Freelance Rendering, How much to charge?

[philippelamoureux]

67$ for 6 hours = 11,15$/h. It's not much, indeed... Not much more than a McDonald employee :-S

 

I charge 75$/h for simple photoshop touch ups on someone else renderings. In Canada.

[malksaint]

67$ for 6 hours = 11,15$/h. It's not much, indeed... Not much more than a McDonald employee :-S

 

I charge 75$/h for simple photoshop touch ups

I'd think more like $60-70 per hour for a freelancer

 

Wow, that's drastic. I had no idea it should be that much. I was thinking that considering my lack of working experience and the fact that they provide LED models most of the time, so I only need to do PS work/render/scene surfaces/compositing would downplay the rate so $75 per image would sound sane. It looks like I messed it up. It's kinda awkward as I can't just tell them "oh you know, I just decided to charge you, let's say, twice more". Looks like I'll have to stick to what I charged for a while for the sake of experience I guess.

[monatank]

As every project is unique, you have to prepare tailored quotes to reflect the type and number of views, and the level of detail and realism required. By fully understanding each project you can calculate an accurate quotation and set a suitable timescale to satisfy all requirements.

 

The average price charged for a high-quality 3D architectural still image is between $1000.00 USD and $2000.00 USD. This is an average price you could expect that paying in this range as being fair for small to medium projects, large projects range from $3,000.00 USD onward depending on the project. You can charge higher/lower according to specific requirements (i.e. time duration, complexity of project).

[Nils Norgren]

Wow, that's drastic. I had no idea it should be that much. I was thinking that considering my lack of working experience and the fact that they provide LED models most of the time, so I only need to do PS work/render/scene surfaces/compositing would downplay the rate so $75 per image would sound sane. It looks like I messed it up. It's kinda awkward as I can't just tell them "oh you know, I just decided to charge you, let's say, twice more". Looks like I'll have to stick to what I charged for a while for the sake of experience I guess.

 

60-70 an hour is still on the low end. There are 2080 hours in a work year, if you factor in time without work, and time looking for work it becomes (aggressively) 1248, if you take some vacations and holidays off, that can become 1048 of direct billing, at 70 an hour that is 73k, after taxes it becomes 53k, if you have rent, power, software, hardware, online rendering, phone, accountant, lawyer, project management and other online monthly subscriptions, you could spend 2 to 4k a month on business related expenses, depending on your region and the level of service you provide your clients, taking 3k a month you are down to 17.5k of yearly take home salary, which you need to spend on all your other general life expenses, gas, car, food, significant others, pets, travel, student debt, etc.

 

In the end 70 an hour as a freelancer (depending on ability to stay billable) can be tenuous. In a good year you might work like mad and ignore all other parts of your life, but after it all you may only have 40-50k of income to live off. Eventually real life will creep in, spouses, children, etc. Require time, effort, attention and money.

 

There is much to figuring out a fair hourly rate, but don't forget all the costs that go into the work. Then there is what the market will bear. One thing to consider is what is the work WORTH to our clients. If you provide good customer experience, provide reliable results, and are trusted, you should charge at least a living wage.

 

One thing I was taught long ago, "if you aren't losing a few jobs on price, your aren't charging enough"

 

Another idiom we lived by in the bad old days, "if a client makes their decision solely based on price, what kind of client will they be when we start the work?" better to let the bargain shoppers go be someone else's headache.

 

No need to sell yourself short or give away work.

 

my 2¢ - for what it's worth...

 

-Nils Norgren

[heni30]

What is this vacation you speak of?

[harryhirsch]

''average price between $1000.00 USD and $2000.00 USD''' ''70-75 per hour ''...agree...but then one has to delivery good quality renderings. Clients dont care about your expenses. '''depending on the project'' depends also on the quality you can deliver ..and the time you need.

And again, location location location, 53K after taxes is probably not great in the US but just fine in West-Europe and amazing in East-Europe or Asia.

[heni30]

Also many people on this thread are probably single, live maybe with parents or group housing (no business rent), use no lawyers, no accountants, have no insurance expenses, use ill-gotten software, can access a ton of free training online, therefore do ok with sub-par fees.

[John Dollus]

''average price between $1000.00 USD and $2000.00 USD''' ''70-75 per hour ''...agree...but then one has to delivery good quality renderings. Clients dont care about your expenses. '''depending on the project'' depends also on the quality you can deliver ..and the time you need.

And again, location location location, 53K after taxes is probably not great in the US but just fine in West-Europe and amazing in East-Europe or Asia.

 

53k 'before taxes' is actually a realistic rate for a good number of architects in the US - check out the AUGI salary surveys.

[heni30]

Plus now in these modern times you take into account the spouse's/partner's income.

[Scott Schroeder]

It is location based even within the US. 53k in Indiana and I'm driving around a Ferrari with a 8,000 sq ft home. 53k in San Francisco and I'm on food stamps living under a bridge.

[maratzakirov]

Hi everyone. I would like to ask you. How much I can get for these pictures?

