Artists: You NEED to Raise Your Prices! (Commission Pricing & Inflation) || SPEEDPAINT + COMMENTARY

[@InmateOmighty]

Me paying deep attention to the video knowing damn well I’m never even gonna sell my art 😂

[@infiniteX3]

For me, it's the opposite cause I get paranoid of the fact people may say my prices are not worth it ☹️😞

[@stolkeyna]

Or knowing damn well that nobosy would care enough to buy it

[@Gamingpandacat]

preach

[@knotforsail]

​@@stolkeyna as a struggling fresh grad,, this is me rn 😮‍💨😮‍💨 I hope for the best for everyone in the future though!

[@Scalvenger]

I live in California and was literally JUST talking to a friend about DECREASING my prices. The amount of people who tell me “Well….I could just make it with AI. Why do I need to pay YOU?” Is STAGGERING. Not to mention that if we go based off minimum wage and taxes in my state, the LOWEST I’d charge for one of my pieces given the time commitment is around $35-$45. Whereas someone over in the Philippines could charge $15 and manage to turn a profit with the valuation in their economy.

[@4tarobyte]

not to mention the “high” ~$15 minimum wage still isn’t a living wage in California it’s really discouraging and unsustainable. but I hope things get better for all of us soon!!

[@Mrhellslayerz]

Anybody who tells you that you're easily replaceable by AI isn't gonna be a good client in the first place. Bullet dodged.

[@DoubleGoner]

Yet another way ai has harmed the market :/

[@vvitch-mist20]

"So you're telling me you don't appreciate my time, talent, or energy enough to pay me to make something for you, on top of thinking anything an AI produces will be better than what I can do???" This is not a friend lol.

[@Dragmiredraws]

See, I like this nuance you added, I always hear “Raise your prices” and that’s the end of the sentence. And the problem I’ve always had with that is that it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You could say, “It devalues MY art,” but I’m not paying your bills, and if I’m run destitute, you’re not gonna pitch in to pay mine, and I wouldn’t expect them to. At the end of the day, I need to get MY bag to pay MY bills. Another point of frustration always was that the artist giving this advice were artists so big that they haven’t actually taken a commission in YEARS because they have such a large and active fanbase, they can’t take commissions lest they get overwhelmed by the number of requests and they actually would lose money doing so. This is not the person to take commission advice from. Circling back to the “nothing exists in a vacuum” point, the demographics of people looking up on how to price their commissions are usually going to be late teens-early 20s, probably still living at home or trying to make a little extra scratch on the side, they’re also probably in the start of their artistic journey, meaning they most likely don’t have a set style nor very strong work ethic, probably introverted and have social anxiety. When you tell someone who’s drawing stick figures and takes upwards of 5hours just to finish a basic pose sketch charging 20$+ an hour, its a recipe for disaster, ghosting, and an Artist Beware post. That’s one of the reasons I’m such a strong advocate for start by charging low, minimum 25 for a full render, maximum 75. Because at the end of the day, the people who say your prices are too [anything] weren’t going to commission you to begin with

[@vvitch-mist20]

I don't agree with your overwhelmed example because artists who are popular have slots, now maybe they don't realize they can do slots, but I'm on Tumblr and pretty much everyone had like a slots system. Some people don't, but it's all based on workload. Like you make a good point, but this example isn't the best.

[@TawnyCodeCat]

Dear artists, maybe I'm an exception, but I don't choose who to commission based on price. I commission artists who 1) I want to support, who 2) make a specific kind of art I'm looking for, 3) to serve a specific purpose. If someone's charging way too little, it makes it seem like they wouldn't take the commission seriously. I also don't really want to ask someone to work for an impossibly small amount of money, since it would feel gross. Best of luck to y'all in finding your communities of support!

[@FernzyFernz]

The reason why my commission is cheap is bc my purpose doing commission is for learning new things (and robux), i take commission as my hobby to bring people joy and greeting more artists

[@arwynna.4715]

I've had commissions open for a month with headshots at $20 and I haven't gotten a single commission, and I've gotten several people saying my prices are expensive. I'm also a very skilled artist, like I'm studying art in college and I've been drawing seriously for 8 years. I think you're right that we've collectively gotta raise our prices, I'm just shocked that people genuinely think $20 for a headshot is expensive.

