How do you set a fair price for your digital illustration projects?

Keep in mind you might be underselling yourself. Your art may be worth more than what you're charging. And some clients won't hire an artist who undersells themselves. It may also help to find an agent to help you with finding work and pricing. One great resource to try out is Lemonade Illustration Agency. You'll need to send in an application to them and see if they accept you, but it's a good starting place.

As an artist, your unique style, vision, and experience are the cornerstones of your value. While it's essential to research the market, your pricing should reflect what sets you apart. For instance, when I worked on "Oliver's Marvelous Harvest Adventure," I focused not just on delivering illustrations, but on creating a personalized, educational experience for children. I had to consider how my distinct watercolor 2D style and the educational theme added value beyond standard illustration services.

I would add that keeping your expenses and spending down helps a ton. It gives you wiggle room. Plus, when you do start making steady money, you can live the same way and save the extra.

It's important to factor in all overheads, like software, time, and research, along with the complexity of the work. When budgeting for my children's book, I accounted for the time spent refining character consistency and backgrounds. For example, Oliver’s character and the cozy fall theme took additional time to ensure accuracy and emotional appeal.

I always estimate on a project-basis. Charging by the hour can be a slippery slope where a client might start asking for you to track hours. Charging by the project let's you be more profitable if you are fast and efficient or conversely, spend more time on a project without having the awkward situation of asking the client for more money.

Depends on the project. For small projects, setting a predetermined amount per final deliverable, I find the easiest. For medium to large projects, I prefer to negotiate an overall project price that includes a set number of customer edits, as well as a price per edit after that. For extremely entailed, time consuming or ongoing projects, I prefer an hourly rate. I find the best advice is to always discuss everything in detail with the customer ahead of time, including their expectations on timeframe and price as well as my abilities and experience.

I prefer to set the rates based on the complexity of each deliverable. The more complex or detailed it is, the more priced it will be. That way it becomes easier for the clients to see why your prices are the way they are and can make negotiations easier too.

I prefer project-based pricing over hourly rates. This allows me to accommodate a set number of revisions and prevents the challenges of hourly tracking. It also offers flexibility to dive deeper into the project’s creative aspects without worrying about time constraints. For example, while creating illustrations for my book, charging per project allowed me to iterate without compromising on quality.

This is very important as it protects both you and the client. You should also nail down in the terms what rights to the work that the client is buying. Other important things to consider would be what market the art is for. For instance, advertising use would cost more than say editorial use.

Contracts are essential. I ensure that scope, timeline, and revision limits are clearly defined to avoid scope creep. In the case of my own book, outlining a maximum number of revisions kept the process smooth and maintained client trust.

A well-curated portfolio, testimonials, and a clear explanation of how your illustrations impact the client's goals can go a long way. For my children’s book, I emphasized the educational benefits and narrative elements, which aligned with the parents’ expectations of both entertainment and learning.

Everything is negotiable. If the potential client is not willing to work with you on cost or usage rights, be prepared to walk away.