Guides

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/][size=4][color=#737373]Intro[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201316][size=3][color=#737373]Shop Types[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201317][size=3][color=#737373]Guideline Prices[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201318][size=3][color=#737373]FAQ/Things to Think About[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201320][size=3][color=#737373]Helpful Links[/url][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aJtGhfy.png[/img][/center] [center][color=#35140b] Having a hard time pricing your art? Are you not sure how to go about it? As an artist myself, I understand how hard it is to value your art; perhaps you price on the high end and then fear you won’t get customers, or perhaps you value your art low when in reality people are willing to pay higher. With each influx of new members, it saddens to me see people underpricing themselves to ridiculous lengths. This simple yet informational guide will hopefully change your negative perspective on pricing! [/center] [color=#35140b][size=2][NOTE: I need to update the spreadsheets as of July] I am making a spreadsheet of average prices of the current date [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15jjQ9-IP61VoepNS3az3ZVrXN6dgSCwKGygzz6UuqD0/edit#gid=0]HERE[/url]. Silly/MS paint, pixel and chibi art are not included here. I will update these as needed. As of the moment, there isn’t much in the way of some art (such as half-body art) and so there isn’t much data to provide accurate results, so keep this in mind. In addition, it contains artists of all skill levels right now. With every update, the most recent art shops will be added. After much digging around, it’s clear that lineart is one of the least offered art out there.[/size] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aITOYXz.png[/img][/center] [b]Feel free to ping me/PM if you wish me to give you an opinion on art prices/shops, or if you simply wish to talk about this guide and such![/b] [color=#35140b] [columns] [u]Updates[/u] [nextcol] [color=#35140b] 11/04/16 - Released guide 12/04/16 - Fixed placeholder figures/sentences 15/04/16 - Added Helpful Links | Cleaned up & expanded on areas 21/04/16 - Minor changes (header, added graphics) 23/04/16 - Added [b]Adoptables[/b], minor changes in sentences 24/04/16 - Minor changes 27/04/16 - Even more graphics and added content! 02/05/16 - Added content, replaced linkback graphics 27/05/16 - Added [b]Graphics & Writing[/b] section under [b]Misc. Art[/b]. 18/06/16 - Updated gem prices. Need to update the spreadsheet links. [/columns] [color=#35140b][size=1]Goals: WRITING AND GRAPHICS expansion[/size] [size=4][color=red]PLEASE READ: This guide's pricing is outdated as it was written in 2016 and the spreadsheet is not updated either. The rest still applies, however! I may write a newer guide or revamp this one day.[/size] [/color] [size=2] Note: This guide is inspired by an [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/art/1060170/1]older art pricing guide[/url] by Yeti in 2014[/size]

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/][size=3][color=#737373]Intro[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201316][size=4][color=#737373]Shop Types[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201317][size=3][color=#737373]Guideline Prices[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201318][size=3][color=#737373]FAQ/Things to Think About[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201320][size=3][color=#737373]Helpful Links[/url][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/rbM2r8r.png[/img][/center] [b] [center][[color=#35140b]What kind of shop do I want?][/center][/b] [color=#35140b] Before pricing individually, you’ll need to decide what kind of shop you want and you can go from there. There’s a few ways you can go about this and it’s entirely up to you! You could open a: -Fixed priced shop -Pay What You Want (PWYW) shop -Grab Bag -Joint art shop -Mix of the above [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][b][u]Fixed price:[/u][/b] These are the most popular, and it’s the one I suggest to use. It ensures you will always get the rightful amount for your work and it ensures people won’t be put off by getting rejected for offering too low (for instance, there was an artist who painted for hours in a PWYW shop, but someone offered 40k. That is without a doubt too low and the artist chose to decline the offer). It’s consistent, familiar, and of course popular with artists and customers alike because of its straightforwardness. [b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]PWYW:[/u][/b] These are shops where people offer a price for your art. You don’t have to name any prices at all, but you’ll post examples of your work. People will make all sorts of offers and they can vary greatly. Please understand you can still decline offers if they are too high/too hard for you to draw; please write that you will do this in your art shop. For instance, you could write: [quote]NOTE: I have the right to decline any order I find difficult, or if I find the offer price too low.[/quote] [color=#35140b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][b][u]Grab Bag[/u][/b] These are uncommon, but the gist of it is that artists show examples of their work, usually ranging from sketches to coloured lineart, and for a fixed price a person can buy one from you. What’s different here is that when someone orders, they can get ANY of what you’ve shown! It’s entirely up to you to decide what they’ll get (maybe lineart, maybe a sketch, it’s your choice) because ultimately that’s what grab bags are. It works both ways though, so make sure you’re not consistently giving out e.g sketches one after the other; it’s not fair otherwise. [b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]Joint[/u][/b] Like the above, these are uncommon but some people have combined forces and opened art shops together! Usually the customer pings the artist they want out of the pair (or more if there’s more than two artists) and then everything works like a normal shop. The different artists will most likely have different prices. If you do decide this option, keep in mind that it’s a shared shop and don’t get discouraged if you’re not messaged as much as the other artist(s). [b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]Mix of the above[/u][/b] You may want a combination of the above. For instance, a PWYW join-art shop, and the other artist with your join shop wants to do fixed prices. Or maybe you want your shop to be mostly fixed prices, but you also want PWYW sketches. That’s fine too, just remember what’s been said about each individually.