[@dario9042]

i charge between $400 to $900 per drawing. Because of how long it takes to finish each drawing its not really a huge amount of money at the end of each month and that's living in a third world country where services are about 30% cheaper than the US. 400 to 900 is the same as 250 to 600 in 2019 but a lot of clients don't realize how much their currency has devalued. Some of my peers have similar pricing structures, just as i most of them do live in "cheaper countries" where is just enough money as to make a decent living

[@neyuse]

"some artists only raise their prices when they feel they have improve enough so the feel justified to do so" hit like a bullet I have an okay following but not many commissioners and my prices are 3 digits already so it really takes a lot from me to raise them when I know everyone is having a rough moment... Tho it's true that I need to take more than I can handle usually to reach minimum wage in my country... maybe extra 20/30 won't hurt much...

[@Suketchi_S]

holy shit the art in the bg is amazing! watching you render it was so satisfying, the lighting looks great!

[@stonefailz]

the art in this one is amazing oh my hell

[@jademonass2954]

20$ for a full body is an insane profit for me, for example its quite literally 50 times the minimum wage in my country (comparing the int$ per hour) i dont care if its "cheap" for people in developed countries, what matters is how much that money is to me

[@FiddlyTurtleArts]

I'm thinking about opening commissions for the first time and this video is really helpful. I've been researching about the financial aspects of art a lot recently and another thing I find very confusing is how much to charge for sponsorships. There aren't many videos about that and it'd be a great help if you could share your experience and expertise regarding that aspect.

[@potatopotayto8332]

commenting so this gets more engagement! very good and interesting suggestion! i also opened commissions recently, and just got my first client. it can be very intimidating, but from what i know, commissioners are mostly very nice. good luck to you

[@4tarobyte]

20:45 thank you for explaining about marketing things in a more practical-to-the-buyer way! I’ve been struggling with how to make art *I want to make* that’s still *practical*, since I can’t really justify frivolous buys, myself. but since my spoons vastly limit my drawing time, keeping my hours sustainable without burning out is especially important to me and it makes figuring out rates based on the “minimum wage + X% trade skill markup” formula I’d heard of pretty hard. still a work in progress!

[@Wallish-q3n]

Love the art it’s so cool that I can physically see you improving- you‘ve inspired me to work at improving my own art. The video was great and very eloquent, as always, and you made great points.

[@MonsterMasterFightingLucario]

I have a feeling that my Splatoon designs being prototypes for future designs will turn out well one day, commission or no commission.

[@niicespiice]

i saw a video of someone saying "nobody's going to pay a random nobody $35 for an icon" 😐 i literally take 6 hours on icons at the moment, i haven't got any paid commissions yet but my base price is £45 because that'sstill below minimum wage (minimum wage is £11 per hour in UK i think)

[@meredithweston46399]

It's a difficult issue with no one size fits all solution. As an artist who also commissions people though, I will add if prices are "too low" (subjective and multifaceted evaluation obviously) I will probably avoid commissioning that person. I feel uncomfortable underpaying people.. and unless they have a really solid portfolio or rep (any work, not just commission) I also want be sure the low price isn't just because they're using ai lol. Nearly got scammed on a commission from someone very clearly doing ai draw over/tracing 😭

[@4tarobyte]

I’ve commed friends before and just tipped extra to make up for their abysmal pricing 😭

[@diageesen4468]

AAAA thank uuuuuuu! i've been needing to redo my coms and I needed this kick to go do it!

[@ObscureMeats]

I find that with my prices low, people tend to buy in bulk ☆

[@Nanominyo]

I live in a country with 42% tax. My commissions may look like they cost double as much as rest of the market But by the end of the day i eatn exactly the same as everybody else Taxes...

