I was thinking about my last journal, where I asked why everyone and their cat wanted to sell commissions so badly. I recieved some really insightful answers.
I also had a lot of people asking me
"How much should I charge for my work?"I'll add a Disclaimer right here in front, as for whatever reason, something always offends
someone 
. So I'll start off by saying, this is just my personal journal, and I'm just one person who has some experience with this. I'm not making a judgment on who should sell what, just writing some things I have personally learned along the way.
Well that's out of the way
So most artists starting off go through a period of confusion on how to price work. They get a lot of suggestions, or theories from well-meaning people such as:
"Artists always undervalue themselves. Don't charge less than minimum wage per hour"This is true, and I agree. However, unfortunately, art is very difficult to solidly place into a normal work frame. Because art is not created equal. My 6 year old nephew can take 2 hours on a drawing at the kitchen table using every crayon in the box, but no one ( except me
) would pay $20 for it.
People are paying for a lot of things when they buy art. They are shopping around on a Site with tons of artists, and competition is fierce. You are competing with many talent levels, and at the same time, competing with people who will sell a drawing for 5 cents
.
It's like trying to sell your services in some crazy post-apocalyptic trading post, where there are no rules and sometimes, no sense to anything.
So when I started off selling art, this is what I went through. I'm not sure it will help, but here it is anyways:
1.
You must ascertain how much demand there is for your work. One way to do this is by creating a user Poll. If you don't have a premium membership, I might suggest trying to get one, even if for a short time, to have access to these tools. If you seriously want to sell artwork, $5 as an investment might be wise.
You can create a poll with something as simple as
"Active Watchers?". Because watchers are important when you want to sell art. If no one knows you exist, than it's like setting up a lemonade stand in a tool shed behind your parents pool. No one will know you exist. If you create this poll, and not very many people are actively watching you, then you have to take some time to either
1.
Work on your skill. No one likes to hear this, but it's reality. Reality sucks sometimes
or
2.
Work on your marketing. Perhaps your art skill is good enough to sell art, it's just that you need more exposure. This means spending your time in the trenches, interacting with other artists. Posting in Thumbshare forums, starting your OWN threads for sharing work, joining and being active in Groups and on the forums, participating in user-run or Site-run contests (ones that have decent exposure) etc etc. As for the contests, it's ok if you don't win. You will still get a feature of your piece for it. Be careful of contests that are mis-managed. If the contest seems sloppy and unclear, chances are it might be a waste of your time, and the person is more interested in free art than running a successful contest for everyone involved.
Be objective.
After this, you can make a new Poll:
"Should I take commissions?"You will get a LOT of kind watchers who will say you should, but are not interested in actually buying. It's just the way the world works, and just appreciate that they are supportive. However, you also might get people who say "
I'd love to get a commission from you, can I send you a note?". That's a positive sign
.
If you just cannot have polls, it's ok. You can try and ask all these things in your Journal as a Plan B. So after all this, beware:
There will always be people who want something for nothing. 
This is where it gets tricky. You, as an artist are not sure how to price your work, and when you're starting out, you will most likely be bombarded by people who want things for free, for trade, or for a handful of M&M's and a shiny bottlecap they found behind their Gramma's washing machine.
If you're feeling peckish and love the taste of second hand chocolate that has fingerprints on it, then by all means. Go for it. However, if you really wanted to make some actual money or points, you have to politely tell these people
"No, thank you.", and move on.
Then ignore the whining. Remember, this is the internet. There are ALL types of crazy people. Most will accept the decline no problem, but some might beg or try to make you feel bad for not giving in.
But onto pricing.
Most artists start off underpricing their work. I certainly did. But it's part of a process for a lot of people. First, what do you want to work for? Money or DA points?
If you're ok with DA points, remember the
DA points / Cash ratio .
80 points = $1 USD.
300 points is NOT $300. It is $3.75.
You can check out how much a certain value is here:
So start at a certain price that you think is fair for your skill and time, and open up a small amount of slots. You can get an idea for a starting price by observing artists around you who are successfully taking commissions. What are they charging? Are they thesame type of artist as you? ( pixel artist, chibi artist, semi-realist, etc etc). Are you on their skill level? Not quite? Price accordingly.
You can advertise your open slots in your journal, on other social media accounts, on the forums, Such as Job Services forum.
forum.deviantart.com/jobs/serv…Then wait.
Wait a week or two. Even more. Things don't happen overnight. If nothing happens, and no one is interested, then:
1. Reconsider your skill vs pricing. Consider adjusting one of these things. Either take a break, and work on your skill level, or lower your prices.
If you think that your skill is up there, and that you want something that is fair, then try to advertise more. But in the end, if no one is biting after a long period of time, it always boils down to the same thing.
Skill ( or if you have what people want), Pricing.
If you want second opinions or help with your pricing, there is a great Guide to that here:
forum.deviantart.com/art/gener… It is chock full of great advice and resources to help you figure things out.
Also, bear in mind the
Deviantart Job Offers Forum . I actually started off looking in there when I was curious if people would be interested in buying my work once upon a time. In this sub-forum, people looking for artists post what they need, and you can apply and state you are interested and post thumbnails or gallery links to your stuff. It might be a good stepping stone to commissions, and give you an idea if potential buyers are interested in what you can do.
Job Offers Forum:
forum.deviantart.com/jobs/offe…If you get your slots filled up very quickly, and you seem to have a big demand for your work, than this is the time when you should consider
increasing your prices. People might complain, but we are artists, and just because it's creative, doesn't mean it isn't
work. It doesn't mean you aren't spending hours creating something for someone else. We are providing a
service. Raising prices due to high demand is just business and it's necessary.
It's good to increase them slowly, in stable increments rather than doubling the price over night.
Remember Deviantart isn't the only Site out there. If you want to sell art, you also have to look at your style, and subject matter. For example, what if your speciality is anthropomorphic animals? Well DA might not have the highest demand for that, and a web site like Fur Affinity is a great place to generate interest.
You have to look at the market and see where you fit in.
Asking me, or other random artists what they think you should charge isn't always accurate. Art is very subjective, and everyone has an opinion on it. You really have to ask and read your audience, and prepare yourself to go through a process of
trial and error to figure a lot of things out.
This is just my own insight. If you disagree, or have something to add that is helpful, by all means leave a comment. Lots of people might read what you write and find it valuable
Godspeed my friends.
