Determining what to charge for your creative work is the most important and sometimes most difficult business decision for a medical illustrator. Profiting from your illustration business is essential, not only for you but for the entire industry. Businesses often fail because a) there arent enough sales or b) theyre not profitable due to low fees or mismanagement. Undercharging for your services not only hurts you but also your colleagues everywhere by lowering the base rate for your skills and the perceived value of medical illustration / animation services across the entire market. So, how much is your art worth? There are four factors to consider when pricing your creative work:
1) The cost of staying in business (overhead)
2) The nature and complexity of the work (variable costs)
3) The intrinsic value of the work (market value and artist reputation)
4) The intended use of the work (rights licensed)
This complete article is available to AMI members as a 16-page PDF document in the Members HUB.
For non-members, please see our suggested Pricing Resources.