Tips for Independent Artists - How Much Should You Charge?

I find that many artists who are new to making money with their services forget to think of what they do as a job, and the most important thing you can do if you want to succeed as an artist is to make sure that this is not the case for you personally. What you offer as an artist is just as much a service as anything else, and as such, it and the time it takes you to create it are worth money. The sooner you adopt this mindset, the better.

Now that you have that in mind, the first thing you should consider when deciding what to charge a client for the completion of a commissioned or private project is how much time it will take you to complete it and what you want to charge per hour for your time. I personally charge between $15 and $25 per hour just for my time depending on the project, but what you charge is up to you.

Some new artists feel more comfortable charging less because they don't feel their skills are quite up to par yet, and that's fine. Just be sure that you don't sell yourself short. Do you feel that an artist should be paid more per hour than say... a fry cook? Well so do I. Even if you are new to selling your art and don't want to charge very much, I would definitely not charge any less per hour than you would get at your average mid-level work-a-day job. (You definitely should be charging more than minimum wage.) As your skill level and reputation grow, you should charge more accordingly.

Are you super-skilled at completing the particular type of project your client wants? Do you have any special expertise, training, or experience that maybe makes you a better quality choice for the job than your competition? If the answer to either of those questions is "yes", then you should be charging a bit more than you usually do. You're worth it, and you should be paid accordingly.

I know I said this already, but do not sell yourself short. Know what you're worth and charge for your services accordingly. Feel free to break down your price quote for your client so they know what they're paying for (I normally like to do this for my clients anyway) and show them relevant samples of your work from your portfolio so that they can decide whether or not you're worth it for themselves.

This is something that is quite important to determine before you and your client shake on an agreement, because it really should factor into your pricing. It's also important to make sure you're both on the same page about this to avoid issues later on.

For those of you unfamiliar with copyright, it's defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as "the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work)". In other words, the copyright holder is the only person who legally has any right to decide how the work in question will be used.

Unless some special alternative arrangement has been made, the copyright always lies with the original artist and is valid from the minute that work is created. Nothing has to be filed. It just quite simply is... period. Unless your client and you agree on something else as far as copyright is concerned, you as the artist retain full rights to your work even if it was created for someone else.

You will find that some clients want an exclusive copyright to be part of their deal with you, meaning that upon completion of the work in question, it's no longer yours, but theirs to do with as they please. (Sometimes you will also hear this type of work referred to as "work-for-hire" work.) This is perfectly fine to agree to, but I'm generally of the belief that you should charge more for this type of project, as you will no longer be able to use the work for any future purposes of your own. You won't be able to sell prints, license it to other clients, or anything else so this is your only chance to make money off of this particular piece.

Although I sometimes will do artwork on a work-for-hire basis, more often than not, I will offer the client a shared copyright option as an alternative. Under my personal shared copyright terms, the client has the right to use the image within parameters that we both agree on. However, I also retain the right to sell prints of the work if I want or show it as part of my personal portfolio or my website. Basically the client and I agree on terms we're both happy with before work is begun. Then there are no misunderstandings or problems later.

Just as you should think of your art-making as a job, and the art itself as a product, you should also think of yourself and your set-up as a business. Every business has production costs. Some are considerably more than others, but they're still there regardless.

Are you a traditional artist? How much do your canvases, paints, and brushes cost you? Are you part of the digital age? Well then, you still probably have a drawing tablet, programs, and subscription costs you have to cover, right? Make sure you consider things like this when you decide what you need to charge your clients, too. I personally consider marketing costs for my on-line shops, bandwidth for my website, and subscription costs to maintain the various print services and galleries I use to be part of my business expenses as well. So should you.

You may find that you want to offer a discount to clients that order large amounts of work from you at a time -- sort of like selling in bulk. I know that I sometimes do. The cost per piece for a client ordering 25 original art pieces from me will be considerably less than it would be for a client who's simply ordering one or two. I have a similar policy when it comes to the freelance writing I do as well.

You also want to consider what the finished work will be used for. Are we talking about a company logo that will appear on pretty much anything to do with that establishment for many years to come, or are we talking about a privately commissioned portrait that's going to be hanging in someone's bedroom? I would personally charge considerably more for the logo than I would for the portrait because of the difference in the amount of use the thing will be getting, but that's just me. What you do is completely up to you.

As is the case with any business, the key to success is in finding the balance between what's best for your client and what's best for you. At the risk of sounding a bit uncouth, I'm going to give you the same advice I give all my friends and fans who are aspiring artists. "Don't rape your client, but don't rape yourself either."

Yes, give your client a fair deal. Take extra special care of your repeat clients and regular customers, but do not sell yourself short. Too many artists do that, and it really saddens me. Charge what you need to in order to make it worth it to take the project on. If that's not cool with your client, then that's too bad. Nothing's free, and there will be other clients. Trust me. In my opinion, there is no job so good that it's worth lowering your standards or selling yourself short.