A few words on artists / illustrators.
Once you have done your research on Aussie artists / illustrators, you’ll soon learn hourly rates can range from $25 to $100 (and can be higher depending on the area of specialty and artist reputation). Not many stop to think what’s involved in being an artist / illustrator. And why should you; it’s not your business. You simply want an original artwork to hang on your wall or help sell your product for the cheapest price possible. As to pricing, well you’ve probably been down to your local supermarket and seen how much a painting sells for, right! And you’ve got a pretty good gauge on how long an artwork should take – you’ve seen those performance artists whip up a finished artwork in less than five minutes. So your original artwork should only take a few hours at most, right?
As an artist / illustrator, I find that it helps to inform clients on the realities of our industry. Those artworks selling at the supermarkets usually are not originals but are mass-produced art pumped out overseas where poor artists are paid cents per hour. As to the time factor, those talented performance artists may blow our minds by finishing an artwork within minutes, but we often forget how long they have practiced behind closed doors to get that one repeated artwork perfected for their performance.
Truth is producing an original artwork for a client is a creative process that is usually time consuming. Just like you, we artists / illustrators hope to be paid a fair hourly rate. We are trades people just like plumbers and carpenters. When working out our rates we have to factor in our business expenses, administration and marketing, plus pay our taxes. Furthermore, we don’t get paid holidays, sick days or long service.
Artist / illustrators are not trying to cheat anyone. Nor are we getting rich at your expense. Usually the rates we are charging are just enough to keep the lights on and put a bit into our Super. The successful artists that I know don’t have fancy cars or yachts – they charge just enough to stay in business so they can keep working in the industry they’re passionate about.
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