Painting a mural... pay?

Question

So, I painted a mural of a tree app. 7 feet tall and 15 feet wide... and i am sort of friends with the girl so i let her decide how much i would be getting paid... they gave me $30 and honestly, it felt like a slap in the face... they want me to paint another mural of a castle app. 7 feet tall and 8 feet wide... what is the least i should probably accept? they offered me $100... but honestly, i feel i deserve more atleast to compensate for the tree... $120? $150? and i am taking into consideration the time and work... and if the castle comes out anything like the tree or the sketches.. well, yeah.. i think you get my point. What should i ask for? what is the least i should accept? should i even paint it for her? =X

Answer 1

Yes, the 30 dollars is a slap in the face. I know that and I haven't even seen it. At those dimensions, even if you rushed it, I'm sure you spent at least 7-8 hours on it....and a lot more if it's detailed. So they're paying what like less than 4 bucks per hour? Ask them why they think your time and talent is worth so little to them and look them in the eye until they give you a sincere answer.



Anyway, this is how you charge: First figure out what your time is worth to YOU. Second, take an educated guess as to the bare minimum time it will take you to complete. Take that number and add half of it to itself (150 percent) because that's how long it will actually end up taking usually (always longer than you think). Third, multiply your desired hourly wage by projected amounted of time, and that is what you should charge.



With that in mind, I do friend and family pricing. Everyone does. It depends on how close I am to them. For my parents or siblings or very close friends, I charge about half of what I'd normally charge. For aquaintences, I charge about 70-80 percent. You'll have to figure out what feels right for you but don't let people take advantage of you.

Answer 2

Yes, 30 dollars is more like a PUNCH to the face. I wouldnt settle for $30 on my smallest paintings, let alone something that big.



Then again it depends on how long you worked on it and how much detail you put into it.



Still tho, 30 dollars is a pitiful disgrace for a payment



Did you pay for te supplies yourself? if so amn...they ripped you off.





Most ordinary people think "oh, its a pretty picture....I like it, heres $20" ...its a sad but true reality within the art world today.



People will pay $100's on worthless lil wayne, justin bieber, soulja boy and hannah montanah merch. and cant event give a few hundred for a decent REAL original painting.



Selling art is hard, you almost gotta find someone who appreciates it to make any money at all....ordinary people know nothing and dont think its worth much...they think its just another cheap product.





The reaity is that if the painting you did was that large and had alotta details as well/and or you payed for the supplies you should get over $1000.





btw, im the artist you responded to.



my email is [e-mail]



feel free to email Sabrina, me and you can get to talking about art



-Ryan

Answer 3

You have to first consider the cost of the materials you had to buy to do the work or mural. A 7ft by 8ft mural is pretty big. Also, you might consider the fact that a painting 30 inches by 36 inches would probably sell for about $400.00--$500.00. Some artists charge by the square foot when working on murals. You need to at least get yourself a scale to follow:



2ft.by2ft.= $50.00



3ft.by 3ft.=$100.00



4ft.by 4ft.=$200.00



5ft by5ft.=$300.00



6ft.by 6ft.=$400.00



7ft. by7ft.=$500.00



8ft. by 8ft.=$600.00



9ft.by 9ft-$700.00



10ft. by 10 ft.=$800.00



And the bigger the mural, add more money.