Question: Drawing design fee

Choppers_rule

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Do you guys have a max cap at how much to charge for drawing a design?.....say for a pocket knife?
Sometimes, it took me hours to draw a design but I never charge customers for more than 1 hour of my time.

Thank you,
Denny
 

JJ Roberts

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Denny,I charge the customer for drawings this way you'll know if there serious,same with students I get a deposit before class. J.J.
 

Sam

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I don't offer that service, but I would charge them for every minute of my time just like if I was engraving.

What can happen is you do the design, they decline the work, and take your design to be engraved by someone cheaper. Yep...been there and done that. I tell them that I don't do preliminary drawing and draw directly on the workpiece and engrave it. I have enough work on my website and Instagram for them to choose from as far as what style they're looking for.
 

SalihKara

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I don't offer that service, but I would charge them for every minute of my time just like if I was engraving.

What can happen is you do the design, they decline the work, and take your design to be engraved by someone cheaper. Yep...been there and done that. I tell them that I don't do preliminary drawing and draw directly on the workpiece and engrave it. I have enough work on my website and Instagram for them to choose from as far as what style they're looking for.

Sam, you are right.
To me drawing is more complex than cutting, if I had a pre-drawn design it would take half time to finish the whole job.

My personel opinion, any one can learn how to cut in a few weeks with a good practise but they can not learn how to draw.
 

Bob A

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Sam, you are right.
To me drawing is more complex than cutting, if I had a pre-drawn design it would take half time to finish the whole job.

My personel opinion, any one can learn how to cut in a few weeks with a good practise but they can not learn how to draw.

Please allow me to politely disagree. I believe drawing is a learned skill; few have the innate ability. That's why I'm taking lessons, and studying the materials available through Sam and others. It doesn't happen overnight, but like most things in life results will be defined by effort. Thanks - Bob
 

diandwill

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When working at the counter for jewelry, I do very rough sketches...just enough to convey a thought. Fot knives I will sketch backbones, at most. The details they can see in my other work, and the sketches stay with me unless I know the client and know they will be back.
 

Barry Lee Hands

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Basically, i agree with Sam, however i do make exceptions.
I have excellent clients for whom i do what i call "renderings"
When they place an order, they then send me the piece.
If a design has been requested, I do the layout on the piece, photocopy it and blow it up and draw in the detail, and send them a scan or photocopy.
Usually they approve, if not, i do another including their commentary.
Yes, it may take a few days, and sometimes delays the start of a project - but most of my jobs take two or three months, so it is not a huge addition to my time.
There is no additional fee, as my price is a set price, and the client gets whatever he wants included.

"Tis the servant who takes the money" - T.E. Lawrence
 
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Choppers_rule

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Hmmm...thank you everyone!! obviously I need to charge more for my drawing & a deposit. I usually just charge 1 hour or 2 hour of my time for a drawing even though sometimes it took longer than that. And yes......I had drawn some prelim drawings but clients never send their pieces. Another time, I have to redrew the whole scroll design without charging extra for it because of a picky client.
 

Sam

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When talking engraving and design options with a customer, I tell them to show me examples of what they like from my website, and more importantly to show me what they don't like. That really gets us into the zone very quickly.

I've had people email me photos of other engraver's drawings and photos of their work, seeking a cheaper price. Often I recognize whose work it is and I direct them to that person. I hate it when that happens, but it happens all then time. Mark your drawings with your name and assume they'll be sent to other engravers for a quote! I have watermarked/overlaid SAMPLE on drawings in the past.

High end clients that Barry describes can be a different story, especially if they have a good reputation or you've developed a relationship with them.
 

Choppers_rule

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When talking engraving and design options with a customer, I tell them to show me examples of what they like from my website, and more importantly to show me what they don't like. That really gets us into the zone very quickly.

I've had people email me photos of other engraver's drawings and photos of their work, seeking a cheaper price. Often I recognize whose work it is and I direct them to that person. I hate it when that happens, but it happens all then time. Mark your drawings with your name and assume they'll be sent to other engravers for a quote! I have watermarked/overlaid SAMPLE on drawings in the past.

High end clients that Barry describes can be a different story, especially if they have a good reputation or you've developed a relationship with them.

Thank you Sam! These are great tips!
Most of my commissioned works are from social media which is a great free advertising but also, a great risk of someone stealing your art.
I know there is an engraver stole a pic. post of another engraver from Instagram and post it on his post as its' his own work. Horrible.
 

