1. Advertising
    y u no do it?

    Advertising (learn more)

    Advertise virtually anything here, with CPM banner ads, CPM email ads and CPC contextual links. You can target relevant areas of the site and show ads based on geographical location of the user if you wish.

    Starts at just $1 per CPM or $0.10 per CPC.

What can I do to make this worth $25?

Discussion in 'Graphics & Multimedia' started by CU_Designs, Oct 2, 2009.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. #1
    I did this graphic and well I'd like to be able to sell my services to make these for people and make at least $25 per piece. Let me say that I am NOT a professional graphic designer. It's more a hobby than anything else so it's a definitely a learning process for me.

    Have a look at this image and tell me what I can do to raise it from $10-value to a $25-value graphic? I'm asking because a guy named Ben is wanting me to do one for him but for just $10 and it takes me time to create something like this. Ten bucks seems so low considering the work I put into this and the result. Yea that offer kind of hurt my feelings. I'm not going to lie. That freeform shape tool is no joke. It's almost frustrating to use.

    But I want to be able to create custom realistic graphics from photos. When I was in my younger years, I'd do that with drawing as in pencil drawing and am really good at pencil drawing. But generating graphics isn't the same as pencil drawing. It's not like I have a pencil in my hand and drawing and what I draw on paper automatically shows up the screen. It's a whole new different ballpark. I'm learning how to use the freehand/freeform type of tools in graphics design programs.

    I got the idea from a friend of mine who wanted a face on the Internet without using her real photo; she wanted a caricature of herself and gave me a photo to see what I could do with it. So I did one for her and she liked it. I did one for family members as well and they like it. So that's good. They like it. But I need more than just like it. You know? I thought well Yahoo has avatars and they don't look anything like the person behind the account no matter how much you customize it. It's limited because they aren't custom-made based on individual photos of their users. So why not create an image for people from their own photo of themselves that they can use in replace of those avatars?! I'd do my best to match the quality of Yahoo avatars. But it is a process that requires practice. So that's what I would like to do and make money doing it.

    So what would it take for me to get this image into the a $25-value range? And I'm not selling the image shown. That's just a sample of what I've done so far. I'm still a beginner at this. So please go light on your comments.

    I need two sets of points of views. Comments from consumers who'd buy something like this. Comments from successful skilled graphic designers who design character/caricatures. When you see the image, click to enlarge it. It is bigger.

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2009
    CU_Designs, Oct 2, 2009 IP
  2. Dee2007

    Dee2007 Active Member

    Messages:
    1,185
    Likes Received:
    27
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    88
    #2
     
    Dee2007, Oct 2, 2009 IP
  3. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #3

    Too low? Oh! ha ha. What would be a good starting price? I thought $25 would be good for starters and then increase as I get better at this, including more detail and possibly going 3-D. Then working towards full body graphics instead of just a headshot. It's something to work towards. So what's the standard rate? Is there even a standard? And that one took me about 3 hours to complete. And thanks for replying.
     
    CU_Designs, Oct 2, 2009 IP
  4. renownedmedia

    renownedmedia Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    65
    Likes Received:
    4
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    100
    #4
    You said you're not a graphic designer, and it shows in the quality of your work and the time it took to make it.

    Like with every single profession in the world, you suck when you start and get better when you go along, so your prices should be low right now and once you're good at it you can increase your prices and start to make a profit.
     
    renownedmedia, Oct 3, 2009 IP
  5. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #5

    Thanks for replying because I've got questions for you. Mind to elaborate on everything you've stated in your post? Because that doesn't help me at all. If your reason for posting was not to increase your post count but rather that really want to help me, then please be specific since making general comments are worthless. So please if you're going to comment, give me a quality post I can actually use. I'd really appreciate it. Because your post doesn't answer my question: What can I do to make this worth $25? That's the title of this thread. And you can start out by telling me your definition of quality. So I know from what perspective you are coming from. Every person has their own idea of what "quality" is. What is your standard of quality work? Then you can proceed to answer my question. It'll really help. Thank you.
     
    CU_Designs, Oct 3, 2009 IP
  6. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

    Messages:
    11,366
    Likes Received:
    575
    Best Answers:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    385
    #6
    How long does it take for you to do a single cartoon?

