Commissions

I am currently open to taking art commissions. When you hire me for an art commission what you will receive is an illustrator who not only acts in a professional manner but also has the ability to get behind an art project. As a professional, I do my best to communicate well with my clients, to work in a timely manner and to keep my clients informed on the progress of their project. Getting behind a project means understanding what your project is about, what you envisioned and to enhance this with my own creativity to create what you need.

Rates

    I give my clients the choice of being charged either a flat rate or an hourly rate which both has its advantages and disadvantages. The proceeding below is how each different payment plan works so that you may make an informed decision.

Flat Rate: (generally varies from $50 to $400 per illustration)

With all my clients, I begin to ask an assortment of questions about their project and their art needs. By asking these questions I am better able to understand both the big picture as well as the needed details. Once I have gathered enough information I am more likely to get behind a project and it also helps me determine what to charge. Various factors have an influence on the price of a commission such as degrees of difficulty, detail and complexity of composition.

Once I have quoted a price I send my clients a digital contract/invoice. In this invoice/contract it details the project details, the price, payment plans and legal notes. As part of all my payment plans I require an up front good faith payment of at least 1/3 of the agreed upon price or 50 dollars whichever is greater. Once a client has sent this initial payment this seals the contract and work begins.

As work begins, the client is kept informed and has more say-so in the creative process in a flat rate commission but is helped guided by my expertise. After first payment is made I begin by sketching a variety of thumbnail sketches that brainstorms possible direction for the commission. These thumbnails are rough and are with little detail so their general purpose is for things like overall composition of a piece that include things like focal placement, poses, and content. The client then chooses which of these thumbnails which is the most appealing to them and from this I work on the main sketch. This sketch is more refined than the thumbnails and gives a better idea of where the illustration is going. Once the client approves of the refined sketch a second payment of 1/3 of the agreed upon price is required.

After the second payment is made, a rough painting is done that focuses on form, value and color. This is a rough painting but it holds more detail than the sketch and gives a good indication of the final result. At the finish of the rough painting the client must either approve of the direction of the commission or request any changes, but once it is approved the client must make the final payment and then I finish the painting to completion.

After this final stage of the process the client is sent a low resolution image file of the painting which is subject to final approval. During this final approval process the client may either approve or request minor changes, however any major changes require an additional payment. Upon final approval the client then receives a high resolution file of the work and it is free for them to use as described in the contract/invoice.

In summary, a flat rate allows the client more control over the outcome of the art they need, generally has a higher quality, but because of the approval process the turn around time for a completed piece of art is dependent on the client’s response time and lastly the final price can be higher than my hourly rate. This payment rate is ideal for clients who require high quality and very specific art.


Hourly Rate: ($15 an hour)

The advantage and disadvantage of choosing my hourly payment plan is that the client has more control on how many hours I put into the commission, but the client has little control over the final outcome of the commission. With an hourly rate I do what is called Quick paintings which have the same approach of speed paintings. A speed painting is where a digital artist jumps right into a painting and completes it in a very short time; usually this is done in between 30 minutes to 2 hours. What I call a quick painting is very similar in approach to a speed painting but more time is invested depending on what the client is willing to invest. Like with my flat rate plan I ask an assortment of questions first so that I can get a good idea of what a client needs, but once work begins the client must trust in my ability to produce something worthwhile.

Unlike with the flat payment rate, I require full payment up front, for I do a quick painting from start to finish generally in one sitting and so I expect to be paid for my time and service. Once payment is made I begin work as soon as I am able to start it, but once work begins it is finished within a very short time which is of course dependent on if I am at home to work on it, the queue of other clients and the time for me to consider and visualize the direction to go with a painting. The turn around time for the hourly rate is fast and a client can reasonably expect on average the painting to be done either that same day or by the following day. Quick paintings are rougher and have a less refined feel than paintings done with the flat rate, but if client wishes they can make additional payments for further refinement of what they originally paid for.

In summary, the hourly rate allows for very quick work to be done and allows a client to manage how much they spend if they are on a budget, however they have less control over the final out come of the painting and the quality is often less refined. This rate is ideal for people who need art fast and art that is simple in composition and detail, however if they want more complex illustrations then the flat rate is suggested.