Also I need work if someone intereted.

 

 

 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw92snSpRt5WS0NBOTNDT3FXazA/view?usp=sharing

 

My portfolio https://www.behance.net/moratmorat

 

Thanks

[philippelamoureux]

If you can do that type of work and don't know how much to charge there's a problem hehe! These are very very good renderings.

[innerdream]

The short answer is whatever the client will pay. Unfortunately the market is over saturated with artists and a lot of times clients can't justify extra $$ for better quality and will settle for good enough.

[justoneartist]

"What the client can pay + $1."

 

Have a clear work pipeline with approve of the client. Design, modeling, lighting, final render, post production, corrections.

If the client change camera position after lighting and texturing I charge extra.

 

I always charge min 1000$ for a proyect. That includes normally 3 images.

If its more complex then for 1000$ you get 2 images.

I can charge 2000$ for 10 images if the proyect is easy. But the point is I don't work when its less then 1000$

 

I render always at 5000px that is a A3 print at 300dpi. If the client needs more resolucion the price goes up.

 

For animation i always work with a renderfarm and the bill for the renderfarm pays the client.

 

I have start my 3d freelance career in Spain in 2009.

Now i live in Lima Peru. For peruvian clients I'm a expensive freelancer.

 

My work you can see here.

http://my-rendercloud.tumblr.com/

[philippelamoureux]

I have set my limit too. I'm not doing a project for under 1500$ (which is 1 image and the modelling). I prefer to pass than to work like a slave to be honest. What is helping me tho is I have another source of income and it's very stable. If I had no other choice and I needed the work, I would probably change career before even trying sites like e-lance hehe!

[muhammedbaykul]

Good day friends. I am Muhammed Baykul from ****ing a bad country Turkey where boss waits big success for a few ten dollars. So, I decided to find some clients from America,Canada, Europe and Gulf Arab Countries.

 

I found a client from Canada. He decorates hotels, hospitals, restaurants and supermarkets. He offered to work with me and he asked about my prices. He wants 11,8 inch HD quality renders.. I haven't written to him.

 

I read some comments about prices and I understood I am a man who work free! Those are my some sample renders.

 

http://i.hizliresim.com/yVyq3n.jpg

 

http://i.hizliresim.com/byO6yZ.jpg

 

Now, please help to me. What should I offer for price?

[archkre]

Hello Muhammed!

A method or system to make your estimates is what you need, not a ballpark price...

I am in the same situation since long ago!

[innerdream]

Istanbul is a beautiful city and I must visit some day when things aren't so cRaZy!

 

You charge what you can get and what you need in this business. Nobody can help you with that. You have to determine what the client needs, wants, can pay if you want the job.

[guenther Malek]

That´s the way to go.

In my experience, i "give me a low price now and there will be more work later" cases

there is NOT more work coming later....

[innerdream]

That´s the way to go.

In my experience, i "give me a low price now and there will be more work later" cases

there is NOT more work coming later....

 

That's the oldest trick in the book, "give me a good price I have lots of work for you." Sometimes they honor it most of the time they don't.

[Justin Hunt]

switch it up by saying," when you have given me lots of work, then we will give you a better price"

[Cesar R]

^ I like that.

[rudobisschop]

That's the oldest trick in the book, "give me a good price I have lots of work for you." Sometimes they honor it most of the time they don't.

 

But even if they honor it, you wouldn't want to do many projects for the same lower price. I would always suggest to keep your prices fair for both parties. Really try to get a good estimate what you can expect to earn per month with your skillset and try to figure out a decent hourly rate which works for you.

 

Remember that you do not just work on renders full-time, because you need to get new projects and do some administration as well. I would suggest 60 to 70% of your work time is time you can produce something. When you have your hourly rate figure out how much time this project would take. Good luck!

[nanikninik]

may be very costly

[jacobwallace]

I have not read the whole thread but I suggest. Charging for the time to do the work, possibly by the hour or minute if your superman. I also charge for the time spent rendering as this is usually time spent not modeling so images can be rendered. I break this down to my clients in an invoice and give them a simple formula which calculates the total hours spent on one project.

 

The client usually only pays for the rendered image. However should he/she require additional renders as part of a package of renders you could charge a price for keeping the model on your machine to be altered at a later date.

 

 

an idea for a formula

 

(m)Model= however long it takes you to complete a model of a particular type i.e 8 hours for a house m=8

®Render=Time spent rendering 1hr per image

 

a Package you may offer could be five rendered images in this case you will be charging for the model but not the price to keep it in storage

 

Package

 

5 images 1 model

 

5r/60+m

 

your hourly rate of.... will be multiplied by the time taken on the project in hours. The hourly rate can be determined by the industry average given at a discount. this will mean you have priced yourself competitively.

 

I hope this helps Good luck.

 

 

just an additional note always breakdown the costs of things for the client this way there are no hidden charges ad the idea would be to do this as simply and clearly as possible.

Edited November 27, 2016 by jacobwallace