    I think it's worth at least $25. If somebody ends up using it in a header image, or as part of a logo, then for $25 they've got a bargain.

    Tell Ben to take his $10 and get stuffed :)
     
    Kerosene, Oct 4, 2009 IP
    CU_Designs likes this.
  7. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #7
    Thanks. It took me about 3 hours to complete that one. The time varies, though. The very first one I did for a friend of mine, took me 4 hours to complete. Out of all of the ones I've done so far, my average is 2.5 hours. Working to increase that time along with quality. I want to match the quality of Yahoo Avatars. That's my model goal. And then once I match that, then set a new model goal for myself to get as good as the quality of the graphic, animation and 3D work of that production company Pixar. I love the work Pixar produced before Disney bought them. I'm not a Disney fan and I don't like the quality of their work. Others obviously do by its many fans, but I am not one of them. Pixar when it was just Pixar and not Disney's Pixar, was so much better. And Disney knew it otherwise they wouldn't have bought them. So the original Pixar has the quality I want to reach in the future. I want to get into 3D/animation.

    But right now the first mark to reach is to match the quality of Yahoo's Avatars that people use for the instant messenger.
    It's going to take me some practice, trial and error and getting the opinion of designers who has quality work like the ones I'm working to match. Those who like my work but aren't graphic designers, their opinion is just as valuable and actually more valuable than any designer since they are more likely to be buyers. Graphic designers are more than likely to not be buyers because chances are they'd just make their own if they really wanted one. But I'll take comments from both, non-designers and designers, especially from successful graphic designers that have quality work like Yahoo (for now).
     
    CU_Designs, Oct 4, 2009 IP
  8. freebanner

    freebanner Active Member

    Messages:
    727
    Likes Received:
    37
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    70
    #8
    if it takes less time when you draw on actual real paper with a pencil then do that and use a scanner. then use your image editor to color/shade finish. programs can even convert scans into vectors. ie line drawings , then u fill in/edit.

    that would save you hours im thinking. just need to work smart not hard. Also after you have done 6 of them you can make new requests by taking the ones youve made already and modifying them, saving more time.

    also i could not see your picture, theres a red x where the pic should be , upload again pls
     
    freebanner, Oct 5, 2009 IP
    CU_Designs likes this.
  9. ezromation

    ezromation Active Member

    Messages:
    103
    Likes Received:
    2
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    53
    #9
    Unfortunately the link to your picture seems to be broken.
    However one of the reasons you may struggle to make much money from cartoon portraits is that there are a lot of automated programs that do it for free on the web like this:
    http://www.zwinky.com/dl/jump.jhtml?jump=fb1&partner=ZJxdm399

    I've seen a fair few of these things there's even one that turns you into a Simpsons character. So it might not be down to your skill or execution (cant see pic so cant judge) but the bigger problem would seem to be your trying to make money out of something people can get for free.
     
    ezromation, Oct 5, 2009 IP
  10. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #10
    Wow you've made a post centered around timing. I can work on timing later. Timing is not my concern right now. Don't want to work with a scanner. Would like to see what can be done without a scanner. And again timing I can work on at a later time. My focus is reaching my goal of quality to match Yahoo's Avatars, as stated before.

    Hi. Yea I understand there are programs that do that for people, just like there are programs that help people build web sites and yet being a Web Designer is still one of the highest paying jobs. So that can't be a reason why anyone would struggle with drawing or graphics work. People can get virtually anything for free if they just do things themselves. I myself am the do-it-yourself kind of person for the most part. But a lot of people don't want to do things themselves that's why people are willing to pay someone to cook them some food (going to restaurants or hiring a maid) or clean their clothes and house (maid), or raise their kids (babysitter or nanny) or type up a document (administrative work) and so on. Stuff they can easily do themselves. Just have a look at what people are paying other people to do in the BST section of this forum (data entry work, creating logos, writing, etc.) All jobs of which they can do themselves for free but they'd rather pay someone else to do it. My point is, people can create their own of everything for less and often times free. But people like college students would prefer paying someone to teach them how to do something than them doing it all themselves on their own for free. There are libraries filled with information about every single subject you can imagine. There's no reason why a person should spend thousands of dollars to some college to teach them what they can get for free. And if libraries aren't enough then use the Internet. After all, tuition and college books are far from being cheap. So why are they willing to pay someone to teach them something that they can easily get for free? Should be clearly obvious. So your statement about I'm trying to make money in something that people can get for free just cannot be the bigger problem; nor is it a problem. No offense to you, but your comments weren't thoroughly thought out before you posted. But thanks. :) Maybe you just really didn't know. I don't know. But nevertheless, that's not the topic of this thread. I am definitely not into turning people into Simpson characters. That's not where I'm going. I've already stated my goal here. And that direction is not where I even want to go.