[@ZealothiaArt]

Hiii, insight from Within the vtubing community: 2D model art is getting RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. Expensive, not overpriced. What I'm saying is: a lot of non artist vtubers that can't make their own models and aren't made of money are struggling to find mid-quality, reasonably priced models. Everyone and their mom is trying to become a vtuber maker simply because they're insanely detailed and long projects, that you can price for a fair, expensive amount. It's really rare to find a "cheap" vtuber model, and they're usually smaller (chibi or niche like "your amogus sona") and much more limited. I'm begging you, If you're gonna offer full on vtuber models with all the bells and whistles..... offer also a simpler option. Simpler shading, less toggles, maybe just halfbody, etc etc. and price it reasonably! Plenty of new and old vtubers just do not update their models ever bc the models they spent hundreds of dollars a couple years back are now costing thousands upon thousands of dollars. 3k + USD. It's unreasonable! And what happens if you need to delay your service, for such an expensive piece of art? Not only that, your client may have big goals but they also might know they will stream to their 10 friends on twitch, they're not the next ironmouse, they're going into vtubing as a hobby!! They do not have content creation as a career, so they know this model might never pay for itself. So match the model's quality and intricacy level to the price.

[@traditur_]

I price my comms high because it's only a one-time purchase that won't keep being bought over and over again.

[@tofuneito]

if $20 for a full color headshot isn't enough for you, you'd be flabbergasted to see how i price my commissions 😭😭 (i don't have a big audience to up my prices)

[@cerysimebeest6333]

you can have a small audience and still have higher prices. i dont have a big audience and still manage to get higher priced commissions, its mostly marketing , and seeking out clients

[@Beregar79]

You touched this already but as someone who comissions stuff I can say inflation is hitting me too. I do not have as much disposable income as I had a few years ago so I have to be really careful where to put it and art *is* a luxury product, so definitely among the first things that get the cut. Especially since I'm really picky about the art I commission. I mean if the art is close to what I can do already myself (which is stick figures) I have hardly incentive to pay money for it. I'd rather pool what would normally go to multiple commissions into one "higher quality" one, but even so there's a limit to how much I can pay. Paying $100-200 is pretty much most I can dish out on something as frivolous as art and that's at most a few times a year. Now that a lot of my favorite artists have increased prices by 50-100% I can no longer justify commissioning from them. No matter how good the art is. Not when my own disposable income is down. This is especially true when I can with a little effort find for example Asian artists who do commissions of equal quality for the "normal price" because for them it's still (hopefully) good money. Even with potential price increases they still often fall within payable range. I also consider other factors like how easy it is to work with an artist. Some artists have really overinflated egos. I regularly see comments like "I am a good artist why aren't people commissioning from me!?" which is often a "do not approach" sign. Bonus points if you think being art school trained makes you somehow the greatest artist ever. Add complications like mental health issues and other stuff that can result into the artist not delivering, or just being really difficult to work with, and I don't feel like I can splurge a lot of money on what essentially counts as a promise from a stranger. I might be okay for my favorite artists raising prices (provided they stay within payable range) but I'm not as keen on trying new ones if their prices are high. Then there are plenty of artists who demand full control over the original piece, so not only they are making money from me, but also from potential resale of the piece. Now that I'm pretty much fine with but the stricter the terms, the more it devalues the piece. One artist's terms stipulated that if you wanted to post the piece anywhere you would always need to ask their permission. Yeah no, I'm not going to ask you if I can post the piece I paid good money for on Discord or social media. If you want to charge a lot, we need to start talking about loosening those terms. The thing with artists and prices is that there's a lot of supply and not so much demand, and since it's often digital art, you are not limited to specific region. Once art becomes so unprofitable artists can't make a living out of it, it should mean the number of artists will decline until it becomes profitable again. Personally I suspect it becomes even more of a side hustle than it's now. I mean it's still a luxury good and far from essential. If I have to pick between a plumber to fix my leaking pipes and a piece of art... you can guess which one I priorize.

