What Should My Prices Be?

[nerdy]

Even though my art is not the best at all (some people like it, but I think it sucks badly) , I would like to start doing very cheap commissions here or on Deviantart. But I'm worried that I will overcharge (undercharging does not matter, as long as I get SOMETHING). I have not posted something I have drawn in awhile, so I will say that I am slightly better at drawing than this really old sprite :

http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/downlo ... &mode=view

Here is what I wanted to charge :

$2.50 for a sprite (comes with 1 outfit, 1 pose, 1 hairstyle , 2 eyebrows, 1 eye type, 1 extra and 1 mouth) + :

$0.10 per emotion add on

$0.35 per arm change

$1.00 per full-on pose change

$0.25 per outfit

$0.20 per hairstyle

$0.15 per things like earrings, purses, etc...

Edit these prices based on what you think I should charge!

[Googaboga]

The link says I'm not authorized to view it. I'm not sure if that's just me though.

[nerdy]

Oh! Here is it :

[MaiMai]

Looking at the example you linked, I'll be honest and say it's still too early for you to charge anything for what you have right now without practicing more and improving your skills. And even then, what you're charging is way too cheap. You should look at the Recruitment section to see the prices sprite artists charge.

Do you have a more recent example instead of that old sprite?

[nerdy]

Unfortunately...Nope. I had a bunch of stuff, but I deleted them before I knew I would need them . Still, I did just sketch something, so maybe I can finish that and then you can tell me how much I should charge.

But I do have a question. How much do you think artist on here should be charging? For the time being , that question could help me out a bit.

[SundownKid]

I agree that for you it's too early to charge anything. You should either charge a decent amount, or nothing at all. And your skills need more improvement before you can charge for your commissions, most people would probably just pass you over regardless of the price. Not only do you need a portfolio of work but it has to be equivalent in quality to your professional competitors.

A professional would probably calculate their rates on how long it takes them to complete the pic. If a sprite takes you an hour to do, then you would charge $20 for it if you were getting paid $20 an hour salary, and so on.

[Rozume]

I honestly think the artist here underprice themselves way too much (I'm guilty of this too). About $15-20 for a sprite? That's practically a steal.

Here's what artist need to think about when pricing their work:
What is your process like? Did you do studies before working on the actual piece?
How many hours did you put into this? Including breaks?
How much did equipment and software cost?
How many years of training did you have, if any?
Cost of living?
Etc, etc.

I was thinking of setting up commissions in the summer and charging 60$USD for a thighs up sprite. It's a bit much, but that's because I spend 8+ hours on my sprites doing studies, sketching, inking, and painting. orz I not anyone would buy from me because my art's at a sort of awkward intermediate stage, but I have a unique style. So I'm just doing free work to get exposure and stuff. c:

Wow that was rambly. xD Anyway to the OP's original question. Like the others said, it's way too early but if you keep practicing/doing studies you'll get to a point where you'll be able to charge for your work. ^^

[MaiMai]

Along with practices and studies, if you're going to offer anything up for sale at all, make sure you have more than one example of your work. People generally don't pay for art when you barely have any proof that you actually draw at all.

[Taleweaver]

Moved to Personal Art, because frankly, this is strictly about OP's art.

[VNQuality]

Author, your approach will not work.
You can specify any price for the sprite, but no one will buy it. The point is not about how much you appreciate your work, and in that concerning all around the aforesaid not worth anything.
Teach human anatomy and a couple of years, forget about the anime style. To break a rule you should know it.