How to price a job
How long is a piece of string? How much am I worth? What does it take to create something beautiful? How long does it take? Can I do this? Do I have what it takes? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves.
Pricing a job starts as a personal journey. I started doing things for free, then landed a job in an architect’s office creating hand-drawn as well as coloured elevations in CorelDRAW and Photoshop. AutoCAD was starting to gain traction, I had recently finished a drafting course, and I was messing about with the Z axis. It felt like the future at the time. To be honest, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, just what I didn’t want to do, so I kept following what felt fun. Anyway, it’s been a journey, full of mistakes, realisations and fun.
As obvious as it sounds, pricing comes with experience. Think of it like an apprenticeship. In the first year or two, don’t expect to ask top dollar. This period is learning, breaking stuff and failing. Taking a course, or teaching yourself through YouTube videos and recreating other people’s renders, is a good start. Try to build a portfolio of 10 to 20 really good, consistent-quality renders. Get familiar with photography techniques, and art and colour theory.
Getting a job with a studio, or with other freelancers, can speed up the learning process. To start, every project will take twice as long as it should. Things will be misread, missed, misunderstood and forgotten, but keep going and practise.
A rule of thumb
Complexity dependent, and it helps if the 3D model is supplied and just needs cleaning up.
How long a render should take
The bar is the range itself, so both ends are readable, not just an average.
Show the numbers
| Days | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Interiors | 1 to 3 days | 6 to 24 hours |
| Exteriors | 2 to 4 days | 12 to 32 hours |
The system
Follow a system that keeps projects on track with clients and keeps everyone accountable, from briefing to delivery. Engage with clients and ask questions. Most importantly, keep clients informed if something changes outside of the agreed.
Over time, an artist gets a good sense of how long things take, develops a library of shaders, models and lighting rigs, and knows what to ask clients. Timeframes and hourly rates are easily calculated, shortcuts and efficiencies develop, and before long, regular clients start to appear. Getting the lighting right, nailing the composition, look and feel, and understanding clients before they know what they want: that is the value you can charge for.
Look for ways to add more value to existing clients’ projects, a vignette, or an extra camera angle you love. Remember to do what they asked for first. Stick to what’s important to the clients; it’s too easy to add what we as Creatives like and ignore what they want.
I hope this helps someone,
Thanks for reading.
Luke