Things to consider when pricing:
1. How big is your client? Large corporations will pay up to four times as much as a small company for the same thing.
2. Hourly rates mean nothing. A project has a "market value". That is simply the amount that, say a trade journal, will pay for a logo and a web site. Wired magazine, a different market, will pay a lot more than that. Look in the Graphic Artists guide to Pricing and Ethics. You need to own this book. Most large bookstores and libraries have it. Get used copies at Amazon.
3. You can't expect to make a high rate starting out for two reasons:
a - you're not that fast at doing this work yet. That comes with practice.
b - you don't have rich clients yet. That comes with upselling your portfolio of commercial work (once you have one) to a richer market. Keep in mind, that you get referred in the market that you work in. It's easy to get stuck there. Eventually you will want to overkill some over your low end client projects so you have some more substantial things to show larger clients and improve the market you are working in.
4. Do research to find out what a potential client is willing to pay. Do this by developing a network of professional friends that you can share this kind of information with. Also, you can check the “Graphic Artists Guide to Pricing”.
5. Ask the client what their budget is. Assure them that you can give them something of value for that price.
6. Estimate your hours, then multiply it times 1.25. That will cover most client revisions and flakiness without having to Nickel and Dime them every time they change their mind. Big changes that cause you to go over budget have to be quoted and approved prior to execution!
7. If you can get paid by the hour, figure that you are going to only pocket half after taxes and expenses.
> Created by Bill Fischer
Animation Students Specific Pricing Advice:
The Animation Guild Minimums 2003-2006 (download)
Animation Students can use this pdf as a guideline for pricing animation for freelance.
Your prices should be in relation to the going rate.
Should I give them free art?
Would you go to the gas station and ask him to give you free gas?
Click this link to see -Harlin Edison, writer for Warner Brothers - Babalon 5 on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
