Question About Pay Rates...
Hi, guys.
I have a question regarding how much I should charge for something, and I was told this is the best place to ask...
Without getting into any details, I have been requested to 3D model and texture a bunch of vehicles (1000-2000 polys per vehicle, with all of the standard maps included). What is the standard amount that most people would be charging per vehicle these days?
Thanks so much in advance for any advice anyone can give me.
I have a question regarding how much I should charge for something, and I was told this is the best place to ask...
Without getting into any details, I have been requested to 3D model and texture a bunch of vehicles (1000-2000 polys per vehicle, with all of the standard maps included). What is the standard amount that most people would be charging per vehicle these days?
Thanks so much in advance for any advice anyone can give me.
Replies
Estimate how long it will take you. Figure out what your desired hourly rate is. Multiply that by 1.5 or so to pad for the inevitable revisions.
Local McDonald's hourly minimum wage X Your years of relevant pro work experience = Your minimum self-respecting hourly rate
If you`re desperate .....maybe charge McD wage rate X number of days you actually need full amount in hand.
Good luck
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryGameIndustry
basically. Regardless of what the product is (model/illustration/decorating someones living room) work out your hourly rate and multiply by how many hours you think it'll take to do the work.
But... remember if you're working from home. Add a bit more if you're using your own software licences buying your own coffee, etc.
I don't have any freelance experience but from other threads like this I hear that freelancers typically charge more than an in house employee because, in the long run, they cost the studio less - but search the forum for info, there have been tons of threads on this topic.
And then pad for:
income tax
health insurance
down time(few freelancers have constant work)
retirement planing
etc
Seriously, factor these in. After the cost of these two you could find yourself getting paid well under minimum wage if you're basing your rate off of what you'd like to make in house.
In theory and practice this is good but if ones is starting out and building client list and experience there`s the real risk of pricing youself out and losing what could be long term projects from people who`ll take low budget jobs. Might as well commit to getting yourself a full-time staff job.
Getting multi-month gigs for me as a freelancer is more important than finding clients who have the means to pay what the graphics guild book says I should charge.
It helps a lot to know your physical and financial limits so you don`t commit to something that`ll end up being unfair to you. But you won`t know your own threshold until you do enough freelancing.
Unlike corporate career track you don`t have to wait years or dev cycle to finish to level up (you know, from jr. to sr. pay scale). So if you`re just going to be full time freelancer, I recommend to figure out your entry level rate just to pull in some business and get your feet wet. Couple of gigs later, scale up your rates using your previous models or whatever art asset as leverage. Hopefully your negotiations skills have improved too so you know when to be firm and when to give the other party some room to hire you.
If you're willing to accept below standard wages is one thing, where/who you live with, what sort of expenses you have an general cost of living make it impossible to really say what is acceptable for a certain person. But knowing that there is more to it than just "X hourly" rate is soooo important and a lot of first time freelances do not account for all of the extra costs that you have to cover out of your pocket, that are otherwise covered for you with an in-house gig.
Theres no reason not to take these factors into account, its super super important to know about them. If you decide at the end of the day to undercut yourself to get more jobs thats fine, but there is no reason to be willfully ignorant of the true costs of freelancing.
Also: SAVE YOUR MONEY EARNED FROM FREELANCING IN A SEPARATE BANK ACCOUNT. Its not uncommon to go without work for months at a time, so save that cash somewhere separate than your checking account to keep yourself from thinking "Yay I'm rich!" every time you get paid. Only take out what you need to live on from this account, or even set up automatic withdraw to "pay" yourself at regular intervals. Your money will go a lot further and you will have a lot less money-related stress. I recommend an ING orange online account, super easy with 0.8% interest rate currently(way better than the savings account at your local bank). I also save a certain % from every payment to a separate ING account for taxes, say 30%, but it really depends on income level and estimated taxes.
In the UK thats anything from 100 to 250 pounds per day, depending on who you are working for.
I overheard a conversation when I was working in london , guy in the studio next door was saying that he required a feelance producer and get this - a cheap one for 800 pounds per day. gaahh i am in the wrong job
I think it depends largely on who's gonna pay you.
If a big studio or a contractor that has big studio clients want my services, sure I'd ask for my max rate like what all the online surveys say. But if it's an easy $200 gig from an individual or small company that'll at least pay one house bill, I'd take it. A lot of online small jobs have predetermined budgets. Some even list that they can only pay a few hundred. I see those small jobs as opportunities (easy cash and possibly repeat business) rather than a waste of my time. Downtime is lethal if you're a full time freelancer.
I'm not advocating to charge cutthroat prices like in odesk/or elance at all, but just as a tip to be flexible when you're just starting out.
That's why you need multiple clients with varying budgets and long term projects for you to be sustainable as a full time freelancer.
If you can afford to be picky, great...you're a rockstar who deserves to be compensated the current industry rate everytime you get hired. I'm not one, only good enough to pull in some gigs to pay my bills. (I'm still dreaming and working on the other revenue-stream idea :poly136:)