Need help- how much to rate this for the client

focus_method

Hi,
the client wrote "We  have a small sculpt project to edit a pose for a character, it’s nothing complicated and I’d love to see if you’re open to help us with that and what would be your rate."

i have no idea tbh how much to rate it ?
what do you think?

pior

Don't give any rate until you see the actual project. A client describing something as "small" and/or "nothing complicated" means one of two things : either that they have no idea what they are talking about, or, they are trying to lowball the fee estimate. Either way it's an amateurish way of framing things, so keep that in mind getting into this.

And since this deals with posing you might even need to have access to the file itself - or at the very least, a clear screenshot showing the topology.

Andreicus

pior said:

Don't give any rate until you see the actual project. A client describing something as "small" and/or "nothing complicated" means one of two things : either that they have no idea what they are talking about, or, they are trying to lowball the fee estimate. Either way it's an amateurish way of framing things, so keep that in mind getting into this.

And since this deals with posing you might even need to have access to the file itself - or at the very least, a clear screenshot showing the topology.

^this and always ask for what company he works for.
Usually clients that start with vague sentences like that, they are not serious and they won't reply after you answer them. 

However it could also be an indie dev on a budget and without much experience. 

For the rate I have a fixed hourly rate based on various things like cost of living, my skills etc. Check out the wiki. 
If it's just a commission from a fan or private I usually give a total price based on the project.

Oh and you should have a contract ready to send to the client... 

focus_method

hey guys...
after sending to them my sculpts i just got the actual project to see. And yea, Pior, you're right.....i got one of their characters sculpted for their first fully CG film and it's a sci-fi story  (low poly,mid poly,high poly meshes). And it's posed with arms down still in symmetry. They want clean T pose so they can rig it. I realised it means i need to deal with retopology here.
They said that would be a good start and then maybe they could see if I would be able to work with them on other assets as well.

hmm... i stil don't know about the rate, i hate this part when they asked how much hours you will need to finish it. The truth is ,i dont know in advance lol. Might take 6 hours, might take 14 hours. I replyed that the price is negotiable after all. ( because i am aware i need to collect experience first of all.)

tahakitan

i charge a day rate of 272 USD which equals about 34 USD an hour.  I tell them how many days it takes and its better to add more days than not enough.  If it takes you 4 hours than just  round up and charge a days work.  get a contract going saying how many days you will work to complete the job and the amount of feedback/fixes they are allowed to give you before you have to charge more $/days. 

doing this protects them and prepares them for the maximum price they will pay and prepares you for a guaranteed payment.   always gets 50% of the payment from individuals if they are not a company. the scammers usually run away when i say that.  They always say they are ready to pay until they realize they have to pay some of it upfront.