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/][size=3][color=#737373]Intro[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201316][size=3][color=#737373]Shop Types[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201317][size=4][color=#737373]Guideline Prices[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201318][size=3][color=#737373]FAQ/Things to Think About[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201320][size=3][color=#737373]Helpful Links[/url][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/QftdmHW.png[/img][/center] [color=#35140b] [size=2]See[url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15jjQ9-IP61VoepNS3az3ZVrXN6dgSCwKGygzz6UuqD0/edit#gid=0] here for the spreadsheet[/url] I’m making on average art prices] The prices here vary, and there are not enough thus yet to get accurate figures, and serve as a ROUGH guideline for pricing. Keep in mind quality, time and effort as always and subtract/add when needed. [/size] [center][b][size=4][color=#35140b]What people are offering VS fair pricing[/size][/b] [/center] [color=#35140b]The prices people tend to offer are lower than recommended in Art Sales. Even those who are lesser experienced can make the mistake of pricing theirs too low. Because of this, people have looked at these shops and created low prices for their art too; it’s similar to a domino effect. For this reason, I will put two guidelines here: The first guideline is for starting artists to work off of. It is NOT recommended for those who have experience. The second guideline is a fair one that’s based off minimum wage. The prices stated here are [b]the lowest[/b] I’d price them. For more skilled artists I definitely do not recommend these lowest prices as not only are they not in parallel to the minimum wage, they are not representative of the quality of work. So, what is the point of these prices? As I said, they're low for a reason: as a base for a [u]starting[/u] artist to work off of. And they're closer to what average artists are offering at the moment. ----- [center][b][size=4][color=#35140b]Low/average Prices[/size][/b][/center] ----- [center][color=#35140b][u]Sketch Prices:[/u] Headshot: 50,000+ Halfbody: 70,000+ Fullbody: 100,00+ [u] Coloured Lined Prices:[/u] Headshot: 150,000 Halfbody: 170,000 Fullbody: 200,000[/center] ----- [center][b][size=4][color=#35140b]Fair/min wage Prices[/size][/b] [/center] ----- [center][color=#35140b][u]Fair Sketch Prices[/u] Headshot: 200,000~ Halfbody: 250,000~ Fullbody: 300,000~ [u] Fair Coloured Lined Prices:[/u] Headshot: 500,000~ Halfbody: 550,000~ Fullbody: 600,000~[/center] [color=#35140b]These prices are guidelines for more advanced artists. Please note still that art can range from hastily drawn yet wonderful pieces to time-consuming masterpieces. [color=red]Therefore these prices are not set[/color], and as I said earlier and keep saying, you need to take into account the[b] quality[/b] of the work as well as the[b] time it takes[/b] which includes complexity. For example: I would not expect an intricately drawn sketch to be below 600,000. In addition, expect fully-rendered art to be on the high end of pricing due to its quality and time-consuming nature. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aITOYXz.png[/img][/center] [center][color=#35140b][b][size=4]General Advice[/size][/center][/b] [color=#35140b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/WBBUZoE.png[/img]Keep in mind the treasure/gem/USD/etc ratio. If you are working on a piece for an hour, that’s an hour’s work and ideally you don’t want to charge less than the minimum wage amount. Here’s a quick guide: 1 Gem: 825 treasure (this varies up to 900 & it's your choice what your ratio is in your shop. Originally at the time I wrote this guide it was around 650.) 100 Gems = 1$/£1 (see below for pounds) If your minimum wage is 9/USD per hour, then for one hour you could get: 900 Gems, or 742,500 treasure. It’s nice to round up the price though to something more appealing such as 750,000. Since I use £, all I do is use a currency converter and then round up the price if needs be. As always, keep in mind quality and time when pricing (have I hammered this in your head yet?)! [img]http://i.imgur.com/WBBUZoE.png[/img][b]What people are willing to pay:[/b] It's interesting to note you can post examples of your work in the [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc]Creative Corner[/url] and ask people what they want to pay for them. You may find that people [color=red]will pay more than what you originally thought[/color]. Usually this is the case! [img]http://i.imgur.com/WBBUZoE.png[/img][color=#35140b][b]As a rule of thumb, it’s better to price your art higher than lower.[/b] If it’s too high then you can lower the prices. However if it’s lower it requires slightly more work. I’ve seen artists put in awkward positions where they realised their art was worth more, and so raised prices and had to notify everybody. Although in my experience price raises are usually received positively by customers, it’s more beneficial to do the former. [img]http://i.imgur.com/WBBUZoE.png[/img][b]Dragons vs Human art:[/b] It's entirely optional, but you might want to consider pricing your human art differently to your dragon art (if offering both). Dragons tend to cost more due to genes, complexity, colours etc. [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/aITOYXz.png[/img][/center] [u][center][b]Misc. Art Pricing[/b][/center][/u] [color=#35140b] Of course, these are what’s usually offered, but sometimes people may want to offer something different. In my spreadsheet I did not include “Lineless art” in its own category; this is because, for simplicity’s sake, the art prices I used were from “Lineless art” that had lines, but then either the artist coloured them or erased them. It’s good to note lineless art tends to cost more than lined art. [columns] [color=#35140b][b][u]Pixel art[/u][/b] Take into account the above, but also think about the size of your pixel art. As pixel art tends to be smaller and less detailed than a standard art piece, they tend to sell for less. Price accordingly to the amount of effort and time put into it and the quality. [nextcol][b] [color=#35140b][u]Silly, MS Paint or scrappy doodles[/u][/b] [color=#35140b]These include any