Pricing & Ethics

I generally assume that people charge what they can get away with. That depends not only on talent, but business skill, areas of expertise, and whether they depend on their art for a living.

I have real problems with pricing my artwork because I'm not well known, do not have a collection of regular buyers, do not enjoy a broad market for my style which would generate comparable prices, and thus I do not have an established quote range.

As a result, I feel most comfortable, and most ethical, pricing pragmatically, i.e. by calculating cost to produce the work and marking up a percentage for profit. The result of that is that my prices come in fairly low, because my materials costs and overhead are relatively low.

However, I do feel that my best work is worth more. In other words, I feel like I should be able to give myself a bigger profit margin, but I need to find the right market for it, and that is where I have been failing.

So ethically, I feel like I'm pricing at least fairly and so that I will not loose money on my work. But professionally, I feel like I'm under-paying myself.

ETA: Note, I am not a graphic artist, but a good part of my work is narrative and illustrative. It is my hope in future to offer licensable images, and I think it will be much easier to price licensed images and freelance work-for-hire because there are guidelines. I think a big problem with art pricing is that a lot of fine artists need to think more like commercial artists, while a lot of novice commercial artists think like fine artists, and do not bring that kind of professionalism to their pricing.

... artists have to make a living like everyone else. And if they overcharge it's not so terrible, even if it isn't entirely ethical. Who doesn't overcharge for services these days? You go into a store to buy a pair of pants or a shirt and the prices are outrageous compared to the actual cost it takes companies to produce the goods. Consumers are fairly informed too thanks to the internet in part. If an artist is charging a lot more than their services are worth they're probably just going to dismiss them as charlatans and seek elsewhere. The only one to lose out will be the artist in the long run, unless they're really good. As in other fields, artists at the top of their game can basically call the shots and run things their way. Must be nice

With art, as with writing, you simply have too offer more or better than the hobbyists and dilettantes who give it away free or cheap

I'm a student. And I need to build a portfolio. I don't do digital painting, but I'd say my skills are in the medium - low section. But I couldn't get away with charging that much, simply because I don't have much in my portfolio -- or a professional website to host it on.

People already think art should be free, or as cheap as it can possibly be. While I'd like to not foster that attitude, there's not much I can do to actually get a name out there if I was charging top dollar.