Sam

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Thank you Sam! These are great tips!
Most of my commissioned works are from social media which is a great free advertising but also, a great risk of someone stealing your art.
I know there is an engraver stole a pic. post of another engraver from Instagram and post it on his post as its' his own work. Horrible.




There was a tattoo artist on Instagram that used one of my vector musical designs (leafy treble clef) for a tattoo she did for a client. When I thanked her for using my artwork she claimed it was her work and that she drew it herself. When I showed her copyrighted proof and the link to iStock where the file had been for several years, she still denied it and claimed it was her original artwork. Nothing surprises me any more!
 

Doc Mark

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Sam, that treble clef is truly awesome! Very unique. Too bad it was stolen so blatantly! Many years ago, when I was doing pen and ink drawings for the military, I saw one of my drawings as part of a logo on a plumbing truck. I stopped and talked to the owner and confronted him about it. He said that since he bought one of my prints he could use the design at will. I tried to make him see that this design was part of my business and he was stealing from me, but to no avail. It wasn't worth the fight at the time. I walked away shaking my head. There is no way to fight our "entitled" society today.
 

oiseau metal arts

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dealing with online customers bumps into this nightmare frequently. (joy of the times)
most often I get asked to do several different renderings of a love token ive done before, have images of listed, but they want to see it drawn out with different name, or initials. I try as politely to explain itll look the same as the one pictured, just with a "J" instead of an "N".

the other fun one someone asked about a ring idea, I made a suggestion, and did sketch..... she loved it, ordered the ring, and then tried to claim all artistic rights to it because she asked me to put the sculpted rose on top. claiming that was her original idea. so.... I replied back with a silver and copper ring I made back in 1996 just like it, (birthday gift for high school sweet heart) but without the other English roses engraved around the band. she bought the individual piece, but not my right as the designer and craftsman to make others.
 

Sam

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Sam, that treble clef is truly awesome! Very unique. Too bad it was stolen so blatantly! Many years ago, when I was doing pen and ink drawings for the military, I saw one of my drawings as part of a logo on a plumbing truck. I stopped and talked to the owner and confronted him about it. He said that since he bought one of my prints he could use the design at will. I tried to make him see that this design was part of my business and he was stealing from me, but to no avail. It wasn't worth the fight at the time. I walked away shaking my head. There is no way to fight our "entitled" society today.

I believe she purchased a license to use the design on iStock where I license my artwork. So I don't think she stole it, but she claimed she drew it.

Shame about the plumbing truck!
 

Weldon47

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Like Sam, with few exceptions, I draw directly on the piece I'm going to engrave.
I do not provide "drawings" to clients as I've got enough of a body of work out there for them to see.
An exception was when I was commissioned to create drawings for a project that was to be engraved for a client. He was having a Blaser built and engraved in Germany but liked my scroll designs & wanted that on his gun. I also engraved a sample plate for my counterpart in Germany to help them understand the style.
Yes, I was paid handsomely for the drawings & it was understood beforehand that someone else would be cutting the pattern.

WL
 

Andrew Biggs

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I draw quite a bit of my work for clients so the project is pre-approved. That way there are no misunderstandings.

Most people ask for an idea of price first. So I give them a range of prices and try and set some sort of budget. Within that price range is the cost of the drawing. I also give them an idea of the actual process that the whole job takes and explain that every job is tailored toward the client, smoke pulls of the canvas area etc etc.

When/if the customer approves I get them to send the parts.................... Then I do the drawings/designs.

By having the parts in my hand, the client has committed to the project.

I never draw designs on spec.

So far that has worked for me.

Cheers
Andrew
 

Fred Bowen

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Weldon, it would be very interesting to see the German engraver's interpretation of your style. It would be like trying to perform a song exactly, vocally & instrumentally, like Vince Gill. You can't help injecting some of you into it.
 

Weldon47

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Hi Fred,

I agree completely & in fact, mentioned that to the client!
I have the greatest respect for the group of engravers that Blaser uses, they are definitely world-class!! This particular request is going to be a tough one because it asks them to do my style & not theirs. For this reason I sent a sample plate so they could see it in person. Still, it's quite a challenge!
Still waiting to see what they come up with.
They've already done one which the client rejected.....
 
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