TheVirtualInstructor Blog

Pricing your artwork can be tricky business.  You want to quote a price that makes all the hard work that you put into your artwork worth it, yet you want to name a price that will result in a sale.  Although there are art collectors out there that will pay loads of money for artwork, the reality is most people aren’t art collectors.  So how do you price your artwork?  Well, here are some suggestions…

First, determine what kind of artist are you.  Are you creating artwork to exhibit in a gallery with hopes of a sale, or are looking for commission work?  Or are you an illustrator or designer, whose work will be reproduced?

Galleries- Galleries make money off of your artwork.  They take a percentage of the price of the artwork, sometimes as high as 50%.  Therefore, you should consider this when you price your artwork for a gallery.  If, for example, you want to make $300 on a work of artwork and the gallery demands a 50% commission, you should price the artwork at $600.  You then need to ask yourself, “Will this artwork sell for $600?”.  If the answer is “no”, you may need to lower your take home expectations, change galleries, or look into other options.   Some artists are turned off by the idea of a gallery, because of the commissions they have to pay;  but galleries can help an artist gain respect, find buyers, and expose an artist to region.

Commissions- Once an artist has gained some notoriety they may be able to create artwork on a commission basis.  In this case, a buyer may approach the artist about creating a specific artwork for purchase.  In this case the artist may give the buyer an estimate of the final price.  The artist may require that a portion of the agreed price be paid in advance of the completion of the commission.   Upon the completion of the artwork, the remainder of the balance is paid.

Illustrations- Art that is sold in order to be reproduced could be considered illustration.  Illustration work could be handled as a commission or the artist may require the rights of the work to be purchased.  Because illustration work  can be complicated, a contract is often involved.  Most illustration work is considered freelance, where an artist will create one work for a specific project.  If your artwork falls under this category, it would be best to arrange a contractual agreement between yourself and the buyer to ensure a mutually beneficial arrangement.

So how much do you charge?  Well, that question can only be answered by you.  For myself, I like to consider the amount of hours put into a project.  I decide how much an hour of my work is worth.  Right now, I would consider my rate a bargain.  I charge $35 a hour for commission work.  That means if an artwork will take me 10 hours, I should expect $350 for the art.  Most of the work I complete is created on a commission basis.  Therefore, I don’t have to worry about a gallery taking a cut.  I give the buyer an estimate and then stick to it.  In other words, if I estimate that a work will take me 5 hours and charge $175.  The final price will be $175, even if it ends up taking me longer.  I feel like this is the right thing to do.  When  I am creating illustrations, I work on a contractual agreement and this varies from project to project.  However, I still consider my time and what it is worth to me when drawing up these contracts.

Bottom line is that you should charge what you think is fair.  Some artists charge too much and seldom make a sale, others charge too low and are overworked and underpaid.  The key lies in finding the happy medium.

Not many people realize that Plato presented philosophies on everything, including art.  Although Plato, himself, was not a visual artist, we stand to learn a bit from him when it comes to composition.  Composition in visual art, to many people, is the hardest part of crafting a successful work of art.  Many artists, especially new ones, tend to view composition as a “trial and error” endeavor.  This is the wrong way to approach composition.  Creating good composition is almost a scientific process, complete with “rules” that will help you be successful.  The first “rule” that we are exploring comes from an unexpected source- Plato.  One of Plato’s students asked of him, “What makes a good composition?”  Plato’s answer was quite interesting.  Plato responded by saying, ” Find the variety within the unity”.  This statement is quite enlightening.  What Plato is saying is that we must have both variety and unity in our artworks, but they must work together. Too much variety leads to a lack of unity.  Too much unity leads to a lack of variety.  So where’s the balance.  That’s where the artist comes in.  To learn more about Plato’s Rule in composition and to see the video demonstration click here-> Composition in Art Part 1- Plato’s Rule

Creating an Art portfolio for college entrance or for a job is an important step for any emerging artist.  It is important for artists to create a well crafted portfolio of artwork in order to effectively communicate the potential of the student or possible future employee.  Portfolios these days can come in a variety of forms.  Some publishers and firms will still accept tear sheets  (or a single page printed with several small illustrations) of artwork.  Others require the artist to leave the portfolio for review.  These types of paper portfolios have become a portfolio work in itself.  Be creative with how you present your portfolio to a potential employer-within reason.  You want to stand out from the other creative professionals that may be vying for the job.  Consider creating a “leave behind” that you can leave with the potential employer.  This will help them  remember you.  It could be a postcard or tear sheet, or something more creative.  You are after a creative job, so be creative and original.

Portfolios don’t have to be on paper.  In fact many artists are making digital portfolios.  I help my students build portfolios for college and all of them are digital.  It is very easy to snap some pictures of artwork with a high quality digital camera.  Be sure that you use natural light.  You should then edit the images on the computer using a program like Adobe Photoshop.  Crop the images cleanly and then adjust the brightness and contrast to match what the artwork looks like in reality.  You may take a digital portfolio a step further by creating an interactive portfolio in Adobe Flash.  (Find out to Make a Portfolio in Flash with Free Flash Lessons.) This allows the viewer to interact with your artwork and gives you another opportunity to be creative and stand out from the rest.  Burn your work to a CD.

Websites are a great way to showcase your artwork.   You can create your own or hire someone to make one for you.  Many free hosting packages are available out there.  There are also programs that feature templates that you can use to create your own website.  Keep your website portfolio professional.  Avoid putting personal pictures and the like on your website.  Be aware of download times, so that your portfolio is easily accessible to everyone.

Many students ask me about the order of the artwork inside of a portfolio.  My answer is to lay all of your artwork out on a table.  Narrow your work down to 10-12 of your very best, most outstanding artwork.  If there are any works that you are not totally sure of, leave them out.  Evaluate your artwork.  Your best work,  in my opinion,  should be the first work in your portfolio.  A first impression is important in your portfolio.  Your second-best artwork should be the last work in your portfolio.  End your portfolio with a bang.

Remember that your portfolio is a reflection of who you are as an artist.  It should be clean, creative, and well organized.  It should highlight your artwork clearly and send a positive message about you to that potential employer or that college evaluator.

Drawing is defined as the action of making marks on any surface with any mark-making material.  Anyone can make marks on a surface.  Therefore, anyone can draw.  Can you write your name? If the answer is yes, then you can draw.  Okay, okay some of us can draw better than others.  Why is that?  Is it because of some magical thing called talent?  No way!  Becoming skilled at drawing demands just a few steps and some things coming together. Anyone that wants to draw well needs to have desire, pick up a little instruction, spend TIME in practice,  and then more time in practice.  I decided to put together a list of quick tips on drawing so that you can see results in your drawing immediately.  This list of tips is not everything you need to know about drawing.  this list is purely just some tips that I have picked up along the way that have helped me in my drawing.

To see the list click here-> 10 Quick Drawing Tips