Worried you’re undercharging? Here is how to price digital art commissions: estimate your hours, add costs and usage rights, cap the revisions, then quote a fixed price you can explain.
This guide sits within the wider topic of digital art on this site and covers the money side of taking commissions.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Day-rate floor an agency co-founder advises for experienced illustrators (2026) | at least £500 a day |
| Upper end of that day-rate range | up to £1,000 per day or well beyond |
| Feedback rounds in one agency’s standard contract | three rounds |
| Example fee for a magazine spot illustration | $250-$400 |
| Example fee for an illustration on the front of a package | $1,500-$4,000 |
These figures come from illustration agents and working artists quoted by Creative Boom in its 8 June 2026 article and its January 2022 guide. They are examples, not a price list, and they can change, so check the sources before you rely on them.
Start with your hours, costs and an internal rate
Pricing feels less like guesswork when you split the quote into parts. A useful starting formula from Chris Wilson’s commission pricing guide is labor + materials + complexity + additional revisions + commercial usage + other direct costs = commission price.
The labor part is the one most artists undercount. Loish’s commission tips keep it simple: estimate the hours each piece will take, decide what an hour of your time is worth, and do the math.
Count more than the drawing time. Chris Wilson’s guide lists the other work a commission involves:
- Reviewing reference material and planning the composition
- Preliminary sketches and approval stages
- Client emails
- Revisions
- Preparing the finished artwork and delivering it
Digital work has no paint or canvas, but it still has overheads. Creative Boom’s agent interviews say a rate should genuinely cover costs like studio rent, software subscriptions and insurance, with room for a break without too much anxiety.
Once you have the total, turn it into a single number for the client. Chris Wilson suggests calculating the project internally from time and costs, then presenting a clear fixed quote and comparing it with your minimum commission price.
Price the usage, not only the time
A client is not only paying for the hours you spent. At the agency Handsome Frank, the media, the territory and the duration of the licence drive the price, and the broadest agreement (all media, worldwide, in perpetuity) is the most expensive.
The same idea runs through Creative Boom’s 2022 guide, which advises charging for usage rather than time. One illustrator in it puts a magazine spot at $250-$400, against $1,500-$4,000 for the front of a package.
For private clients, the usage part is often small. Chris Wilson’s guide says a personal-use commission and a commercial commission should not automatically be priced the same way, and that commissioning work does not automatically grant unlimited business rights.
Before you quote a business client, know the three common ways they can buy work, as described in PRINT Magazine’s 2017 pricing guide:
- One-time usage: the client gets a non-exclusive right to publish for specific uses, and anything extra is priced separately.
- Buy-out: a somewhat higher fee covers multiple uses with no extra income to the artist.
- Work-for-hire: the client owns the art and everything created during the job.
If a client asks to own the work outright, read up on digital art copyright first. One illustrator quoted by Creative Boom puts it bluntly: if someone wants the copyright, add a zero.
What is a fair rate for digital art commissions?
There is no universal figure. The Association of Illustrators notes that illustration fees are individually negotiated and can depend on usage, territory, duration, client, budget and expenses.
If you want a professional benchmark, an agency co-founder told Creative Boom in its 8 June 2026 article that any experienced illustrator should charge at least £500 a day. He said that can rise to £1,000 per day or well beyond, depending on profile and demand.
Those numbers describe experienced professionals, so treat them as a reference point, not a rule for every commission. A sustainable rate is the real test: it covers your costs and keeps you steady between jobs.
To find your range, do three things:
- Talk to your peers. The same Creative Boom article says its agent’s best advice is just that.
- Ask the client about budget. Creative Boom’s 2022 guide says it is fine to ask, and clients often just tell you.
- Time your own work, then price from your records rather than a hunch.
The commonest trap is underpricing to win the job. Agent Jon Cockley calls it the most common mistake in Creative Boom’s interview, because a low number at the start sets the tone for everything after it.
Clear samples help you defend a higher quote. A focused digital art portfolio shows clients what a given price buys.
Fixed price or day rate?
For most commissions, a fixed project price is easier for the client to say yes to. Creative Boom’s agents say a project rate will serve an illustrator better in the long run in most cases, with clear exceptions.
A day rate can be the fairer choice when:
- The scope keeps changing and growing, and the deliverables are hard to pin down.
- A large production house will only engage artists by the day under work-for-hire terms.
- A fixed-fee job has gone past the agreed rounds of feedback and the client still wants changes.
If you do charge by the day, build the licence for the intended use into that rate, because it is easy to forget usage when you are paid by time. The agency’s standard contract covers three rounds of feedback, and the price goes up beyond that, per Creative Boom.
There is a side benefit. Once a client realises they are paying for the artist’s time, the same source says it tends to bring things to a quicker resolution.
Set revisions, deadlines and payment terms
A good price can still go wrong if the terms are vague. Put these in your quote before you start:
- Deliverables. Chris Wilson’s illustration pricing guide lists final file size, formats, variations and layered files as things to settle up front.
- Revisions. Spell out what is included so the price does not become an agreement to revise indefinitely, as Chris Wilson’s commission guide warns.
- Deadline and rush. PRINT Magazine notes that if a client’s deadline is tight, most art directors will adjust the final price.
- Payment. Loish suggests asking for payment in advance, or half upfront and the other half later.
- Cancellation. The same commission tips say to agree what you are paid if the commission is cancelled halfway through.
Write it down. PRINT Magazine’s 2017 guide says it is wise to send a brief written project description covering the style, medium, sizes, delivery format, deadline and the client’s usage rights.
For business clients, the same guide gives net 30 days as the standard illustration payment term, though exceptions exist. Deposits protect you more than late fees do.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge by the hour or by the project?
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Use hours internally and quote a fixed price. Chris Wilson’s guide recommends calculating the project from time and costs, then turning it into a clear fixed quote.
Should clients pay before I start?
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Loish advises asking for payment in advance, and calls a full advance payment reasonable. Asking for half upfront and the rest later is another option.
Do I charge extra for commercial use?
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Usually yes. Chris Wilson says personal and commercial commissions should not automatically be priced the same way, because a business is paying for rights as well as the artwork.
What if the client keeps asking for changes?
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Set a limit in the quote. PRINT Magazine says redundant or contradictory revisions can cause a quoted price to increase, and some illustrators state the maximum number of alterations up front.
Can I just copy another artist’s prices?
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Treat them as a reference only. Rates depend on your costs, your market and the rights involved, which is why Creative Boom’s agents urge artists to talk openly with peers about money.