    Everyone: The site I put my pic on is doing something to their database. So all of their members' images aren't showing, but when it does you'll see the image that I'm asking how to raise to a $25-value and my goal is to reach the quality of Yahoo Avatars. Please note, that I'm not asking how to increase my time to do it faster, nor what people can get for free. I'm well aware of what people can get for free. I've been on this Earth long enough to know. he he.
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2009
    CU_Designs, Oct 7, 2009 IP
  11. Funksoul

    Funksoul Peon

    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    1
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #11
    Your work is worth more then $25. Personally I think you should be charging $40-50 at a starting price. Maybe offer a bundle deal? If ben really likes what you have made, an extra $15 shouldn't be a problem for him.
     
    Funksoul, Oct 7, 2009 IP
    CU_Designs likes this.
  12. Dee2007

    Dee2007 Active Member

    Messages:
    1,185
    Likes Received:
    27
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    88
    #12
    As I said in my post above (and others have also said) I believe $25 is too low anyway, why do you feel that you have to do anything more to make it worth $25?

    I think you have to set your pricing and stick to it, you don't need anyone else to justify your pricing for you :)

    We (designers) don't make money by dropping our prices simply because someone asks us too, if you have a fair price to begin with and someone doesn't want to pay it then politely inform them that you're pricing is very fair. If they decide to go elsewhere of course that is their choice, but it's better than working for less than you are worth.

    Just my opinion, you can of course ignore it :)

    Dee
     
    Dee2007, Oct 7, 2009 IP
    CU_Designs likes this.
  13. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #13
    Good point.

    Hi, again. What you have stated does in fact make a lot of sense. Being a beginner at this type of graphic work, I don't really know how to price this sort of thing and know there are always ways to improve something. I felt that $25 was a decent starting price considering the prices I've done logos and other graphic work for when I first started out with that. But my thoughts were to just keep an opened mind, especially after seeing Ben's $10 request. Like, what if it's not $25-value like I think it is? You know? I just wanted to keep an opened mind. But after reading some of the comments on here, including yours, you make a very good point along with what Kerosene said about if someone used it in a logo or header. Because this is something I'd really like to make money with, I tend to second-guess things a lot. Something I've got to get under wraps.

    Kerosene, Dee, and Funksoul all make very good points to close on. Thank you for putting things into perspective for me. I guess that ends this discussion about the price issue. hehe. Thanks again. Rep given.

    Oh and I'm not sure why Shareapic is taking forever to update their database. Image can be seen here (click to enlarge):
    [​IMG]
     
    CU_Designs, Oct 7, 2009 IP
  14. dannyvalentino

    dannyvalentino Peon

    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #14
    What can you do to make this worth $25? Nothing more. You need to value your time more. If it took you 3 hours then $25 is a very fair price. By the way I can't see the quality of the image but you need to be valuing your time right now, otherwise you will never make any money!

    Explain to Ben that it took you 3 hrs and your hourly rate is $8. Voila - you can charge him $24 (+ $1 value added tax!)
     
    dannyvalentino, Oct 8, 2009 IP
  15. freebanner

    freebanner Active Member

    Messages:
    727
    Likes Received:
    37
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    70
    #15
    time is money, and your wondering how u can make your image worth $25. Do you mean you want to make it worth $25, even tho it has taken you 12 hours? (equalling $2 an hour)

    Spend more time refining, adding shading, bringing it upto the quality of yahoo/others as you desire. spend time learning/using new techniques.

    the graphic u have made of obama is very basic. There are many tutorials on mascot/face drawing/various styles

    your friend ben is right, the image youve made is not worth $25, to be honest i could make that in 10 minutes. no offense.