[@Vagabondwitchh]

Raising prices is a complicated topic. I open commissions from time to time and i don't sell a lot. In fact, i sell poorly and i would still sell poorly even if i charged a 100 for my art. The second thing is that the amount i charge is something i'm willing to take for that kind of work. It's a colored sketch, for example, simple shading and a color fill background. I would not sell a full illustration for that price. At the current state i'm going to raise my prices a little because of the currency conversion and payment fees. I have commissioned artists, those who you consider under charging, because that's all i could afford. Even then i chose those whose art style i love, i would not commission someone on a low price alone. People, if you feel like an artist is under charging, you can always tip. People love to complain, yet no one tips. Charging art based on a minimum wage is a bad idea imo. The amount of time you spend on an artwork is dependent on your skills. The quality and money ratio isn't balanced. Charge what feels acceptable. Sorry if this comment feels like it's written by a toddler. I have covid💅

[@waterworks_yes]

hey you! yes you! i see you scrolling the comments instead of drawing! you better get up and stretch - do those rsi exercises, stretch your back, go get a glass of water!! and most importantly, take care

[@PeriluneStar]

Omg you caught me lol- thanks for the reminder haha

[@remiaamop2120]

New Celestia! Yay.

[@derpkipper]

I would love to see that video about passive income on art! Looking forward to it if u make it

[@GothicPhantomZero]

I've heard this from friends and family in the past. At the time I had no clue how to price art and I just mimicked what I saw online that people were selling. The more I did commissions the more I started to understand the prices and how to reflect how long it takes me to complete a piece based on an hourly wage. Where I live...it's about $10 to $11 an hour (more based on experience). So, for a basic headshot with lines, color, no shadow/hightlight, takes me about an hour, I charge $10 for them. I figure that's quite fair. I understand the need to keep prices reasonable. But the fact it takes 5 hours to do one headshot and you charge $30 sounds a bit expensive. Yeah sure that's about what...$6 an hour. Which when you think about that way, it is a very cheap price. But no one is going to think like that. They are only going to see the finished price. And if I charge that they'll instantly turn away. I don't know, maybe my thinking is different or I just don't know to much about the commission business yet. I struggle so much to just get ONE commission...and I wish with all my heart I could get more because not having money is so extremely stressful!

[@stolkeyna]

The neon gravestones referenvce on the drawing tho I'm literally shaking rn😭😭😭😭

[@ying1296]

I think this is only applicable for people who have a certain threshold of level in art skills and business/intercommunication skills

[@JakeFrost-e6w]

As an artist, I've been wanting to up my prices for awhile since I've gotten better at my art, but the issue is, I don't get many commissions even at my prices being below 100$. What's worse, a lot of my friends have shown interest in comming me, but can't afford it. It's a difficult position to be in since I don't get enough work as is, but the value of my work has gone up. Art is hard...

[@kenziiixxx3628]

It’s so hard getting coms without already having a big following or people who already like your art. I had been posting videos on KZbin for 3 years and only got to 90 subs. I’m going to restart with a different approach, new channel, and show the artist (me) instead of oc story’s that didn’t get much recognition. I hope all goes well if not I’ll just get debt from college and do a career that has nothing to do with art since the economy is absolutely in shambles.

[@Elentaya]

Love the artwork looks sooo cool

[@babypeachblossom9437]

Can’t raise my prices if no one commissions me in the first place. :’)

[@TheobaldLeonhart]

Random tangent, but the Doritos tangent, and the fact I was eating a back of chips (not Doritos), made me think of this Where I live, we have to pay a deposit on things like water, pop, I think coffee whiteners, etc. Which, we didn't before So the 24 case of water, that used to cost me around $4-$5 (Canadian), costs me around $7-$8 Which sure, may not really seem like a lot. But I'm not just buying the water. I'm also buying stuff like shampoo It's also more annoying, because my only income, is disability. Not because I'm lazy/don't want to work. I really do, I just can't right now, because of my social anxiety and autism ... Bringing it back, to the topic of the video. While I don't commission anyone. If I did, I'd pick someone with cheaper prices. Not because I don't think they should charge more for their work. But because that's all I can really afford And, I know that's not helping the situation. And I'm in no way, trying to tell people to charge less for their money (although, also listening the price, in at least Canadian dollars, would be nice). I'm just trying to say "this is all I can really afford"

[@digitaoru]

I just can't... No one buys my art in the first place so what's the point lol

[@kazuna_Endi]

I only earn €30 a month from my patreon, i rarely get a commission Also i have traditional art as a job but my traditional art also isn't getting sold I'm dead 💀

[@AdorableFennec]

CELESTIA!