hastily drawn not-to-be-taken-seriously art. They’re drawn quickly and sell for less respectfully. They normally range from 2k-20k. [/columns] [u][center][b]Additional costs:[/b][/center][/u] [color=#35140b] When drawing dragons especially, it might be a nice idea to think about extra costs. Some people adorn their dragons in beautiful, yet annoyingly hard-to-draw clothing which you may want to charge extra for as it’s extra work. When people do this they tend to charge extra on: [LIST] [*][color=#35140b]Genes[/color] [*][color=#35140b]Designs (gijinka for example)[/color] [*][color=#35140b]Apparel[/color] [*][color=#35140b]Skins/accents[/color] [/LIST] [color=#35140b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]Genes/apparel:[/u] Crystal is notoriously gene that’s stated as an additional cost. It’s harder to draw/paint and thus artists tend to charge more for it. However as a rule of thumb, artists tend to make it simple by having fixed prices. For instance: Base cost: (Here is whatever they order, headshot etc) Genes: +5k each Apparel +10k each [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]Designs:[/u] Perhaps you want to design gijinkas or an OC. When you do this, YOU are creating this character and its design. You have a baseline given by the customer, but ultimately you are creating it. This, of course, rightfully costs more than having to draw a predesigned gijinka/OC, and it’s usually quite a fair bit. Depending on your skills, it could anywhere from +40k to 100k+. [img]http://i.imgur.com/N7FWvWG.png[/img][u]Skins/accents[/u] Skins and accents can vary greatly from being a little detailed to being very complicated. For this reason alone you might want to list a price for dragons with a skin/accent. You can have a fixed price or a changing price which is judged by yourself for each individual order. Depending on the complexity it could go from +10,000 to + 40,000. [u][center][b]Writing[/b][/center][/u] [color=#35140b]You may want to open up a lore shop and write bios for a person. There's no limit on what you can offer; I've seen someone selling little OC stories too. You can price per line (500 - 1k+) and/or set it up with a set price for a set amount of writing/paragraphs examples like so: [center] Short bio [example] Medium bio [example] Long bio [example] [/center] [u][center][b]Graphics[/b][/center][/u] [color=#35140b]These normally consist of breeding cards, bio graphics headers etc. It's up to you what you offer. Breeding cards normally go for 20k-30k. Icons are small and the price matches this (5-15k). Any larger graphics, like the breeding cards, go for higher. Again, 20k+ is the average, and for larger graphics 30k is ideal (this is without any additional costs such as animation, which could go for +5k to +15k for a complicated animation). [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/FLVy9ja.png[/img][/center] [color=#35140b] The adoptables forum is an entirely different forum to Art Sales, but ultimately its function is the same. Adoptables can range anywhere from detailed to basic and it’s up to you to decide what works best for you. Please refer to the General Advice earlier as it still applies here. [u][center][b][color=#35140b]Prices[/b][/center][/u] [color=#35140b]You will have a base from which you will work from; this base will also have a fixed price. Usually bases go from 40,000 (average price offered) to 150,000+. Things to take into account when pricing is the size of the base, the quality you’re offering and how much detail you’re providing (for example, shadows and highlights). Since you're pricing genes, accents etc too, remember that the price will all add together, which means you can choose whether to weigh your pricing in the base itself or the genes/skins/apparel. What I mean by this is you could have the option of a low-price base, but the genes would cost more than average which makes up for the base. However, I'd choose to go for the former and have the base carry most of the weight of the overall price. If you’re drawing dragons, you’ll need to list the genes you’re able to do as well as their prices. Some genes like basic may not need a price as they’re flat colours, so decide whether you want to charge or not for genes like basic. [b][color=#35140b]Genes[/b] [color=#35140b]The first thing you need to think about is [i]what genes can I draw?[/i] If you have a hard time with e.g. Crystal, it might be best to leave it out entirely OR price it higher than the other genes you have available. You might want to lay it out like this: ------ [center][color=#35140b][img]http://i.imgur.com/s1EUTFn.png[/img] Base price: 40,000 Each gene not included in the base: +5,000 For each individual apparel: +10,000 (optional) Specific genes: Crystal, Facet, Hypnotic +20,000 Can/Can't draw: List here Repeat for the next adoptable/dragon breed.[/center] ------- [b][color=#35140b]Apparel[/b] [color=#35140b]Like in the Art Sales forums, people may adorn their dragons in beautiful yet annoyingly time-consuming and detailed apparel! You may choose not to draw apparel at all which is always an option in Adoptables. If you do choose, make it clear what you can and won’t draw. Since it’s not part of the base and you’re drawing it, you can add accordingly. You can choose to list specific clothing too if you like; I’ve seen a few shops do this. Apparel can range from +5,000 (say, scarves, hats) to 30,000+ depending on the complexity. [b] [color=#35140b]Accents & Skins[/b] [color=#35140b]These can vary from being simple to more intricate. You can have a fixed price but write in your shop that these may vary depending, or you can have a fixed price that doesn’t change. For base price (+)25,000+ is good for general accents and (+)35,000+ is good for general skins. [color=#35140b][b]Non-dragon art[/b] It's uncommon, but adoptables don't have to be FR dragons. They can be humans, ocs, or animals - anything really. The prices will be similiar to dragon adoptables, though you may want to increase the base price as you won't need to add pricing for genes and skins/accents. If you choose to do this the principles are still the same that: [LIST] [*] [color=#35140b]You have a base and a base price [*] [color=#35140b]You state pricing for additional clothing and/or details (for animals this could be markings) [/LIST]

