Eric Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Hello all, I need input. I've got a client that wants me to do 18 colored 2D elevations of residential homes. I've done many of these before for this client, but this recent project is prompting me to ask if perhaps my fee is too low, or worse, too high. Here is an example of my previous renderings for this client. (please ignore the plain windows - the client asked that I remove the reflections to make them less distracting....) Our fee is typically $60/hr for 2D and 3D renderings, though we've given this client $50/hr because he's a repeat customer. I estimate 8 hours for each rendering, for a total of $400 per rendering. Our client wanted us to come off our original proposal of $7,200 for 18 renderings, and we ended up at $6,000, assuming almost all of the houses use the same brick selection. That's $333 per rendering. Seems to be a fair price if you ask me, even at $400 per elevation. And this client is pretty bad about paying, to the tune of about 7-9 months delayed consistently. What do you folks think about our fee. Is it about average for these types of renderings? Or too high or low? Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanSpaulding Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Sounds fair, if even a bit low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Lino Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 I'd use a flat fee($400).... 8 hours is too much time for those 2d elevations....4 hours is more than enough; it'll be 100 per hour and 40-50% down on top of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is the resolution. They always want the images printed and mounted at 24"x36". I work with them at 225ppi, so my images are 8100x5400 pixels. I'm sure I could get away with lower resolutions, and I just might for this upcoming project, but I must admit the images are pretty impressive when printed at that size with that much resolution.The file sizes always end up being minimum 500-600mb, so they take a bit of time to work with, and an eternity to save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhite Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Sounds fair to me given that he is a repeat customer, large number of homes, and similiar materials. The pricing you state is EXACTLY the pricing I gave to a builder for the same number of renderings in 2004. I was going to model the front and sides and provide a slight perspective rather than a true elevation but was going to reuse the same landscaping to a greater degree than you do. He ended up going in house rather than retaining me partly due to the high material costs at the time (2004) and issues with skyrocketing insurance premiums. If it were a new client, only one or two homes, and a true 3D model then I would say $400 is way to low for a photo realistic rendering. Also, there was an illustrator who has been charging $300 per 'sketch' rendering (black and white) for only a true elevation - no perspective and everyone was happy several years ago with that pricing. So if they were willing to pay $300 per rendering for a black and white and no ability to update trim color, materials, or landscaping then $333 for each color, photo realistic rendering with the ability to be updated very cheaply in the future seemed VERY reasonable to me. Since the builder didn't go for it I stuck with several high end architects and typically charge $1,800 per house and everyone is VERY happy. No use killing yourself for pennies especially if he doesn't pay on time. Let us know how things go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted July 27, 2005 Author Share Posted July 27, 2005 Since the builder didn't go for it I stuck with several high end architects and typically charge $1,800 per house and everyone is VERY happy. No use killing yourself for pennies especially if he doesn't pay on time. Is the $1,800 for 2D renderings like those I posted? Or for full 3D photo-real renderings? All of the 3D stuff I do is commercial, but I'm about to possibly start doing 3D for another potential residential client in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioVOY Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 what do you use for the landscaping?????? looks great!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizwhiz Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Eric great work!! ** if your prices are Too high The Client will definately Tell you if your prices are Too low They wont say a word other Than are you done yet? get paid upfront as much as possible and dont be afraid To Tell This client That They did NOT PAY ON TIME The Last Time otherwise They will NOT PAY ON TIME THIS TIME or ever ** Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhite Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Is the $1,800 for 2D renderings like those I posted? Or for full 3D photo-real renderings? All of the 3D stuff I do is commercial, but I'm about to possibly start doing 3D for another potential residential client in the near future. The $1,800 I charge is for fairly detailed modeling (LOTS of trim work, brackets, etc.) and LOTS of custom windows which usually get changed several times. But I do not always do landscaping. Renderings are often just a light dome with the model sitting on a reflective surface. Here is a sample without landscaping. If I do landscaping then I usually cut the number of views way down. I typically try to get as many views as well as color/trim schemes out to the architect so that they can see the value of modeling, present more options to the client and also the cost per image comes way down and it is only rendering time while I'm sleeping (sometimes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 Thanks for the replies. The landscaping is photographs I found on the net, or took pictures of myself. Some of the plants are actually silk flowers I stumbled across for sale on some site and they had nice gray backgrounds that were easy to mask out. That's good to know about the fee - thanks for providing a sample of what you provide for that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisHolland Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Hi Eric, your price is quite below average compared to the great quality you provide, but allright. Your deal for a larger project here is pretty fair.... About the payment? It could be a good thought if you consider to have a payment deadline stated within' your contracts. 8-9 months is not very cool for your flow! I use a deadline for payments of 14 days in my contracts (never work without it!) which is very tight but payments are always done in 30 days maximum so that is nice Like your work, you're a specialist in your job (and your client knows that very well). Think about that for a while... Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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