    Also your eating out/maid analagy is flawed. one, people pay low basic, even illegal wages to fast food/house workers. as low as possible. If they want to pay higher, ie a michalin star restuarant they usually cant cook food to that standard, otherwise they would be opening thier own restuarant for sure. So, as a designer you must be at that level, offer something they cant do themselves, or get some spotty student joe designer to make in 5 minutes. otherwise you will get minimum wage.

    my 2 cents
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2009
    freebanner, Oct 8, 2009 IP
  16. ezromation

    ezromation Active Member

    Messages:
    103
    Likes Received:
    2
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    53
    #16
    Oh my god you wrote a lot. You seem to be missing the point>> you asked how do I make it worth more money.
    Pick your market more wisely>>> ie not something people can get for free.

    Until you get past that, your going nowhere fast.
     
    ezromation, Oct 8, 2009 IP
    CU_Designs likes this.
  17. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #17
    Hi guys, this conversation was over on the 7th. I closed it on Kerosene, Dee, and Funksoul comments. Of whom made some really good points.

    @Freebanner - Looks like I hit a nerve with my comments to you and made a post based on your feelings getting hurt because now you're nitpicking trying to offend me and it's not going to work. I'm an adult and a mature one at that. Please get over the offense. It's not the end of the world. hehe.

    @ezromation - No further comment.

    @dannyvalentino - Thanks.

    This conversation ended on the 7th. I got what I needed thanks to those that I gave good rep to. :)
     
    CU_Designs, Oct 10, 2009 IP
  18. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #18
    U can make that pic in 10 minutes? Really, dude? Show me what you can do. But I was just over in the BST section and some member is chargin like 10 bucks for some what looks like traced rushed work or sumthin don in paint. He said it rushed, def not worth 10 of my dollaz! Hey freebanner, u said u could do what cu did in 10 minutes. Show me you can do better in that short time and you got my bux. I need somethin' good. But I've only got 10 bux on me to spend. So can't afford CU_Designs. *Sorry man.* Freebanner, I need it asap. So holla back with a sample of your version of what CU did so I can see what you can do in 10 minutes. And don't cheat. I'll know because I'm creative riches I say. Got $$ to give u if u r on ur game with dis. BTW, it took CU 3 hours he siad not 12 and I dont think Ben was his friend was a potential customer. Tell him to shove it man! OK freebanner...contact me need a photo done quick quick quick for 10 bucks. Tha's about a dollar per minute. Need to see ur 10-min sampel. Hurry plz.

     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 10, 2009
    CU_Designs, Oct 10, 2009 IP
  19. CU_Designs

    CU_Designs Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,013
    Likes Received:
    62
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    195
    Digital Goods:
    1
    #19
    @creativeriches: You would be correct, Ben is not my friend. He is a random person that found my image on Shareapic. And you'd be correct again, that particular graphic took me about 3 hours to do as mentioned earlier in this thread. However, my latest piece took me about one hour, a self-portrait like you see in my avatar. I did my full face but for the avatar only showed half and I use it in messengers. My full face version I might use on my site whenever I get around to creating it. I should hope freebanner can give you what you can afford in such a short time. He (or she) may be good. I don't know. But I'm still a beginner. If freebanner is unable to satisfy you and you like my work (I'm getting faster - hehe) and can get a little bit more cash, then pm me. ;)

    @ezromation: After reading your latest comment again, you mentioned 'Pick your market more wisely.' Good point. Rep given. Question then is how? That's something else I'm not good at. How do I find my market? Any ideas? Maybe I should just start a new thread since this one has run its course.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2009
    CU_Designs, Oct 10, 2009 IP
  20. Sapphiro

    Sapphiro Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    1,242
    Likes Received:
    61
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    175
    #20
    Hi there, the image isnt displaying for me, you got any alternative url for that? :]
     
    Sapphiro, Oct 10, 2009 IP
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.