whatever they are told, their personal preferences damned. But they are paid for drawing/designing, and this is amazing enough! If anyone wants to contact you for a commission, I (personally) would find it flattering. It means someone values your skill, style, and time enough that they’re willing to separate from their hard-earned cash so that you’ll draw them something!
Pet peeve of mine: people who open commissions that are fandom only (especially if a potential commissionee only finds this out after they’ve gotten excited and contacted the artist). You’re catering only to what you already like.. to what you draw anyways. Some people will gather a large swath of commissions from this regardless, and more power to them. However, you’re reeeally limiting yourself. As awesome as it is to see Sherlock, or TF2, or OFF, or Homestuck, or Supernatural, or whatever fandom you happen to be in, when I hit up someone for a commission, I want them to bring to life something that is dear to my heart. And that is rarely fandom related (unsurprisingly). It’s mostly OCs. It really bites when you’re totally willing to pay an artist for work, and they get to tell you that they’re sorry, but they’re only drawing what they want to draw….. that kind of really defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? (Please note that limits hinging on personal comfort - like not drawing porn - are totally different and I have nothing against that.)
I realize this is mostly aimed at people who think the Fandom average is too expensive! It’s not. The point here is that you’re not necessarily selling yourself short by charging prices that are closer to “Fandom average” than Industry Standard. But I would definitely not go as far as saying “any (non-professional) artist should be able to charge industry prices”. It’s super unrealistic for the above listed reasons. Basically, it’s a balancing act. It might take you a little while to find a balance between your own value for your time and work and what your audience values for your time and work, but once you strike that balance, you are likely to find doing commissions a lot more enjoyable because you’ll feel less like you’re being paid unfairly.
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