I thought as an experiment I'd try offering a few commissions for sale in my web shop. To quote myself:
A piece of original artwork! Of WHATEVER YOU LIKE! Yes, if you've always wanted to own a picture of Batman punching out a Robot Shark, now is the time! Doesn't have to be that, it could be Deadpool playing tennis with Johnny Alpha. Or Lois Lane sharing a pizza with Captain Picard and a vampire rabbit. I'm happy to draw pretty much anything, is what I'm saying.Single character A4 drawings and multiple-character A3 drawings available! We'll see how it goes, if lots of people want one I'll probably withdraw the offer rather quickly. BUY NOW for your chance to own your very own piece of Artwork By Me of something Awesome / Stupid / Awesomely Stupid, as you prefer.
UPDATED: due to demand / popular opinion / me coming to my senses, I've now put the prices up a bit: £25 for an A4 drawing, £45 for A3. STILL A BARGAIN.
£15? Are you mad? You should be selling signed prints for £15, not original art. I'd swear at this point but I know you have young readers these days so consider big loud swears punctuating this comment.
ReplyDelete£30-40 minimum. More once they start picking up. I mean, postage alone is going to come to £2-3.
The most dispiriting thing was buying a singed A3 print by a cartoonist for £5 which was posted in a cardboard tube. His profit must have been a quid, if that. Pointless.
Sorry, this sort of undervaluing of work by comics types really bugs me. Just because it was good enough for the 1940s Jewish guys doesn't mean it's the law.
Don't hold it in, Pete. Tell me what you think.
ReplyDeleteYou feedback is very much appreciated, genuinely. Like I say, I thought I'd try this as an experiment, and so those prices are just a starting point, to see if anyone'd be interested / willing to pay. As a new venture and without knowing what other artists charge, this seemed about right for a cartoonist of my level of international obscurity.
(This isn't false modesty - I do know I actually have some fans these days, and they are hugely enthusiastic, awesome and - I think - growing in numbers. Unfortunately they also tend to be about 9 years old, and not have paypal accounts. I guess the lesson here is that if I can stick at this for another 20 years or so, I'mma get PAAAIIIID.)
But yeah, I think you're right, and will probably be upping the prices to a slightly more realistic level very soon. If anyone knows what other artists charge for this sort of thing, that would be very helpful.
Neill - send me your email address: pjholden -at- gmail dot com. I have some thoughts.
ReplyDelete-pj
I have to say, my first thought when seeing your post was "how nice, but I'd never be able to afford a commission from Neill". Then I saw the prices and thought "woah, that's way too cheap" - even as I hit order! So, it's fab that I can afford something I am seriously happy with, and that I didn't think I could afford.. but, like others have said, you could (should?) be charging quite a bit more.
ReplyDeleteThank you though - as you know, I am beyond thrilled with my piece!
I was in a well grumpy mood yesterday but even in the morning of puppies and flowers I still stand by this. I guess it's because I've always thought cartoonists are magicians with pens and that shouldn't be undervalued.
ReplyDeleteSo yay for higher prices!
Makes sense to me - a very reasonable price for a commission. I'm just deciding what I actually want... so many possibilities.
ReplyDelete