Simple Formulas For Pricing Your Artwork Consistently

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Whether it’s your first sale or your 100th, pricing your artwork can be tricky to get right. Price it too high and you could turning potential buyers away at the door. Price too low and your artwork will be collecting dust in the corner. If you’ve never sold your artwork before, coming up with prices can be a daunting task, symptoms of imposter syndrome can creep in and persuade you to price your artwork for lower than you’re worth. It can be helpful to know which things to consider when coming up with a price, and simple formulas can guide you in the right direction when you’re pricing your artwork. In this post, we’ll give you a few simple formulas for pricing your artwork when you’re just getting started in the area of selling your artwork.

3 Easy to use formulas for pricing your artwork

These formulas may be useful for fine artists who work in 2D mediums such as drawing, painting, printmaking or collage, however, you can adjust these tips to suit your practice. There are many full-time artists and art practitioners out there making a living from there artwork. Their information is invaluable and they’ll have many strategies and tips to learn from, you can find some helpful guides tips and websites at the bottom of this article.

Always remember to include your costs:

When calculating a price for your artwork, always consider how much it costs to create a piece. Include the cost of things like your studio fee for the total amount of days you were working, any supplies and key specialty materials like resin or gold leaf, as well as your framing, packing and shipping costs.

Always remember to make adjustments:

These are by no means the be all end all for pricing your artwork and must be adjusted and viewed realistically to give you a more accurate value for your practice. Don’t be afraid to knock your prices up or down to reflect your reputation and quality of the final piece.

1. The SQUARE INCH Method

Commonly used formula that can be useful for works on paper or canvas.

In this formula you’re charging an amount for every square inch of your artwork. You may want to consider the market and country you sell in, because that may affect the way your art is valued and priced. The price should respectively represent your reputation and value. Numbers should not decrease over time, although numbers may differ depending on which medium you use. For instance your illustrations might be valued at 50p per square inch, whereas your paintings might be valued at £1 per square inch.

The Square Inch Formula:

Width x Height = Square Inch

Square Inch x Value = Artwork

Artwork + Materials + Costs = Art Price

Art Price / Your Percentage Portion = Art Price with commission

Example:

24 x 36 inch Painting = 864 sq inches

864 x £1 = £864

£864 + £35 worth of Resin + £20 painting materials + £90 studio for a week 

= £1009 Art Price

£1009 + 20% gallery commission

= £1210.80 (always round to the nearest whole number)

= £1211 Commission Art Price

2. The LINEAR INCH Method

Useful for illustrators or printmakers with works on paper

Similar to the Square Inch method, this formula uses length and width to calculate a price. However, in this formula you’re multiplying the size of the work by a value amount. The value amount can be looked at as a variable to help your prices remain consistent. For instance, your drawings may include a value variable of £3, but your linocut prints may include a value variable of £1. The Linear Inch Formula:

Width + Height = Linear Inch

Linear Inch x Value = Artwork

Artwork + Materials + Costs = Art Price

Art Price / Your Percentage = Art Price with Commission

Example:

10″ + 12″ Drawing = 22″

22 x £3 = £66

£66 + £30 studio for a 2 days + £80 Framing

= £176 Art Price

£176 + 25% commission

= £220 Commission Art Price

3. The LABOURER Method

Helpful for those that make detail oriented, time consuming work, or large works.

Perhaps you use unusual materials, tools or methods that can be time consuming to execute. You may consider this formula which helps you calculate the price of your artwork based around the cost of your time. You’ll consider how much to pay yourself by the hour, the day or by the month. We all want to be paid a £1000 per day, but remember to be realistic and be fair.  Take a look at the Artist Union of England or the National Minimum wage of where you live and adjust this formula accordingly. You might also take into account that the typical working day of a full-time position is usually between 7-9 hours a day. What would a reasonable daily rate look like to you? What is a reasonable monthly salary for you?

Artists Union of England recommended Rates of Pay:

(Click here for more details)

Hourly Rates £21.92 p/hr new graduate artist

£28.42 p/hr with 3 yrs+ experience

£33.83 p/hr with 5 yrs + experience

Sessional/Daily Rates

£173.22 p/day (£ 86.61 p/ 1⁄2 day) new graduate artist

£227.35 p/day (£113.68 p/ 1⁄2 day) 3 yrs+ experience

£281.48 p/day (£140.74 p/ 1⁄2 day) 5 yrs+ experience

If the total price from these formulas seems way out of whack for you, then you may need to consider finding less expensive materials, working a little faster, or adjusting your rate of pay.

Hourly Rate Formula:

(Hourly Wage x Number of Hours worked) +  Materials + Costs = Art Price

Example:

You’re an new graduate artist, and created an original textile sculpture that took 8 hours to make. You pay yourself according to the Artist Union rate of pay for new grads at £21.92/per hour. The cost art materials was £25 and your art studio is free to use.

(£21.92 x 8 hours) + £25 Materials + £0 Studio Fee = £200.36 (always round to the nearest whole number)

= £200 Art Price

Daily Rate Formula:

(Daily Rate x Number of Days worked) + Materials + Costs = Art Price

Example:

You graduated 4 years ago and have been practicing art ever since. You created a hand-dyed macrame piece that took 3 working days to complete the work from home. After looking at the Artist Union rates of pay, you decide to set your daily rate at £227.35, the cost of your materials was £45 and shipping & packaging costed you £12

(£227.35 x 3 Days) + £45 Materials + £12 Shipping = £739.05 (always round to the nearest whole number)

= £739 Art Price

Monthly Salary Formula:

Total Costs / Number of pieces you can complete in one month = Art Price Desired Salary / Art Price = Number of pieces you’ll need to make to achieve desired salary

Example: You’ve been making pottery for over a year and you’ve decided to start selling your custom flower pots. Materials typically cost you £75 each month and your studio costs £380 each month. It costs about 4 hours to make a batch of 4, and you’ve figured out you can make up to 32 pots in a month. You want to be able to cover materials and the cost of your studio with the art you make. You’ve decided you want to make an extra £500 each month.

(£75 Materials + £380 Studio) / 32 = £14 Art Price (rounded to nearest whole number) £500 Desired Salary / £14 Art Price = 35.7 Pieces You’ll need to make 36 pots to earn £500 per month.

BONUS: FREE ART PRICE CALCULATOR

If you’re an artist who wants to make a living from your creations, pricing your work appropriately is pretty necessary. Hopefully these formulas for pricing your artwork give you a start in the right direction. If you’re looking for a formula-free way to price your artwork, check out this free Art Calculator. It’s a great tool to keep in your arsenal, and is a great starting point. All you do is put in the size, medium and style of you artwork and boom, you get a pretty accurate price for your art. You will need to make some adjustments up or down, and prices are shown in US dollars so you’ll also need to convert the price, you can use Google to do that.

 

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Need more advice?

Articles to Help:

• Pricing Your Artwork: Beginners Do’s & Don’ts
• 12 Tips for Selling Your Art Online
• 21 Ways To Crush It At Your First Craft Market

Sites To Help:

• Rates of Pay for Artists – Artists of England
• Set up as a sole trader – Gov.uk
• Art Price Calculator

Courses To Help:

• Make a Living as an Artist: Strategies for Your Creative Business – Brooke Glaser
• How To Sell Your Art on Etsy – Melanie Greenwood

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