Spiral Knights - Question About Proper Pricing

Question About Proper Pricing

4 replies [Last post]

Tue, 12/03/2013 - 11:36

Lady-Aleara

Ah, this is my first time using the forums, so please bear with me here. (If I'm not supposed to post this here, I'm really, terribly sorry!) ^^;

Anyway, I have been contemplating on including the payments of Crowns and/or Energy for my commissions, but I'm not really sure what to charge. I don't have many examples to show you, but I'll provide you with what I can so that I can get some kind of idea for it.

Here are a few examples of what I offer (I'm still working on drawing "Spiral Knight style" as I like to call it, but I will update when I am able to draw it):

Line work/Color Bust Shot: http://lunascapestudios.deviantart.com/art/Tied-Together-with-a-Smile-33...
Line work/Color Half Body: http://lunascapestudios.deviantart.com/art/Onee-chan-323525195 (half body for me can be considered from the hips or waist up)
Line work/Color Full Body: http://lunascapestudios.deviantart.com/art/Lady-of-the-Moon-339853060
"All Out": http://lunascapestudios.deviantart.com/art/Art-Trade-Piece-319354432 (This means that I include a background and a tremendous amount of detail. It generally takes me at least a day or more to make these.)

Please understand that commissions are not yet open...I'm just looking for some pricing help with this. I will let you know when they are open. *nod* Thank-you so much in advance~~~ ^^

Tue, 12/03/2013 - 12:59

Midnight-Dj

Umm, impressive, these art work should sell for some where around the 800~1000 CE range. But then again, I do not comssion others to draw stuff, my prize range is only an estimate. If you want more info, you can always ask Mawashinmono and Tevokkia, two of the richest art collector in SK, they will sure pay top dollar for your work. And as for me, I will just have to make my own.

Tue, 12/03/2013 - 18:50

Lady-Aleara

@Midnight-Dj

Aw, you are so kind! Thank you for your help and compliment. If it helps, when I start practicing the Spiral Knight style, I will probably take a few requests as practice. I wouldn't mind drawing your knight for you. ^^ I will be sure to ask them when I can. Thank you so much again, this really helps. ^^

Tue, 12/03/2013 - 19:08

Tevokkia

I heard my name. XD

I like your crisp line work. :)

When pricing your work, you should think about a couple of things, including how much time you intend to put into each piece and what level of detail you wish to include. It may be useful to you to include a sliding scale (ie. lines only range 750 - 1250 energy, depending on complexity), because some things are more quickly and easily drawn than others. Someone wearing Draped Armor, a Winged helm, and a flower accessory who doesn't want weapons in the picture is going to take you much less time than someone in Heavenly Guardian Armor, a Valkyrie Helm with a flower accessory, Valkyrie wings and a parrying blade, who wants their sword and shield featured. (Trust me, I've had to draw both, and had both drawn for me).

I think the best way to price is to keep in mind that 1600 energy is right at $5, and consider how much you would be charging if you were doing these commissions for real money at your skill level. Honestly, most people who buy art with virtual currency don't pay real-world conversions, mostly because traditionally people don't ask for that. (example: my real money rate is $10-15 per hour, and if I'm doing full color, I spend 4-8 hours on a piece. At the low end of my time and rate, I would be getting around 15k energy for a piece, but I generally ask less than half that. Sato and Maf both ask 3-6k energy per piece, depending on the complexity. I understand people who want more for their work, but at prices higher than that, they usually get 2-5 customers on this forum if the right people are paying attention and have money at the time.)

Sorry if you were looking for concrete suggestions, but I generally think that an artist should price their own work using the tools that they're given; some collectors (myself included) will offer more if they feel it's too low. If you're looking for practice and volume, you'd want to go lower, and if you're looking for something closer to a fair wage, you'd want to go higher (understanding that a lot of the people here don't buy energy, or much of it, anyway). I'll probably pop in whenever you do open up for commissions ... hopefully I'll be back to having money by then (we're in a bit of a tight spot right now and can't buy energy), as I'm a few threads behind in my ordering. XD

Tue, 12/03/2013 - 19:35

Lady-Aleara

@Tevokkia

I don't mind your answer at all! It was very informative, actually, and it really helped me further understand how to properly price my work. (Thank you for the compliment as well! ^^)

By what I understand from your explanation, I think I can a little bit higher with my pricing then. I did figure out the energy equivalent of my real world prices once, but I though those were way too high, so with your explanation along with Midnight-Dj's suggestion...I think I may be able to figure something out. ^^

And I completely understand about being tight on finances. It's no worries! I probably won't have commissions open for SK for a while yet as I'm going through some stuff right now, too. *nod* But they will happen at some point. ^^

Thank-you again for your help! I will definitely take all that you have said and apply it the best that I can. ^^

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Question About Proper Pricing