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/][size=3][color=#737373]Intro[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201316][size=3][color=#737373]Shop Types[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201317][size=3][color=#737373]Guideline Prices[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201318][size=4][color=#737373]FAQ/Things to Think About[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201320][size=3][color=#737373]Helpful Links[/url][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/q33Z3Xp.png[/img][/center] [size=4][center]Things to Think About/FAQ[/center][/size] [color=#35140b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/hZSeOzB.png[/img] Apart from the self-explanatory answer, it’s VERY important not to underprice your art as it affects other artists as well! Others will see yours and it may appear to them that you are getting customers due to low prices. This can affect even more people and the average price will eventually go down which we don’t want to happen. Non-artists may see this too and write to people asking for them to price their art and tell them to price it lower than it’s worth. [img]http://i.imgur.com/NOvpsNB.png[/img] Short answer: No, it does not. Some artists have different flairs on how they draw things. So it will affect some people as they will have preferences (maybe someone prefers anime art over painted semi-realistic art) but apart from personal preferences, it changes little else. [img]http://i.imgur.com/MUwHXeq.png[/img] Chances are, you’re heavily underappreciating yourself. You, as an artist, will look at your work and go “But it’s not as good as X” or “I need improving!” Stating the obvious here, but of course you’ll want to improve (even the most experienced ones still have goals). Look at your work and how much time you put into it; look at your consistency and anatomy. Even if someone has completely different styles, you can tell a more advanced artist by anatomy, and how well they understand it (this applies to even caricatures. [url=http://istebrak.com/]Check out this amazing artist to see what I mean[/url]). Look at other artists in the Art Sales forums. Get friends or fellow artists if you’re still not sure. At the end of the day, art is indeed subjective, but talent is something that’s recognisable. Like I said earlier, you’re probably not putting as much faith in your art as you should be. [img]http://i.imgur.com/R3B3NJM.png[/img] YES! Without a shadow of a doubt, state rules saying you want a link back to your shop if it’s posted anywhere and/or put your signature/mark on your work. It gets your name out there, and it could attract more people. [b]Note:[/b] Adding your ID (found on your profile page) to your artwork acts as both a watermark (relative to this site) and it ensures if you change your username that you can still be found. [img]http://i.imgur.com/kAVwQZB.png[/img] As many as you can handle. The majority of artists choose 3, which is a good number as it doesn’t overwhelm you. However it does vary depending on what you’re drawing, so take into account how much time you have when thinking about slots. [img]http://i.imgur.com/47386Sd.png[/img] Don’t be. Even extremely skilled artists have had their shop not get any interest in the first few days/week. [color=red]Bump your shop before lowering your prices! [/color]There’s no downside to it. It’s also worthy to note that if you have friends with other shops/threads, if they can advertise your shop it’s likely to greatly improve the amount of interest you get. Remember that the Art Sales forum moves fast, and that you can bump when needed. I've noticed a trend where once an artist gets their first customer, it starts rolling and more people are attracted.

