The art of the quote
One of the hardest elements of being an illustrator is THE QUOTE! How much to charge? I know how much I value my time and work but it doesn’t always follow that the client will agree. If the client agrees on the fee without a blink of an eye you think “could I have got more?” Occasionally when I’ve quoted for a job the designer/account manager will let me know I’ve quoted too little and I could actually put my price up a bit. This is rare though mostly they tell you it’s too high! I think I’d prefer a straightforward system where the client just offered you a budget and then you could work out whether it was worth your while. It would take the game show element out of it where you have to guess right in order to win the job.
In a world of diminishing budgets is the fear of the client looking at the balance sheet rather than the easel destroying the future of illustration?
Illustration agent Anna Goodson’s having a go at figuring this out on her blogspace and surprisingly finds the illustrators themselves to blame.
March 31st, 2008 12:44
That’s a very good article Bren. Anna is very experienced in this area and it’s a timely reminder of the fallout of under-quoting.
Obviously she’s talking about the US market but we do, I am told, live in a global village. Think she might get sick if she heard some of the budgets we have to work with on our tiny isle.
March 31st, 2008 13:45
The point about stock is bang on the money (no pun intended). I heard Brad Holland make those same points as far back as 2001. Illustrators were handing over their rights for peanuts & promises (and a lot of those ‘mom&pop’ stock agencies knew exactly what they were doing in building up a desirable folio – eventually selling on to Getty – all the time putting themselves about as the ‘artists friend’). The crux of the matter IMHO, is a lack of business skills training for illustrators (or a lack of recognition by illustrators of how necessary those skills are). For a professional agent like Anna, that’s a mandatory part of your job description. For artists themselves, however, it is usually not a natural strength – and a difficult set of skills for rightsidebrainers to get on top of, along with all the other pressures of creative self-employment?
March 31st, 2008 15:05
I could’nt really disagree with anything Anna said..Illustrators must shoulder a lot of the blame for the situation we now find ourselves in regarding falling prices and the rise of stock as a major competitor.
If we keep offering to do work for peanuts then peanuts is all we will ever get. If the money you are being offered for a particular job doesnt allow you to at least eat on a regular basis then don’t take it on! It’s such a no brainer.. You would’nt work in Burger king for 2.50 an hour but because it’s illustration it’s ok huh? Their seems to be an unlimited supply of wannabes and amateurs willing to work for well below the minimum wage..All for the dubious pleasure of seeing their mastepiece in print.
March 31st, 2008 15:37
I think clients (esp in magazines/book industry) need to share the burden of reponsiblity too though. Most are ONLY looking at the balance sheet and not at operating good work practices, they exploit the fact its’s an unregulated field and that some illustrators aren’t in the position to refuse work. Just because someone is prepared to work for peanuts doesn’t mean you should pay them peanuts. They should have some integrity. Luckily I don’t encounter this anymore. I also think it’s important to have opportunites for “amateurs and wannabes” to allow them to become professional. Like I did