Calculate an art commission by multiplying estimated hours by target hourly earnings, then adding charges for revisions, backgrounds, extra characters, rush delivery, and licensing. The $10–$30 sketch, $20–$50 flat-color bust, $45–$110 rendered half-body, and $80–$200 full-body render ranges below are example worksheet outputs, not market benchmarks.
Last verified: August 2026.
Use the worksheet ranges only as starting examples. Your actual base price should reflect two workload variables: how much of the figure you draw—bust, half-body, or full-body—and how far you render it, from rough lines to full shading. Price character count, background detail, revisions, delivery speed, and usage rights separately when they expand the scope.
If you have not set up commissions yet, how to take paid commissions as a creator or artist covers scope, deposits, and turnaround. This guide focuses on calculating the price.
How should artists calculate a commission price?
Start with the time required to produce a clearly defined deliverable:
Base price = estimated work hours × target hourly earnings
Then add the value of included revisions and any order-specific work. After completing several commissions, compare your estimated hours with your recorded hours and update the menu.
Use this reproducible process:
- Define the deliverable: Record the crop, render level, character count, background, file format, usage rights, included revisions, and delivery window.
- Estimate the labor: Use timed examples from your own completed work whenever possible.
- Choose a target hourly amount: Set an earnings target appropriate to your costs, experience, and available capacity.
- Calculate the base price: Multiply estimated hours by the target hourly amount.
- Add out-of-scope work: Price extra characters, detailed backgrounds, rush delivery, additional revisions, and expanded rights separately.
- Validate after delivery: Divide the amount earned by the actual hours worked and revise any tier that falls below your target.
Build the menu around two primary variables:
- Crop: Define whether the order includes a bust, half-body, full-body figure, chibi, icon, or reference sheet with multiple views.
- Render level: Specify whether the buyer receives a rough sketch, clean lineart, flat color, cel shading, or full painterly rendering.
Your own timed work provides the most relevant input for this calculation. If a $90 tier takes six hours, its gross hourly return is $15 before payment and platform fees; if it takes three hours, its gross hourly return is $30 before fees. Record actual production time so that each tier reflects your workflow.
What example prices can artists enter in the worksheet?
The following figures come from FanBell’s August 2026 internal planning worksheet. They are manually selected calculator inputs—not observed marketplace averages or results from an evidence-based survey. No sample of Ko-fi, VGen, X, or another marketplace was used to establish them.
| Commission type | Defined scope | Example worksheet range |
|---|---|---|
| Sketch or lineart | Rough or clean lines, one character, no color | $10–$30 |
| Flat-color bust | One character chest-up, flat color, minimal shading | $20–$50 |
| Rendered half-body | One character to the waist, full shading, simple background | $45–$110 |
| Full-body, full render | One character head-to-toe, full color and shading | $80–$200 |
| Reference sheet or multi-character scene | Character sheet, or several figures with a detailed background | $150–$400+ |
To reproduce the process, define the scope in the middle column, estimate the required hours, multiply those hours by your target hourly earnings, and replace the example range with your calculated price.
FanBell’s August 2026 worksheet places a reference sheet or multi-character scene at $150–$400+, so an example worksheet output can exceed $300. That figure describes the worksheet input rather than measured marketplace pricing.
These ranges become useful only after the deliverable is defined. Before pricing, scope the request by specifying character count, crop, rendering, background, revisions, file format, usage rights, and delivery time.
If you draw animals, how much to charge for a pet portrait addresses that niche separately because digital work and traditional paint can involve different labor and material costs.
You can publish each tier as a separate offer through Creator Services, allowing fans to see its price and scope before ordering.
How much should artists add for characters, backgrounds, or commercial use?
First define what the base tier includes. For example, it might cover one character, a plain background, personal-use rights, and a stated number of revisions. Anything outside that definition can become a named add-on.
Every percentage below is an optional FanBell worksheet formula, not an observed industry rate or authoritative licensing standard.
| Add-on | Example worksheet formula | Reason to price it separately |
|---|---|---|
| Extra character | Add 50% of the base price per additional character | Another figure adds posing, drawing, coloring, and rendering work |
| Detailed background | Add a fixed menu price or provide a custom quote | An environment can require perspective, props, lighting, and rendering |
| Commercial use | Add around 50% of the personal-use price as a starting formula | Commercial rights expand how the buyer may use the work |
| Rush delivery | Apply an artist-defined surcharge | An accelerated deadline may require existing work to be reordered |
Apply these formulas only when they reasonably represent your labor or the requested rights:
- Extra characters: FanBell’s August 2026 worksheet uses 50% of the base price per additional character as an example formula. Under that assumption, adding a second character to a $120 full-render commission costs $60 because
$120 × 50% = $60. If your recorded labor shows that the second character takes nearly as long as the first, use a higher amount. - Backgrounds: Include only the background promised in the listing. A gradient, a prop-based scene, and a fully illustrated environment have different scopes, so define a price or quoting rule for each.
