Beginner's Guide: How to evaluate works of art?
How to begin?
Being an artist is a full-time job, so discovering the value of your work is essential in order to sustain yourself and grow. Pricing your artwork is a completely different world than producing it. Bearing in mind that the strength of the market dictates a large part of the value of the pieces, how do you determine their price? What makes a piece more successful for sale? In fact, there is no magic formula to define the value. Finding the best way to evaluate your work is a big challenge for both beginners and experienced artists. In this process, we have to take into account the artist's personal conditions, but also those of the market to conceive a beneficial and driving value. To help you, we've put together some useful advice to follow when setting the value of your art pieces.
calculate the costs
First, it is necessary to calculate the production costs of the work, that is, the material and the time spent. Results will differ depending on the material used to create the piece and the hours it took to finish. An oil painting recurrently has a higher value, as this material is more expensive than, for example, a pencil drawing. Also, due to the drying time, it takes much longer to complete the job. How much did you spend on materials? How long did it take to finish the work? How much do you want to receive per hour? These are all questions that will help you arrive at a final figure. The advantage of this method is the possibility of modifying the base value. If you feel that your time is worth more, as the work was particularly time consuming and complicated, you can increase the hourly rate, which will be reflected in the final price.
Value for the size of the work
One of the most common ways to price a work of art is based on its size, with or without material costs included. In this method, multiply the length of the piece by the width to get the total size. Set a price for each inch and multiply by the total size.
Meia Lua/ Shapes and Shapes in Cruzeiro Seixas
Analyze the market
Look on various platforms for artists with similar experience and understand the prices they charge for their works. Remember that even if someone asks for a lot, it doesn't mean there is a buyer! In the art market, galleries and online platforms have commission rates ranging from 10% to 50%. Therefore, it is essential to choose a market that is advantageous for you and your work.
Be consistent!
People have different tastes and monetary possibilities, so consider having jobs with different types of sizes and means of production with a variety of values. Small jobs or prints can be sold for less, which is an easy way to get customers. Think from the customer's perspective, be open and practice the same value across all platforms.
When should I increase values?
When you start to sell consistently over six months or more, increase prices by 10-20% so that this is seen as a sign of success.
How to define the value of a work per commission?
Commission values and completed works are usually different. It is essential to value yourself as an artist and a business person, so it is necessary to establish a commission price list to present to your clients. Thus, you no longer need to perform calculations on each request, as the values are already assigned.
Have confidence!
In conclusion, before presenting prices, analyze with conscience and logic the value of your pieces. Expose your value with confidence so people have confidence in you and your work! Practice makes perfect, both for the values and for the art itself. In a short time, you will be able to easily evaluate your works in order to be advantageous for you and the client.