Sign In
Close
A Word About Underpricing (Please Read) by IndiWolf
I'm going to write a journal about this because it's massively been bugging me.
Everywhere, especially on this site I see people advertising 'cheap' commissions, now to me cheap means bad quality. I'm sorry but it does. So I have no idea why so many artists charge the bare minimum.. or less..
Ok I do, it's because they are trying to break into the business but geez.. lately I've been seeing people charge just 50p for art.. WTF?!
That is a terrible way to portray talent!
No wonder I've had some commissioners complain about the price of my art when the norm is as cheap as they come.
Just yesterday I had a guy ask me if I could beat another artists price of $10.. 10$! Seriously for 2 characters!
That's just £6 for at the very least 4 hours of work.. That wouldn't even buy me dinner and a drink these days, I have more respect for myself than that.
I've even had someone note me here saying that all artists who charge for their art are horrible, greedy people. They are stuck up because all art should be free, art isn't worth anything!
Well try saying that to all of artists in the world, without them you would have no films, no posters, no music, no literature.. They all come from very talented people, gifted at their crafts.
Artists, photographers, musicians, writers, actors, sculptors.. The world would be a very dull place without them.
I know there are some people who think, why are you complaining? Those prices are great!
Well think of it this way.. I have studied for 4 years in art, I'm currently on my 5th. That is qualified as a professional artist, I don't really count myself as one but I'm still learning.
A professional earns more than minimum wage with is £6 an hour in England.
Now my prices are still at minimum wage which is low but I am trying to build up myself as an artist.
I used to charge less, I did that a lot until I thought up my latest price sheet which is fair.
I am guilty of doing 11+ hours of work for just £20
That is £1.80 an hour
No one would work for that! but I did and it really sucks, I felt so bad that no one was commissioning me that I lowered my prices to that.
Do Not Do it!
I've learned from my mistakes and I've improved and I hate seeing other people do that to themselves.
if your prices aren't at least worth minimum wage in your country then please don't go any lower!
Those people who do charge less end up lowering the marketing standard.
That benefits no one!
..and tbh, when I raised my prices I had an influx in interest because no one wants to buy cheap products, you wouldn't buy a Monet for £1. You'd think something was wrong with it, rather like people don't buy street art for that reason, people have a natural mentality for desiring things of worth. I mean if it's cheap it could be stolen or fake right?
What I'm trying to say is
Please guys, if you have any respect for art, then please support your favorite artists at their craft.
and to fellow artists..
Please respect yourself and don't lower yourself to less than minimum.
There are a couple of links written by other artists who explain this much better than me. But it has really upset me to see people do this and to even be called greedy to charge anything for the 4+ years of study I have had in order to get to this current standard.
Please check them out.
http://eskiworks.tumblr.com/post/24598694135
http://vesner.deviantart.com/journal/A-small-talk-about-pricing-your-art-406958041
Another example of how artists work that was just pointed out to me.. and it's all too true.
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/11202502/
~Indi
Journal Information
- Views:
- 337
- Comments:
- 11
- Favorites:
- 3
- Rating:
- General
Comments
-
-
Thank you, I know more artists are thinking it so we need to change <3
-
-
I agree. Technically if anything even "expensive" furry artists still charge the bare minimum to what "real world" professional artists would charge for something probably half as good. Also it is pretty bad when you see someone who is amazing charge disturbingly low prices.
-
I know, it can be off putting as well because you want to give them more than what they charge but you don't want to offend them totally British way of thinking lol
-
-
Definitely agree, and I can relate, though I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination.
But I've had people complain at me for wanting to sell my honey for £7.50 a jar when they can get it for like £2-3 in Tesco. Seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that this is high-quality (at least I think so) honey produced as part of a cottage industry, and that I don't have the economies of scale that companies like Tesco do and probably make just about minimum wage per jar, all things considered; 1hr per hive per week from April to the end of July (that's £100 worth of minimum wage per hive), and it usually takes 5-6 hours total to extract, filter, and jar the honey from each hive in August, with an average of 20-30 jars worth of honey per hive (an average of £187.50 revenue per hive). And then knock off £2.50 per jar for the jar itself and label, I end up making £125 per hive. Now deduct around £30 per hive for winter feed, veterinary treatment for varroa (parasites), and other miscellaneous costs, and I'm actually making, on average, just under minimum wage for a highly skilled craft that produces a high quality product.
Granted, it's also my hobby. But it's still an insult to the work, effort, and skill I put into it when people tell me I'm overpricing the product.
Sorry for the rant, just thought I'd relate a similar experience. :P
-
Unfortunately there are always people out for a bargain or stuff on the cheap who take no consideration into the skills and effort put into said item. Also that sounds pretty fun, Xolani xP
-
It is indeed a craft and you work hard at it and do well, it's all about marketing to find you the right buyers because they are indeed out there :)
Your in the same position as many artists my friend, luckily in this day and age marketing is 10x easier. Just gotta hunt those clients down lol
-
-
I don't think everyone feels the same way about how much art should cost. If the artist wishes to work for low proces because he needs the cash quickly, or simply because he feels a picture isn't worth as much as a car payment, then that seems to be his/her prerogative. It's too bad that it is cutting into your business, but then again if someone wants to pay only 10$ for a light piece of work, then they are coming to the wring place, if they are coming to you, am I right? That's all you need to say.
Complaining a bout artists prices for selfish reasons does no one any good, certainly not you. My mate charges very little for good work, I think, and does so for the reasons I listed above. I see nothing wrong with that. Perhaps you, too, should lower your prices for certain levels of work. I sometimes wonder if artists don't over estimate the worth and quality of their artwork as well. None of you are exactly on the level of da vinci.... i think rich connoisseurs set the bar for art work in general, but you and many furry artists are trying to cater to a social class much lower on the social ladder. 500 dollars for a picture is absurd but not even unheard of. 100 dollars for something done Photoshop is also absurd. I can understand if you have gone to school for so long and hoped your nice shiny art degree would carry you through life... but if that is what you want then maybe you should try marketing to some more wealthy people?
People with lots of money will always be looking to spend it, people without it will be looking elsewhere. And your fans will always pamper you. Try not to get your wants mixed up with the way life really works
-
No, lol. I'm talking about extreme pricing, this has nothing to do with me as I am perfectly happy with where I am right now but a lot of my friends and other artists are charging very little because they don['t feel they will get any work at all, and charging £1/£2 for a 3 hour piece isn't very right tbh but that is what people are expecting of them.
If I have a sale or I want to draw something in particular then I will charge a little less but I will try and keep it to a decent minimum. I'm not sure why people are thinking I'm referring this to myself, guess I've worded it wrong or something.
-
-
Do you watch Stephen Silver on You Tube? He was a character designer on Kim Possible and he's made several videos on this very topic.
-
I do not but I should probably look him up ^^
-
Link
Naira
Definitely agree. Well said!