I’m an intermediate/advanced graphite artist wanting to sell my work locally. I’ve been consigned to do some portraits and want to charge a fair amount for my efforts. How does one put a price on their drawings?
You will need to take into consideration the time it will take you, how much the supplies you use will cost, and how much the going rate is locally. You obviously want to get enough to cover your time, however, you don’t want to start to high and scare away all your business either. As you become more well known, and business is more prevalent, you can always raise your prices.
I am also a graphite portrait artist, and I did some research on the Internet to see what the going rates were. Most sell 8×10 or 9×12 portraits for between 75 and 110 dollars, depending on the skill and notability of the artist, and the quality of the paper. Prices for larger paper sizes go up from there. I would suggest you do little research. Search for pencil portraits on Google and see what others are charging. if there are other graphite artists in your area, try to get a list of their prices. You may be able to find them through a local Craig’s List or Yellow Pages internet search. Then take into consideration the other factors mentioned above , and come up with a reasonable price from there.
January 18th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
You should have already worked out a price with those who have commissioned you. If not, you need to sit down with each one individually and work out a price. Ask them how much they are willing to pay – let them make the first offer but have a price in mind that you will settle for. If their offerred price is too low, tell them your asking price and if they won’t come close to meeting it, then you will have to tell them you can not do the work for them. I wouldn’t set my price too high if you have not sold your work before. If your work is well received, you can raise your price in the future as you become known in your community as a portraitist You could call around and ask other portraitists what they charge and set your asking price a little lower than theirs since you are a beginner.
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January 18th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
How much is your hour worth? You should get accustomed to charging by the hour. Just like any other profession, the hourly wage is usually generated by experience and talent. Through an interview with your client you should generate an idea of how long it will take you to produce the piece. I suggest you charge half up front, and half when the piece is delivered. You may lose money if you under quote so ponder this carefully. Check out the book "Pricing and Ethical Guidelines." Also consider protecting yourself by writing contracts.
$ per hour X number of hours to complete piece = final quote
Truly, Selene
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January 18th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
You will need to take into consideration the time it will take you, how much the supplies you use will cost, and how much the going rate is locally. You obviously want to get enough to cover your time, however, you don’t want to start to high and scare away all your business either. As you become more well known, and business is more prevalent, you can always raise your prices.
I am also a graphite portrait artist, and I did some research on the Internet to see what the going rates were. Most sell 8×10 or 9×12 portraits for between 75 and 110 dollars, depending on the skill and notability of the artist, and the quality of the paper. Prices for larger paper sizes go up from there. I would suggest you do little research. Search for pencil portraits on Google and see what others are charging. if there are other graphite artists in your area, try to get a list of their prices. You may be able to find them through a local Craig’s List or Yellow Pages internet search. Then take into consideration the other factors mentioned above , and come up with a reasonable price from there.
References :
I am a pencil artist. You can see my work here: http://www.pencilsandpixelsart.com