[center][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/][size=3][color=#737373]Intro[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201316][size=3][color=#737373]Shop Types[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201317][size=3][color=#737373]Guideline Prices[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201318][size=3][color=#737373]FAQ/Things to Think About[/url] | [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655/#19201320][size=4][color=#737373]Helpful Links[/url][/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/SPQsSl4.png[/img][/center] [center] [/center] [LIST] [*][color=#737373][url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1740159]Making an Art Shop by Foff[/url] [*][color=#737373][url=http://www.illustrationweb.com/styles]Illustration Web - Inspiration for different styles & techniques[/url] [/LIST]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/ItG76p0.png[/img] In the off-chance that you want to spread the word, here are some linkbacks. 1.[url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655][img]http://i.imgur.com/fR603XG.png[/img][/url] [quote] [url= Remove this space http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655] [img] Remove this space http://i.imgur.com/fR603XG.png[/img] [/url] [/quote] 2. [url= http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655] [img]http://i.imgur.com/NzJDAp3.png[/img][/url] [quote] [url= Remove this space http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/gde/1821655] [img] Remove this space http://i.imgur.com/NzJDAp3.png[/img][/url] [/quote]

@DemiFiend

Nice guide! Seems pretty thorough. I opened an art shop a few days ago, but so far havent got any customers. Are my prices too high maybe? If you wouldnt mind taking a peek I'd really appreciate it :)

Art Shop

@Dendariis

Thanks! Just looking to finalise it!

I've been updating my spreadsheet everyday (the one linked here is a static copy of it and doesn't update) and noticed that art shops go pretty fast down the forums. I noticed you missed a day where you didn't bump. It's not important to bump everyday per se, but people don't bother as much going past the first two pages; remember you can bump then delete the bump afterwards to stop it from looking messy!
Your prices are pretty solid, actually, and seem a bit low. The problem lies more in getting your first person. Since you're only doing WCs, it does minimize the pool of people. It's only been 2 days (not counting the day your shop was bumped off the top of the forums) since you started, so I recommend waiting as it's too early as of yet~

@Demi fiend

Ah thankyou, I was kinda worried maybe my art just wasn't good enough lol.

I've actually been bumping alot and deleting but I'll keep at it, thankyou :)

@Dendariis

No worries. Your art is definitely good; it's evident you're quite skilled and you've got quite the style going on too. Since it's only WCs and not other dragons/humans etc I'd recommend to wait a bit more than usual. I also just realised you have art with a dragon you're selling! I think it may be a good idea to do that seperately, maybe even make it an auction. Dragons with art are modestly popular, but people have no way of knowing it's there right now in your art shop.