How to Use The Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook to Price Your Illustrations
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- PRICING, PRICING, PRICING! The topic that never gets old. In Today's video I'm going to show you how I use the The Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook for Pricing and Ethical Guidelines to price an illustration in a market I'm not familiar with (licensing for home wares). We'll use an actual case study from a pricing question I received via email, and I'll show you why it's so helpful to have an outside resource to consult.
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Your videos are so informative and helpful. Thank-you so much for sharing. I too think it's so important for us to be transparent in pricing and stand up for the industry as a whole. Pricing low just because we "love our work" is not fair to us or to other illustrators. Thanks Kendyll - look forward to more of your videos.
Found an older video of yours on pricing and was delighted to find you'd made some more on it so recently! THANK YOU for sharing - breaking down the case study was helpful practice on how different terms could work together :)
Hi Kendyll! Thanks so much for this super informative video! I’d love to hear more about contracts and licensing. I’m starting to create my own contracts for illustration and would love to hear more about 3 year licenses, by outs etc. Sorry if you already have a video on that topic, I’m new to your channel and loving it!
Just ordered the book today and about to go out and collect it! So looking forward to diving into this book and learn more about pricing. Thank you for sharing your tips!
That's great! Good luck and I really hope it's helpful. :)
I just bought mine, its on the mail, on its way help me. I bought it because I heard you mention it so much, so yes they should sponsor you. jeje ;) Thank you for the video and advice!
Yay! Hope it's as helpful for you as it has been for me!🤓💞
$1000 per illustration 😅 that’s more than I’ve ever quoted. I really need to check my pricing. Going go need to get this GAG book 📖
That's really for very specific industries like mass market licensing or packaging, OR for very large, complex illustrations in the editorial space. Also, those prices could definitely be different if your client is not in the US. That being said, I am always an advocate of quoting higher, especially for women since we tend to undervalue ourselves.
@@KendyllHillegas great said for the last sentence!
Wow. I was leaning toward 2000 just for my first one for an illustration. I mean it will take over 40 hours plus getting references, coordination/consultation etc. If the price is not high enough, I would rather go back to my 9-5.
Kendyll, your channel continues to be an endlessly-helpful resource for me so thank you so so much. You mentioned a 3-year license period and inferred that was the standard- is that correct? Does that mean that in that 3 year period that that client has rights to use that art for that intended purpose as often as they like? (If there are any other pro’s here in the comments who want to chime in, I’m all ears!)
This is great advice. You always make so much sense. I have this book but feel overwhelmed when I open it….LOL. The way you explained it made it easier to digest. 👍🏼
When you advised her to charge say $1000 per illustration. Say the client wants to do a mixed fruitI design on the towels. Would that be $1000 per fruit illustration within a set of say five different fruits. So she would charge $5000 if he wanted the set of 5. Or would the 5 fruits count as a set of one illustration? Thanks in advance 😊
I bought one of these years ago and so glad that I have it in my shelf. I have the 14th edition and I was comparing that page to the one in your 15th edition, and the information looks pretty similar. Do you recommend buying every edition? Or maybe every other one? I know there's a 16th edition slated to be released on May 2021. I appreciate how informative all of your videos are. :-)
i was wondering the same, i found some used copies of older editions but im not sure how much the info has changed with each edition?
Thank u soooo much i didn't know this book existed...should i change prices base on my countries exchange rate which $1US dollar is $ 2 Barbados
That's a good place to start, but you will likely also need to adjust the rates if your client is not in the US to account for cost of living and differences in respective markets.
One way to do this would be to calculate cost of living in the US vs the country of the client and figure out what percentage the difference is. Let's say it costs 30% less to live in the country where your client is than it does in the US, then the rate should be 30% less (since the rates in the book are calculated for US markets).
Pricing should be based on the client's country, or the market the client is selling in.
Hmmm makes perfect sense to me
I just got mine in the mail! Immediately overwhelmed haha
I feel you! Just focus on the pricing tables and read the little bits that are helpful. Think of it like an encyclopedia or a reference book, not a novel. you got this!
Hi Kendy Thank you for your video ! It helped me alot. There is a publisher who wants me to illustrate a childrensbook for a flatrate fee for 65 dollar, each illustration and 85 dollar for the cover. And A total buyout not paid ...OMG now i see how not realistic this is
Yikes, yeah, that is WAY too low! Hope they'll come up in their budget!
@@KendyllHillegas i didnt sign the contract even if i loved the project they didnt wanted a compromise :(
Thank you for this video! Do you know how often the GAG guide is updated? I've been dragging my feet a little since the current (15th) edition is from 2018 and I thought knowing my luck, I'd buy it and then they'd come out with a new version!
