Oh and it's work for hire concept art.

a pretty penny. pretty sure no one likes to discuss finances in public forums, as pricing changes through time/availability, and you can't trust anyone on the innanet, everyone is out to get you/undercut you/rob you blind

xjoshuabelangerx said: a pretty penny. pretty sure no one likes to discuss finances in public forums, as pricing changes through time/availability, and you can't trust anyone on the innanet, everyone is out to get you/undercut you/rob you blind

well said.

You go first...

If you are trying to find out your hourly and or weekly rate. Take all of your living expenses, bills, desired spending money, and any other finances that affect you per month and figure out your yearly expenses; Or if you have a desired amount you would like to make a year then use this for a ballpark (assuming you do this full-time): Desired amount or yearly expenses ÷ amount days you plan to work a year ÷ number of hours you plan to work each of those days. Example if you want to make $40,000 a year and work all 260 business days with no holidays, etc and you only want to work 6 hours a day. Your hourly rate would be: $25.64 Truth is your probably not going to have a client every day you plan to work those 6 hours so adjust your rates accordingly; and obviously raise your rates if you feel your work is worth more or the client isn't giving you the rights you feel you deserve.

and you are forgetting taxes.

Hourly rates are great for figuring out a base fee you don't want to go below, but I rarely base it simply on that and I would imagine (and hope) few do. This is the reason no one will give you a "this is what you should charge" answer. One of the most important questions you can ask is, "How is the client going to use your work?". It's understandable to charge much more for something that will be distributed worldwide than say a small run of posters for a local band (a dramatic comparison but you get the point). The same goes for different types of jobs. Logos for example. I especially think it's funny when people gawk at large fees for logo design. No single piece of design will ever be used more by your client than their logo. The value of that design is much more than a simple hourly rate. You're not selling your time, you're selling your design/illustration/whatever expertise. Oh, and not being able to post the art after it's public knowledge is hogwash and is grounds for charging more IMHO. I know it's common in Work for Hires, but if I can't say that I did something and use it for self promotion than the only thing that will make me feel better is mo$$$. The best thing you can do is read this book... http://goo.gl/dbmTt

The North Face Fire Road Shoes Men Gray/Red [810018] - $177.00 : Northface Jackets,North Face, North Face Outlet,North Face Store,North Face Clothing,North Face Jacket,Northface sale, Northface Jacket

pw! said: and have you asked them flat out "what is your budget?"

this. It's always good practice to ask and see where they're coming from.

Conditions of Use : Discount Christian Louboutin Online, Buy Christian Louboutin,Christian Louboutin Pumps,Christian Louboutin Cheap,Chirstian Louboutin Shoes Sale,Chirstian Louboutin Pumps Online

I always wondered - how charging per hour actually works. I mean ... clients just trust you when you tell em how long took you creating this or that? I mean, it's pretty easy to cheat... I'm not one of those greedy assholes, nothing like that, but world is brutal and I would be quite amazed if every designer would be so honest... I wish it was like that.. is it?

Tiffany Z Charm bracelet [tiffany1575] - €38.00 : tiffany, Tiffay Outlet,Tiffany On Sale,Tiffany Co Outlet,Tiffany And Co Outlet

i don't know why i'm writing so much, i have no idea what i'm doing, but i just want to add that i did the hourly thing because i knew in order to survive (rent, electricity, buffalo wings, whatever), then i had to make "X" amount of dollars a month, which breaks down to weeks, days, and hours...IF the work allows. El Covo said it all best up top.

You are all amazing. Thanks for all this feedback. I asked him a couple of questions and am waiting to hear back. It's to aid a movie pitch, and it's a pretty in-depth illustration. I'm always nervous about contracts, let alone a "work-for-hire". As for some of the pricing mentioned on here, man oh man do I need to up my rates, lol. Sometimes I forget that there's a real world willing to pay to the time invested. The other thing I'm curious about is the original art, how would I even be able to sell it, if I can't show it..... Oh well, back to drawing a huge octopus woman....

hoodlum said: I always wondered - how charging per hour actually works. I mean ... clients just trust you when you tell em how long took you creating this or that? I mean, it's pretty easy to cheat... I'm not one of those greedy assholes, nothing like that, but world is brutal and I would be quite amazed if every designer would be so honest... I wish it was like that.. is it?

Exactly. This is one of the reasons I feel hourly rates are only good as a starting point for working out your base fee. For me personally, certain jobs become an obsession from the moment I get them. There's this incubation period where no tangible work is getting done, but i'm planning it in my head while I sit on the toilet, walk the dog, snowboarding, whatever. Hell, do I charge an hourly rate when I'm staring out the window mulling it all over? I just don't think hourly rates fit well with the creative process.

First of all, I'm no expert at wrangling a fee. I'm just as likely to make a living off a client with a decent budget as I am to pound my head on my desk for getting sucked into an endless revision loop. That said, I don't think it's a terrible idea to have some idea of what your hourly is working out to. You're never gong to be able to charge more than the market can bear. That's why I'm a big fan of cranking up your prices from time to time. Seasonal lulls seem to keep my fees in check. You'll get a feel for what a given client will pay for a certain level of work. Then you can track actual hours from time to time to keep a measure on what your actual hourly is. I never bid on actual time, but I frame it that way for clients because that's what the average person understands. If you're not seeing too many prospects walk away from your bids, it might be time to test out a higher fee.

btw: Thanks to Isaac for getting this thread going. It's refreshing to see that other artists wrestling with this stuff too.

I've been meaning to update my pricing for a while now. This thread helped out a lot.

Great info everybody. Some food for thought. Remember, if you are giving it away, you are hurting the rest of us. Don't be a douche.

Funny you should revive this thread. I just came across this calculator for hourly rate assessment... http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ I thought it was nicely detailed. Good tool for figuring out a starting point.

Jason Taylor said: Funny you should revive this thread. I just came across this calculator for hourly rate assessment... http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ I thought it was nicely detailed. Good tool for figuring out a starting point.

Checked this link out...and it's impossible to really calculate your rate from this. Just dont charge less that $50/hr, that is a good rule to stick to. Haha