If you are an art director, designer, art buyer or a returning client please contact me directly by email or phone. You will find my email and phone number at the bottom of each page of this website. I offer free 30 minute phone consultations to all publishing professionals. If you do not have experience contracting with an illustrator, please read the rest of the page and contact me once you have gathered the material necessary to make an accurate quote.
How I Price My Illustrations
Before I can quote the price of an illustration or an illustration project I will need to have the basic information outlined below. Prices for illustrations reflect each project’s requirements and are evaluated individually. If you are contacting me to get a rough idea of how much professional illustrations should cost, I can say that a single illustration may take as little as two days or as long as a full week sometimes more.
Establishing a Base Price Estimate
The first consideration for estimating the cost of an illustration is how long will it take to complete. A complex illustration with many parts will take longer to complete than a simple image with fewer parts. I also need to know if additional time is required to research the topic, if the client hasn’t done this already. Once I know the how long I will be working on a project I can set the base price at a very reasonable hourly rate.
Gather Reference Material
In order to arrive at an accurate base price estimate I urge new clients to provide a short written description of their project including how many illustrations are needed and what each illustration will show. Gather photos, plans and/or sketches to show me what objects will be shown in the illustration. You can also provide me with images from my portfolio or another portfolio to show what style you are interested in emulating. The more information I get up front the more accurate will be the estimate. All of this reference material can be sent to me in Email.
How Will You Use the Illustration?
In addition to the base price consideration needs to be given to how the illustration will be used and who will be using it. The extent of the use of artwork can range from a one time print run to a complete buyout of the artwork. When applicable, an additional fee is assessed as a percentage and typically range from 0% to 30%. Small publishers can expect to pay less for extended usage rights than large corporations. In order to finalize an estimate I will need to know how, where and for how long you will need to use the illustration. The usage rights are one area open to negotiation.
What Happens Now?
Once I have all the information outlined above I will give you a verbal estimate. If you decide to proceed with the project and we plan a schedule an agreement will be written and signed by both parties. If you are a first time client a payment of 50% will be made to hold my schedule. Once the project is underway you can expect a rough sketch of the project for your review. If this is accepted a tight line drawing “pencil” is made showing all the objects that need to seen in the illustration. At this point the pencil is either accepted as is or revised as needed. Typically two revisions are allowed by the written agreement. Once the pencil is approved the project is taken to its final state and will be available for use by the client. An invoice is sent for the final payment.