I did a little research and am actually answering my own question here if anyone else was interested - the next edition is due to come out May 18, 2021.
Thanks, Jamie! I can also tell you that the current edition (sadly) hasn't changed much from the previous one as far as the pricing tables go. Can't say for sure what that means about 2021, but if you happen to have an old copy, it would at least be a start.
@@KendyllHillegas To all reading....yes the new 16th edtion does have updated price guides and some of the catagories of said sections have changed also....[ mostly for the better in higher price structures]. Big no-no is to state that having a old copy is a good start is not good, in that we need and want new up to date price changes once every 6mo's on dvd or email or pdf formats and the newer prices shall be highlighted in some bright color.....trust me fellow guild members, we are going to have to move heaven and earth to get the above done and don't forget we can get this FREE IF YOU ARE A CURRENT MEMBER of either the pro level or the associate level..[two different prices for whichever you wish to belong to, but the pro level is the vote for the new GAG president and other officers is the big difference] who get this book FREE if you are a member!!!!!...c. toonrog99 [current associate member/roger crown/aug. 2021
@@jamiemorin3420 I didn't get mine until way late in July....hope they do price updates perhaps every 6mo's in various eformats, as these are published only each of 3 long years apart. [ P.S to all, if you are a current member than this is a FREE BOOK!!!!!!]
Hey Kendyll! Would you recommend this book for an artist based in Europe? Salary rates are usually higher in the US I think, wouldn't it be a bit overblown for a country like Germany?
Thank you so much! This video was incredibly helpful. I’m definitely going to invest in the GAG Guide.
I have a question. How much would be a good range to charge for designing a logo for a startup business? How about a local after school sports organization? I’ve had clients tell me I charge too much for a logo, when in reality, I’m actually underpaying myself and is nowhere near the industry standard. Can you give any tips about how to approach small clients?
I once got a request for a logo from a small client. I quoted $200 or $250 (can't remember). They didn't take it. I took into account that it would take around 8 hours of work to produce a high quality creative and classic looking logo. I didn't have a logo portfolio though. Had I had one, I am pretty confident they might have taken it.
Cuzcatan: BA Metal Outpost I quoted a similar price range for a small business, but they still thought it was too expensive. I could’ve just refused the work, but I needed some client work and they knew me, so I ended up doing it for much cheaper.
So, my baseline for a logo would be closer to the $1000 range for any for-profit business. If it's a small non profit or sports team, I might go in the $250-$500 range. That will indeed be out of the budget for some folks, but that's why there are wonderful, enormous stock image (and logo) websites. I always point clients with a very low budget in that direction. Of course, if you absolutely need that particular job to make ends meet, that's something only you can decide. But know that there are definitely clients out there who will pay $1k (and much, much more) for a logo provided you have a solid portfolio.
@@KendyllHillegas Good to know! The small client I mentioned was someone who currently didn't have a business, but wanted to have a logo ready to start a bakery. This was about 5 years ago, and I was starting out. Today, I might have quoted a similar client around $400 (still having no logo portfolio under my belt) had I not read your reply. Thanks for the info!
Do you add VAT / sales tax to that price - or is tax included?
Hi Kendyll! I have a question. Do you think this guide relevant for outside US? I live in Malaysia. I am considering to buy the 16th edition.
Do you always get a contract even with small clients? I've been just informing them of the policies on edits and rights by written email and chat, but is it important to -always- have a contract do you think?
Hey Michelle! That's a great question. Sometimes with smaller clients, I just work things out via email and we agree to the terms that way. The main thing is to get really clear and have a written record of what you agreed to.
Yeah I was under the impression that the prices they list in the GAG are for American jobs. Maybe Europe, Canada and elsewhere have their own guide?
The UK definitely does -- I think it's called the AOI, maybe? I know a lot of Canadians and English speakers in general regardless of country still use the GAG Handbook though, since the US is such a big market.
I have been a professional artist for years, and I have been charging WAY less for my services. Do these prices only apply to companies?
Hi there! I'm going live at 11:30 today and will answer your question then!
@@KendyllHillegas I’ll be watching! Thanks for responding 👍🏼
Your fingernails are cute, don't worry.
Hahah, thank you!🙈☺️
Hello Kendyll! I'm the Southern Associate Representative for Graphic Artists Guild. (www.linkedin.com/in/tmoline)
We’re a little late to the party. Thanks so much for talking about The Guild’s Pricing Guidelines!
Thank you for talking about us all the time. This was a great breakdown on how to use the guide.
Please let us know what kind of sponsorship you’d like to discuss. We're open. Please reply here or you can DM me on LinkedIn.