[@StrangeStartrackerArt]

I'd settle for actually receiving commissions in general.

[@ToastyGhost2]

I love this mindset, but... I feel like most non-artists will simply see AI and run to that if the price of art is raised at all :( its quite sad but that is what I see happening frequently.

[@jucey]

I litteraly got out of commisions because the price was to low to bother competing

[@Lostforstories]

I mean Roblox taxes go hard, 70% of it

[@vvitch-mist20]

I'm not an artist but from what I've seen, everyone should raise their prices by 1.5x-2x like for real for real.

[@NerbPrincess]

I saw someone's crochet scarf at a gift shop that promotes local artists being sold for 30 dollars. It kinda broke my heart a lil because even if they got the yarn for free, that scarf took more than 2 hours to make for sure and you should always charge yourself AT LEAST 15 dollars an hour for your work with stuff like that!

[@jademonass2954]

15$ an hour is 7 times my minimum wage it just depends on who you ask

[@SQWEKERZ]

Holy moly your food is expensive!

[@disaster4550]

reminder that not everyone is american, and 15$ for a salad is insaneeee 😭

[@JuanLucasM]

Man... Im about to open comissions for _two dollars_... I kinda dont think i have enought quality or reach to sell anything too expensive. +, converting to my local currency, its decent

[@derpkipper]

10:29 Sorry not sorry, but if anyone actually thinks that then they very clearly have not had to deal with living out on their own a day in their life. Aka most of them probably are too young to have had to do that yet. :v aka aka, they're kids who haven't been thrusted out there into the world yet on their own. 😅 which is fine. But it also means that opinion is uneducated lol In other words they either very very young and/or rather privileged

[@Hatsune-Miku_Fan]

My reasoning cuz usd → my country's money is huge inflation

[@sugarzblossom8168]

For some reason my comments keep getting deleted

[@sugarzblossom8168]

😢

[@Gimmie_my_legoz]

My headshot price is $8 :D 😭😭😭😭

[@aniflowers1998]

I'm a casual artist. When I make prices, I look at it from the perspectove of the CONSUMER and the ARTIST. Becouse I'm to "stingy" to pay more than 20€ for a comission, which is why I never oder big, full rendered pieces with background. So if I'm to stringy, why should I expect that MY customers are willing to pay more? I price my stuff based on what I would be willing to pay. (And material coasts, logically xD )

[@Cyemari]

I will keep my prices as they are because that's what I want for my clients and I know they feel lucky enough to have amazing art work that is somewhat affordable. I don't want to price myself out to my real fans. Telling people to raise their prices sounds like your own personal problem.

[@Takeawayjustin]

1 view but 3 likes Tf happened here

[@nathangarcia3535]

Jesus loves you :)

[@river-song3817]

Mhh idk as an artist i think it should be free i mean i don't charge and if the only way you're making money is commissions then get a job

[@river-song3817]

Also if anyone does try to say anything about my pfp pleaseeee it was like 5 years agooo lmao , ngl people go crazy on the internet and no one can be sensible and mature it's insanee

[@reomai9576]

Why should it be free?! >.>

[@purplepedantry]

So, your labour is worth nothing? You can choose what you like, but please take a look at your art, the journey you took, and the person making it, then ask if you think all of that is worth naught.

[@atlas4732]

What If some people aren’t able to work a traditional job, like an ill or disabled person? Some people have to go the route of making a living from their creative talents, that’s the only option for some people, and they deserve a fair profit that comes from their labour. If that works for you, okay sure, but that doesn’t work for majority of artists.

[@river-song3817]

Eh well i don't charge people especially since there's ai everywhere these days i literally don't care at the end of the day i just like drawing for free so yeah feel however you want my opinion will remain my own :3