How to price art commissions: examples, scope and terms

“What can I reasonably charge for my work?” Start with comparable offers, decide what you are providing, and choose a price that fits your purpose.

Published and sources checked: October 14, 2026. Public asking prices, not verified completed-sale prices. This is a small editorial selection, not a market survey.

Compare the offer, not just the drawing

You do not need to earn a particular follower count or receive a skill rating before stating a price. A useful starting point is an offer you can describe clearly: the kind of image, its finish, the service involved and the uses you allow. Find artists whose actual samples and commission conditions resemble that offer. A more expensive artist is not automatically a better artist, and a cheaper offer is not automatically equivalent.

Both original character designs and illustrations were created by the operator and supplied for this guide. They illustrate scope only; no commission price, production time or client transaction is claimed. They are not samples by the artists in the next table.

Public prices: useful reference points, not your assigned rate

These examples show how artists describe their offers. Follow the source links to see their own work and full terms. Keep the original currency; no currency conversions, averages or skill rankings are calculated here.

The same word can hide different conditions. Shiroku excludes monetized video thumbnails from its commercial-use category; Mosoko applies an activity/streaming usage addition. Neither definition is a universal rule. Write what the client may actually do with the image.

SKIMA's English descriptions may be machine translated. Where a description and structured field differ, confirm the final offer with the artist rather than choosing whichever term is cheaper. We have not verified these artists' transaction volumes or realized prices.

Decide the terms before taking an order

The following is our practical checklist, informed by the linked examples. “Basic” means worth agreeing before work begins, not a claim that every item is legally mandatory. It is not a ready-to-sign contract. Platform rules and the rules applicable to your transaction also matter.

Basic terms to agree for each commission

Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs illustration-contract tool separately asks about deliverables, deadline, editing, rights, usage, credit and payment. It is a useful Japanese reference, not a universal international contract. View the official input checklist.

Terms found in the reviewed examples

• Portfolio publication: whether the artist may show the work, when, and how private commissions are handled. Shiroku and Mosoko discuss publication; Mue offers a paid privacy option.
• Credit: required, requested or optional, and where it goes. Mue requests attribution when sharing; Yoshikawa makes credit optional.
• Changes of use and redistribution: clarify whether cropping or text overlays are permitted, and what requires another agreement. Do not assume “commercial use” includes resale or transfer to another person.
• AI-related use: specify your policy if relevant. Mosoko and both SKIMA examples publish restrictions. This guide uses human-created illustrations and no generated image examples.
• Content boundaries: state the subjects and purposes you will accept. Different artists can set different boundaries.

These are recurring topics in this selection, not measured frequencies across the industry. Describe your own policy rather than copying another artist's terms.

Additional terms when the project needs them

Merchandise quantities and reprints; advertising media, territory and duration; exclusivity; copyright transfer; launch embargo or confidentiality; rush delivery; additional design work; layered files or Live2D preparation. Agree the specific scope and price. A blanket “no refunds” line from someone else's page should not be treated as a universally valid policy.

Does follower count change what you can charge?

It is reasonable to consider visibility and demand when choosing a price, but this selection cannot establish a follower-to-price relationship. As an editorial interpretation, a following may help people discover your offer; whether those people want to commission you is a separate question. No follower threshold gives permission to charge a particular amount.

Checked October 14, 2026. These are SKIMA follows, not X, Instagram or an overall measure of fame. Only two differently scoped offers; no correlation or causal conclusion is possible. Platform activity is not the artist's total career record.

Use your own qualified inquiries, bookings, repeat requests and schedule as decision signals. Even a full calendar can reflect limited availability rather than fame. If you repeatedly receive suitable requests you cannot fit, consider testing a revised rate for new quotes. A quiet period alone does not tell you whether the problem is price, visibility, fit or the offer's wording.

Hobby, side income and full-time work need different checks

Enjoyment can be part of your reason for accepting a hobby commission. Lower pricing can be a deliberate choice; it does not remove the need to make the promised scope manageable.

Illustrative calculation, not a rate recommendation: a ¥10,000 quote minus ¥1,000 in fees and allocated expenses leaves ¥9,000 before taxes and unentered costs. Six total working hours gives ¥1,500 per hour. Count communication and revisions as well as drawing. This is effective earnings, not an employee wage comparison or an assessment of artistic value.

The free Profit Margin Calculator can check entered costs and remaining profit. It does not include a time input, assess skill, or assign a commission rate. Enter labor as a cost only if you intentionally want to deduct it; do not deduct it and then treat the same balance as your total pay.

Turn the comparisons into a starting offer

1. Pick one service you can deliver consistently, with a representative finished example.
2. Compare several offers with similar scope and use. Record the date, original currency, starting/final price, extras and fees.
3. Choose a provisional price you can explain and accept for your purpose. Use a base price plus specified extras when complexity varies.
4. Publish the included scope, use and revision rules beside the price. Keep a final written quote for each order.
5. Review actual time, suitable inquiries and completed work before changing new quotes. Keep previously agreed quotes intact.

You can charge for a clearly described offer without proving you are “good enough” through a follower number. The reference prices help you ask better questions; the final offer is yours to define.

Sources and limits

Five artist-published offers were selected for readable public pricing and conditions relevant to character commissions. They are not a random or representative sample, a rate recommendation, or evidence of paid demand. All links were reviewed October 14, 2026; prices and terms can change. Artist images are linked at their original sources, not reproduced.

• Shiroku: commission information
• Mue: commissions
• moai: SKIMA offer
• Yoshikawa: SKIMA offer
• Miyatsuki Mosoko: personal/creator guidelines
• Agency for Cultural Affairs: illustration-contract input checklist