Commissions experience?

[Rickford]

I've recently been commissioned to do a set of political cartoons/comics for the Hendon Conservative Association. The briefs are quite detailed. They're of a decent size, and are likely to be distributed on a large scale.

I was wondering, would anyone be able to advise me on what kind of fee I should be charging for this? I thought possibly £200 would be reasonable, but I don't want to spook the fellow. Do we think less/more? Has anyone else had experience of this kind of thing?

I'm rather in the dark here, and need to speak with the chap tomorrow

[Rkolter]

I have no idea how to price commissions except to think they'd be priced by the piece - so how many in the set?

[RemusShepherd]

All my experience on art commissions comes from the muck Tapestries. So I'd say that one full-color artwork is worth approximately a three-hour session of cybersex, half that if you insist on the really kinky stuff.

[Lastcall]

Freelancing is...well, weird. Everyone has their own little "system." ....I always charge people a flat fee, which includes one revision of the rough proof, and one revision of the final color piece. If they want additional changes after that, it costs extra. I e-mail them a contract which outlines the pricing, and they sign it and send it back to me, which I keep for legal purposes, if anything ever comes up. I don't send the finished piece until I get a check from the client. (I learned that the hard way!) When I get the check, I send the finished piece with an invoice that says how much they paid.

Is that 200 Euros? Can someone tell me how much that is in dollars? ...How widescale are we talking about, distribution-wise? You want to be careful when they say "distribution". Because if you give them a fee that's too low, you're basically selling yourself short. If your art is going to be going all over the Internet, or on T-shirts everywhere--well then dammit, jack that fee up! And don't be afraid to. If they think the price is too high, they'll let you know. They won't get scared off; they will simply negotiate with you. ....Starting with a higher fee is much better than selling yourself short, and starting with a lower fee.

[Rickford]

Thanks, that's all pretty helpful. By the way, £200 (Pound Sterling) is roughly equivalent to $400.

The pieces in question are two pieces, comics of a decent length. However, he states that he's willing to pay a 'small' fee, and hopes I can appreciate that they have 'budgetary constraints'.

Which is why I don't want to accidentally go overboard with pricing. A difficult feat, considering that there doesn't seem to be any such thing as a 'standard rate' to compare against.

As for distribution, I'm not actually completely aware of what he has planned. I'll find out tomorrow when I phone him.

[Fabio Ciccone]

I got US$ 250,00 for this drawing last year (or the year before, don't rememeber). That's my only experience with US currency [/url]

[Komiyan]

Try working out how many hours it'll take you, then charge like £5 an hour.

[Rickford]

Try working out how many hours it'll take you, then charge like £5 an hour.

... this method seems sensible. It'll likely run up to about £200 though at that rate anyway :|

[Komiyan]

Shoot for that then, and see what they say

[Shishio]

Try working out how many hours it'll take you, then charge like £5 an hour.

I would say double that - so if any revisions are requested, you're covered for them too.

[Bustertheclown]

Thanks, that's all pretty helpful. By the way, £200 (Pound Sterling) is roughly equivalent to $400.

The pieces in question are two pieces, comics of a decent length. However, he states that he's willing to pay a 'small' fee, and hopes I can appreciate that they have 'budgetary constraints'.

Out of curiosity, what, exactly, is "decent length"?

Onto advice; ask him, point blank, what his budget is, in pounds, and how much of that budget is alotted toward the commission of the artwork. It may come off as a bit mercenary, but, trust me, it's a worthy inquiry. After all, you're looking to do business, not become bosom buddies. It's a common tactic for clients to ask you to show your cards before they show theirs. However, he has the money, you want as much money as you can get, so it makes the entire negotiation run more smoothly just to find out how much money he has to give you, and go from there. That way, it's not a guessing game. That's good business.

As for distribution, I'm not actually completely aware of what he has planned. I'll find out tomorrow when I phone him.

Will this be viewed as work made for hire, or are you keeping some rights?

Bottom line is that you make sure you feel properly compensated for your work. It's too common a mistake for artists to under-value their time, energy, and product, in order to try to impress a potential client.

[McDuffies]

The briefs are quite detailed.

Hurr hurr hurr

[Jackhass]

I don't get out of bed in the morning for less than 10 thousand dollars.

[Fabio Ciccone]

I don't get out of bed in the morning for less than 10 thousand dollars.

*added to 2008 resolutions list*