Advice on pricing needed. Tattoo design

[Tom Behnke]

Calling all friends with tattoos or who can offer an opinion. Someone wants me to design a tattoo for them. My question is regarding what to charge for the service. I will not be doing the actual tattooing, just providing a reference when she goes to get it. The design is not complicated. She wants three flowers that represent three different months in a bunch for a shoulder tattoo. It shouldn't take more than a day to do. However, I don't think I can charge it like a painting because she will still have to pay to get it done. I don't have any tattoos so I don't know anything about pricing. I know my niece just had one designed and done on her foot and it was $260.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks :>

[allydoodle]

Hey Tom,

An interesting question. I'm wondering if you have to create something in color or black and white as a reference for the tattoo artist to copy? What size would you be doing? I would think that coming up with a price per square inch might work. I started doing that for my paintings, then taking the frame into consideration afterwards.

A price per square inch for artwork in color, and another price per square inch for black and white artwork is probably not a bad idea. Also, you could consider a "base fee" for the idea/concept, then add the price per square inch. Some different ways to approach this for you to consider.

I am interested in hearing what others might say, as there might be someone out there that has done this very thing. There certainly are different ways to do this, so I'll definitely be watching this thread to see what other artists suggest. I'm really not sure what I would do either, these were just the first thoughts that came to me.

[*Deirdre*]

I think you might get more input on another forum, hence the move.

[ironbrush]

Tom...

You pose an interesting question. I am not an expert nor do I claim to be one. As an amateur artist I have designed "professional grade" logos in the past(1980-ish). I did several for horse stables and a couple for some professional bowlers. Like you I had no idea how to charge for these. (I probably under-charged anyway.) My then circle of automotive custom painters and designers suggested a flat fee for the concept sketches and flat fee for the actual design.
I agree with Allydoodle the "per square inch" method may be very useful in your situation.

Cheers...
Ironbrush

[allydoodle]

Tom,

I see that this has been moved to Wearable Art. Not sure this is the place for answers, as this really encompasses more than just wearable art. This is more like a question of what to charge someone who needs to use your idea. It could be for T-shirts, jewlery, a poster for advertisement, a design for an ad, etc. Not just wearable, you see?

Maybe post this in the Art Business Center/General Art Business Forum?

Thought I should mention what I thought, as I was interested in the responses, and looking here in Wearable Art wasn't the first place I would look. Keep it here, but cross post it in the Art Business Center. Just an idea.

[*Deirdre*]

This was moved to Wearable Art...as it has the most posts regarding tatoos.

[Dawnt0721]

Interesting question. When I got my tattoo done the person that did the tattoo also did the drawing for me.

I guess my opinion would be to charge by the hour. When I make jewelry or glass pieces for someone I have a base fee depending on the piece and then an hourly fee if it looks like it will be more complicated. I don't have a lot of free time between work and family commitments so I feel my free time is valuable enough to charge for.

[beetlesaab]

A shop down in Houston charges $45 an hour to do the drawing. That doesn't include the price of the tat.

[Night Dancer]

I think beetlesaab's information is a good start to think about priceing.
I would guess that tatto studios base their drawing prices as a percentage of
the time the tattoing takes.
I always wondered if you let a tatto artist use your work, should you get a fee if the shop uses your design on another person? I have some designs that
could become tattos too.

[Dallen]

$50 sounds like a fair price to charge, anything higher seems a bit ridiculous for 3 flowers in a bunch. I don't know any professional artist who would need more than 2 to 3 hours to complete such a design.

[Atsushi356]

Skeleton Flame Tattoo - The skeleton looks really unique with flames shooting up out of its eye sockets. You can get many variations of skeleton flame tattoos.

Factors that determine a tattoo's price
The following factors will determine how much your tattoo will cost.
The placement of the tattoo - where you decide to get the tattoo.
The design- the more elaborate the design, the more it will cost you.
The colors- the more colors that the design entails, the more the tattoo will cost.
The size- the bigger the tattoo, the more it will cost.
From a flash or original- if you choose a tattoo right off of a flash, it doesn't take the artist much to just copy and tweak, versus come up with an original design, some artists factor in the time spent drawing the tattoo into the final cost.
The time it takes to complete- some tattoo shops charge an hourly fee, so depending on how long it takes to get your tattoo, the final price may increase.
Location: the price of the tattoo will vary on your location and the tattoo shop and artist.

the price of a tattoo will vary between tattoo artists, seeing one's portfolio and style of work may help you decide.

Consider:
Guy A charges $100 for poor quality.
Guy B charges $200 for medium quality.
Guy C charges $150 for good/ decent (better than medium) quality.
Guy D charges $250 for great quality.
You have to be the one to make the final decision, as to how the benefit of the quality weighs in regards to the price.

[torifgarder]

I think the price is quite good. Most of the tattoos have the prizes range between $200 to $300. The prize cost varies as the tattoo design and skills of the tattoos making artist. The tattoo ink is the other factor which decides the tattoos cost. For more query, you should talk with local tattoos making artist.

[jacobs8891]

Well you are thinking of designing the tattoo according to the request. If you don't have the information regarding the pricing of tattoo designing,then i would say that you should approach to your nearby tattoo artists and get suggestions by them.

[ElleZ]

Also, do know that the whoever does the actual tattoo, gets to keep the design for use on other customers.