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Original poster

Would you pay for this?

41 replies

Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:03

I do art commission work but I’m getting no where. I currently charge 120 pounds for a full colour portrait of humans or pets which is cheep. But I was thinking of branching out and changing to more kids sort of things maybe ultrasounds and things for kids nursery’s. And more line drawing portraits of kids. How much would you pay for these?

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bsc · 03/04/2019 18:08

The problem is the market is saturated... and everyone thinks they should cost less than the time you've spent doing them...

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:14

@bsc yeah I agree, especially with people who arnt very good who are offering work very cheap or people who work abroad who they can work cheaper due to the currency exchange.

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Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:16

I was hoping if I simplified and dropped my prices maybe I would get more work. I’ve only had one commission this year.

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user1483387154 · 03/04/2019 18:20

sorry but no I wouldnt buy any of those. I dont like the style of any of them

bsc · 03/04/2019 18:27

Is this just a job on the side? Or is it your main income?
I've seen a some of hand-painted walls that are v beautiful recently, and wonder if you could do something like that? (Like blossom trees or Chinese lanterns on bedroom walls)

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:35

@user1483387154 what art would you consider paying for? I mostly want to do digital as it’s easier with my toddler but I can do handpainting too. Would people consider ultra sounds painted worth say 40?

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Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:36

@bsc I would be capable of doing it but my worry would the start up costs and the fact I don’t drive but maybe when I move I could create some sample walls and see where it takes me.

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Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:38

This is the sort of thing I normally do but it takes a long time.

Would you pay for this?
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Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:39

Obv unfinished

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TheShiteRunner · 03/04/2019 18:43

I love the picture of the baby with the cat, I'd pay to have a portrait done of my DC in that style. Kind of like the first one too but there's something dark about it! I think if the cheeks weren't coloured in and the background was lighter, I'd go for that one too. (looks a bit like a corpse atm! Not because of the quality of the drawing- it's excellent- but because of the colours.)

Caselgarcia · 03/04/2019 18:43

Can you do caricatures? When I was on holiday we paid for two of our kids. Cheap, quick and fun. The artist had a queue of people wanting one. Could be done at school fetes, proms etc.

sandi2019 · 03/04/2019 18:44

Gosh you're talented. I wish I could draw like this....you really are an excellent artist.

The picture of what you normally do is stunning (I guess the issue with that is that people can create such an image using their smart technology these days....I appreciate it doesn't compare to the real thing).

Love the origami looking one too. I'd likely buy that if I saw it in a little gift/craft shop somewhere.....I think it would look great as a smaller picture in a dinky frame.

Just out of interest...how much do you charge for one of those portrait ones? XX

bagpiss · 03/04/2019 18:51

Sorry op I wouldn't buy any if those. I do understand though how getting noticed in the market is difficult. Dh and I make and sell artwork (digital ) as a sideline, but he does a lot of social media work for it and we do some fairs to promote and sell too. Its still hard and we've been doing it a few years, we're only just kind of established now and making a decent amount of income from it but it's a lot of keeping up promoting- well it feels like it.

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:52

@theshiterunner ha yes I get the corpse thing I think once it’s finished it should be nicer lol I’m going to put lots of cute drawings of everything she loves, cats balloons etc I’d charge about 30-60 for one like my dc and our cat it depends on how many things are in the image and how much colouring/wether it’s one or more reference images.

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AnnieOH1 · 03/04/2019 18:52

I like the origami fox but the most I'd pay for a digital drawing would be £25 for a smaller one or maybe £45 for something larger. I'd only want a small one of the fox.

The baby with the cat though is beautiful and I would happily pay £150 maybe more if you could take a photo of our real life kids and animals and translate it into something like that as a nursery piece or if it was for a much larger piece I can imagine 4 figures happily. How many people would readily pay that though I don't know.

The first one (sorry!) looks too much like generic cartoons from YouTube for me to want for even £1. It also reminds me a little too much of that portrait from the 70's that was allegedly responsible for house fires (it wasn't it just survived a staggering number of them!)

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 18:57

@sandi2019 I normally charge between 80-120 (upwards) but it depends on lots of things like background, references and number of people. But I accept installments from 60 up.

The origami one is hand painted and is rather dinky 😊 I was hoping to sell them at a fair as I have a few of them.

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Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 19:00

@bagpiss what kind of work do you guys do? I’ve only been working digitally for 7 months so still pretty new to it. My dd isn’t a fan of letting me paint.

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Heratnumber7 · 03/04/2019 19:02

I like the red fox. I'd buy that.
How much I would pay would depend on the size, and whether or not a frame was included.

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 19:04

@AnnieOH1 that’s sweet although the one with my dd and cat is also digital with hand finishes.

Maybe if I offered my works up as mixed media? I can print on textured paper and do the finishing touches and details by hand which has a lovely effect.

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Heratnumber7 · 03/04/2019 19:04

I've just seen that they are digital. So probably wouldn't but my one, on the basis that I could probably knock up something digital myself.

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 19:08

I have few origami designs to sell and a few others as I made a lot of nursery art while I was pregnant for my daughters room.

Would you pay for this?
Would you pay for this?
Would you pay for this?
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CheerioHunter · 03/04/2019 19:09

Another vote that the fox one is really really good.

It seems so simple that it would fit in most places, yet has lots of details that show off the work that was involved.

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Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 19:10

@heratnumber7 the Fox is hand painted but after working digitally after working with traditional painting methods I’d say both are equally difficult but in different ways.

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GregoryPeckingDuck · 03/04/2019 19:11

I wouldn’t but it’s just a question of taste. I don’t like digital drawings (lack of texture) and also not really into that style. I think the real issue here is that you aren’t approaching this like a business but rather as something you like to do that you want to earn money from. If your priority is making money then you need to think of a product that people need and find a way to give it to them. If your primary goal is to keep doing this then forget about the money.

Original poster
Nameisthegame · 03/04/2019 19:13

So maybe I should do nursery and art for kids rooms? I could make it cheaper by doing half digital and have traditional but maybe avoid some of the stigma by calling it mixed media? I could make it a lot cheaper by just selling prints?

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