- Commercial use: FanBell’s August 2026 worksheet uses around 50% of the personal-use commission price as an optional calculator assumption. It is not a universal licensing rate. Price the actual rights requested, including exclusivity, merchandise rights, and distribution.
- Rush work: Set a rush fee when an accelerated deadline requires you to reorder existing work. State both the normal delivery window and the faster window covered by the surcharge.
A visible rule such as “+$60 per extra character” or “+50% for commercial use” gives the buyer a calculable total, but both remain artist-defined pricing choices. Adjust them when recorded labor, licensing scope, or order complexity shows that an add-on is underpriced.
What do artists keep after Stripe and FanBell fees?
FanBell charges a 12% platform fee that applies only when a fan pays (FanBell Pricing, verified August 2026). FanBell is also free to start and has no monthly fee (FanBell Pricing, verified August 2026).
Stripe handles payment processing and payouts through FanBell (How FanBell Works, verified August 2026). Stripe’s typical U.S. online-card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 per successful transaction (Stripe pricing, verified August 2026). International cards, currency conversion, or manually entered cards can cost more.
For a listed commission price of P, use this planning calculation:
- Stripe processing estimate:
P × 2.9% + $0.30 - FanBell fee:
P × 12% - Estimated net:
P − Stripe processing − FanBell fee
Each fee is calculated separately from the listed price. The 12% FanBell fee is not calculated from the balance remaining after the estimated Stripe deduction.
| You charge | Stripe processing at 2.9% + $0.30 | FanBell fee at 12% | You keep, approximately |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30 | $1.17 | $3.60 | $25.23 |
| $90 | $2.91 | $10.80 | $76.29 |
| $200 | $6.10 | $24.00 | $169.90 |
Using Stripe’s U.S. online-card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 (Stripe pricing, verified August 2026) and FanBell’s 12% platform fee (FanBell Pricing, verified August 2026), a $90 commission has an estimated net of $76.29.
These figures are planning estimates rather than exact payout statements. Check the actual transaction in your dashboard because card type, country, and currency can affect Stripe’s processing cost.
The fixed $0.30 processing component represents a larger share of a small transaction. For example, a $5 sketch leaves less room for labor after fees than a higher-priced order. An artist may therefore choose to keep the simplest tier at $10 or more when that better reflects the required time and desired take-home amount.
When should artists raise their commission prices?
Use queue pressure, recorded hours, and order complexity as evidence rather than relying on a universal sales threshold. Consider testing a higher price when:
- Slots fill faster than you can sustainably deliver. If demand consistently exceeds the number of commissions you can complete within the promised turnaround, test a higher price or open fewer slots.
- Actual hours exceed the estimate. If full renders routinely require more time than the menu allows, increase the price or narrow the included scope.
- Revisions consume unpriced time. Define a revision limit and charge for work beyond it. How many revisions a service should include explains how to set that boundary.
- Buyers repeatedly request the hardest version of a tier. Elaborate clothing, props, detailed backgrounds, and additional characters should become explicit add-ons when the base price does not cover them.
- Demand has increased while capacity remains fixed. More buyers competing for the same number of sustainable slots creates an opportunity to test a higher rate.
You do not need to change the entire menu at once. Raise one tier, track demand and fulfillment time, and compare the result with the previous price. Existing customers can decide whether the updated scope still suits them, while new buyers see the current rate before ordering.
How do artists set up commissions on FanBell?
Creator Services on FanBell lets artists publish the price, turnaround time, and revision count for each offer (How FanBell Works, verified August 2026). Set up each crop and render level as a clearly named tier, then list extra characters, detailed backgrounds, rush work, and expanded rights as separate options or quoting conditions.
Fans pay upfront before work starts (How FanBell Works, verified August 2026), reducing the need to chase invoices or renegotiate the listed price after a request arrives.
FanBell has no follower minimum to open commissions and is free to start with no monthly fee (FanBell Pricing, verified August 2026). Stripe handles payment processing and payouts (How FanBell Works, verified August 2026).
Frequently asked questions
How much should I add for each extra character?
FanBell’s August 2026 worksheet uses 50% of the base tier price per additional character as an optional formula, not an industry average. Under that formula, a second full-render character on a $120 commission adds $60. Increase the amount when your records show that the additional character requires nearly as much work as the first.
Should I price by the hour or use flat tiers?
Show buyers flat prices for clearly defined deliverables, but calculate those prices from your hours. Divide each tier’s price by the time it actually takes. If the resulting hourly earnings are below your target, raise the price, reduce the scope, or do both.
How much more should I charge for commercial rights?
FanBell’s August 2026 internal worksheet uses around 50% on top of the personal-use price as an optional calculator formula, not a universal licensing rate. The appropriate fee depends on exclusivity, distribution, merchandise plans, and intended use. State the permitted uses in writing rather than granting unrestricted commercial rights by default.
Should I collect payment before starting?
FanBell’s ordering process requires fans to pay upfront before work starts (How FanBell Works, verified August 2026). For a large, multi-week project outside that workflow, a deposit and milestone-based balance may be more suitable. How to take paid commissions explains deposits and milestones in more detail.
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