Artists who sell stuff!! How to price original works??

[Pam]

[Pam]

http://p219.ezboard.com:80/fmoreliaviridisfrm1.showMessage?topicID=7883.topic

These are come snakes I am making. As you can see, they are very popular. They are small (under 2″ in diameter when curled up) and hard to make (it took me a month to make just 10 heads!). Also, it is $50 for just 4 lbs of clay. They will be done mostly on commision after these 10 are done. Problem though.. What do I price them at? I have never done anything like this before. The clay is expensive. The work is very time consuming.. But the end products are so tiny! I was originally thinking 50 for one curled on a stick, but other people think I should price upwards of 70, with one guy suggesting 100 dollars per snake! Personally, I think anything over 65 is way too much, especially since in the future I will also be selling full-sized adult snakes, which are quite large. Any opinions on how to price original/commission art like this?

[NirvanaCat13]

I was going to say 60-90 depending on intricacy, ie how much time painting/sculpting, etc. They are REALLY good! Let’s put it this way, put a high price on them, if people pay, then you’re good to go, if they don’t lower it by incriments untill you find a happy medium. DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT! Put out the $$ sign and then just sit back to gage reaction. I think you’d be surprised at what you find! 😉 8)

[Akeyla]

priceing is always a good question.
I’d suggest that if you dont know what to start with you take the basics:
material
time
value

I believe you are useing a polymer or a special air dry clay (am i guessing right that its the japanese one they use for flowers?) so be sure to put that in the price and in the description (many people think 3D is made with mud from the garden and therefore cheap, to much madechina spoil)
Check how much time you spent, how much you value your time or how much you would get if you worked.
Check how much you value your fact of doing art, aswell the finished product. Are you satisfied with it, do you think its a piece you like that has a “soul” etc.

If you are still not sure then check what the market would give for it. Put up an auction, offer a piece for real. Or ask people if they are interested to buy. really interested not just hinting, this may sound weird, but my Dad often tells me to price my work in grands(my bigger pieces), he would not buy it because I give him some pieces, he just suggest what he sees (or believes he sees in hours) but in reality the market is much more different.
I hope this helps

awesome snakes bway 🙂

[Jennifer]

Akeyla wrote:

priceing is always a good question.
I’d suggest that if you dont know what to start with you take the basics:
material
time
value

I believe you are useing a polymer or a special air dry clay (am i guessing right that its the japanese one they use for flowers?) so be sure to put that in the price and in the description (many people think 3D is made with mud from the garden and therefore cheap, to much madechina spoil)
Check how much time you spent, how much you value your time or how much you would get if you worked.
Check how much you value your fact of doing art, aswell the finished product. Are you satisfied with it, do you think its a piece you like that has a “soul” etc.

If you are still not sure then check what the market would give for it. Put up an auction, offer a piece for real. Or ask people if they are interested to buy. really interested not just hinting, this may sound weird, but my Dad often tells me to price my work in grands(my bigger pieces), he would not buy it because I give him some pieces, he just suggest what he sees (or believes he sees in hours) but in reality the market is much more different.
I hope this helps

awesome snakes bway 🙂

Very good advice!

Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
My art: featherdust.com

[Alyssa]

Would you do a gargoyle snake? My friend came up with the idea, but we haven’t seen one. I need to get one to ward off one of our evil co-workers. hehe

[Pam]

A gargoyle snake sounds fairly large, lol. I would have to make it with potters clay to make it affordable. Not right now though, I have so much work to do! @_@

The snakes are made with Apoxie. Think of it as potters clay mixed with superglue. That’s a bit like how it feels. It’s a two part clay that, when both parts are mixed together, becomes hard enough to sand within 4-5 hours. Becomes rock hard in 24 hours. VERY expensive, so I only use it for small sculpts, like these.

[Akeyla]

yep, I know apoxie. I do the understructure of bigger sculptures in apoxie, and I do jewelry. I know people who sculpt with it, full fantasy or other styles like me, but I cant deal with the quick cureing time. Did you make them solid? puresculpt?
have you ever tried polymer? it does not get rock hard but if you undersculpt in apoxie it gets very solid too.
As for pottery clay, I mean its only my opinion, but I do not at all recommend it for fine or weight intense (standing, humanoid) stuff, especially if you want to ship it. Unless the figure is filigree(winged, long legged, spiked) and bigger. Even with the kilning to me those figures were always a horror when they had to go beyond sitting in my room, like, being shipped to another country. SO easy to break, so hard to pack, heavy.

[Pam]

Those little snakes are sold apoxie, except for the heads. I make the heads from polymer clay. I start them off as little elongated balls, then I bake them, then carve and sand them into a vaguely snake-shaped head with a mouth. Then I use apoxie to add on details. The bigger snakes I make will be polymer clay built onto tinfoil amaratures.

I don’t mind potters clay for big projects that don’t involve delicate parts sticking out, but I don’t know that I would ship one either..

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