I've been asked by an author to make ten illustrations for a book he is writing. The subject matter is rather obscure, so it will have limited printing and circulation. I have to provide a quote for my work. I am not a professional illustrator, and this will be the first time my drawings are printed. They will be 10 black and white line drawings. The writer has seen samples of my work and I'm confident he'll be satisfied with what I produce. What should I charge?
2007-03-14 04:52:01 · 2 answers · asked by irwinnormal 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Drawing & Illustration
You are in the heart of the conflict facing any beginning artist: exposure vs income. One method is to make a realistic estimate of the time (including discussion of changes and redrawing) it takes you to do a drawing and then work up from a realistic minimum pay. Then cut back your high estimate based on sticker shock and exposure.
As an independent artist you are going to have to at least double what an artist working on wages would get, because you have to cover your own insurance, taxes, retirement, and office expenses. As a beginning artist the exposure and examples are valuable - ask for several copies of the book. Without knowing the effort they will take, a number like $500 jumps to my mind for 10 modest drawings without a lot of hassle. Plan on getting early approval from a single drawing so you don't put the wrong nose on all the figures in the whole set.
2007-03-14 05:08:17 · answer #1 · answered by Mike1942f 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my personal suggestion is to come up with a high/low scenario in your head...if the author goes higher then take it...but set a price the YOU WILL NOT GO BELOW. If they value your skill they will pay the price...if not then they didn't really want it bad enough did they...don't DEVALUE yourself
2007-03-14 04:57:33 · answer #2 · answered by Mark N 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