as a freelance 3D artist, how Do I Decide What to charge clients?
Trying to gauge the right daily or hourly rate can be a minefield. The problem is, if you set your rates too high, no one will hire you. Set them too low and you will find you are working twice, maybe three times as hard to make ends meet. To contradict this, sometimes a higher rate will give the client more confidence in your work, whereas a quote that is too low could be an indication that you lack self-confidence.
As I said, it can make your head spin, so what’s a good middle ground?
Let’s look at it from the beginning. When approached by a client asking for a quote, the first thing you should do is get a list of what they require. Try and get as much detail as possible. If building a model, what’s the polygon and texture budget? Will it need to deform a certain way, meaning the topology needs to reflect this? Are the textures PBR?
This list is essential because the next step is to sit and work out timescales. Knowing exactly what is expected of you means you can make more precise estimates. Say modelling will take you two days, texturing another three, so that’s five days in total. But you also need to remember to leave yourself room for feedback and an emergency buffer. This is in case of crashes and some things taking a little longer than anticipated, and it’s essential that this time is accounted for.
Now that you have a timescale in mind, you can then start to think about what amount you will need to live on. Remember that you are paying your own tax too, so factor in enough to keep the taxman happy. Let’s make it easy and as an example let’s say you need £1,000 a week to live on. Perhaps you have a family to support, so this helps cover the weekly shop, mortgage and other bills.
From this you can work out that your day rate is £200, which could then equate to an hourly rate of £25 if working an eighthour day.
What you have now is an initial base rate to work with, and you can adjust this accordingly to fit with yours’ and the client’s needs.