A Guide to RPG Freelance Rates: Part 2 (Layout, Illustration, and Cartography)

I’ve created this guide to help RPG creators understand the current market rates for freelancers across a range of activities. I recall how hard it was to find this information when I was starting out, so I think there is clearly a need for this sort of a guide. In this installment, I include rate information for layout, illustration, and cartography.

Where available, I’ve provided mainstream rates for each activity, as these give interesting context. I then share the actual rates I’ve seen in the tabletop RPG industry. Where I can, I’ve included my sources, but a lot of this information is simply gleaned through experience and word of mouth.

Layout Rates
Layout rates can be tricky, with some freelancers using complex formulas to calculate their quotes. The Editorial Freelancers Association suggests layout designers should charge from $4 to $14 per page for book layout, although this is for print books. My experience is that you are looking at between $2 and $5 per page for PDF layout in the RPG industry. But it is hard to generalize, and this is an area where it is good to get a few quotes before proceeding.

Illustration Rates
If layout rates are hard to nail down, then illustration rates are downright diabolical. The following numbers were taken from an article on Format.com. Let’s think about a full-page color illustration for a book or magazine cover. Someone like HarperCollins or Time might pay $3,000 or more for that image! By contrast, Archie comics pay about $500 for their covers.

What about interior illustrations? There is strong demand for these in children’s books. IllustratorsOnline.com suggests that children’s book illustrations vary between $250 and $1500 per piece, with the variability driven by size, style, color, and the fame of the artist.

Those are mainstream rates, of course. For a relevant comparison within the tabletop gaming industry, a Reddit thread reports that the average Magic: The Gathering artist makes $400 to $600 per card. The same thread suggests “name” artists make up to triple that amount.

The major science fiction and fantasy magazines are good touchpoints. Analog pays $1,200 for a cover, Asimov’s pays $600-$1,200, while Clarkesworld pays $250. These rates were sourced from the Artists Market 2018 and the magazine websites.

Given this, how much will you pay for your RPG artwork? For a full-page color illustration, I typically see quotes in the vicinity of $200 to $500. The half-page rate is 50-60% of the full page rate, while the quarter-page rate is 25-35% of the full page rate. For black and white images, you halve the color rate.

But this is only a very rough guide as the complexity of the requested piece makes a huge difference to the price. You really need to contact the artist with your commission and get a quote.

For a concrete example, the following price guidelines are given by Dean Spencer, an experienced professional RPG artist, on his website:

• Full-page color: $380+
• Half-page color: $255+
• Quarter page color: $190+
• Spot filler color: $60+
• Full page b/w: $255+
• Half page b/w: $190+
• Quarter page b/w: $130+
• Spot filler b/w: $40+

Cartography Rates

Cartography is another area where things can vary massively. A map could be a simple affair drawn using a dungeon mapping tool, or it could be a hand-painted work of art that is as sophisticated and beautiful as the cover.

For someone to put together a map for you in CCC3 (a popular tool), you are probably looking at something up to about $50 per page, depending on complexity. For hand-drawn maps, I’ve seen full-page rates start at $50/page (note that is quite low as it is for non-exclusive rights with the map released to the artist's patreon backers). One of the top cartographers in the field, Dyson Logos, charges $250/page for his distinctive b/w maps (the rate is sourced from his website). Full-page, full-color maps can easily cost the same as full-page illustrations (which is what they are).

Professional cartographer Thomas Rey recently published his rates on the Cartographer’s Guild forums:

• B/W map: $170
• Parchment with a few colors: $280
• Full-color map: $400

As always, the rate will vary with complexity.

Finding Freelancers, Finding Work
In my experience, the best way to find a freelancer is to find work you like and then look at the credits! There is a high probability that the person responsible is looking for new commissions, so you can reach out to them on twitter or their website or Facebook. People who are open to new work usually maintain an active social media presence.

If you are a new freelancer looking for work, it is pretty much mandatory these days that you build up a portfolio of self-published titles first. Once you have a few really good books under your belt, you can reach out to publishers confidently with your portfolio. They won’t be offended so long as you are polite!

This article was contributed by M.T. Black as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. M.T. Black is a game designer and DMs Guild Adept. Please follow him on Twitter @mtblack2567 and sign up to his mailing list.

 

[MNblockhead]

As Steve Jobs said, "real artists ship!"

A lot of artists have personalities that may help to make them creative but difficult to work with. Also, many of the more business minded have more "cookie cutter" approaches that leads to forgettable art. It is something special when you find someone who is both.

In my experience it helps to have someone who is staying on top of the freelancer, who knows how to work with artists and keep them on task. Ultimately, you want a good final product, even if you have to manage some challenging personalities to get there.

I had a Web designer that worked with at a prior company who had a fear of using bathrooms in public or other people's houses. He also once cancelled a meeting because he took a crap (at his own place) and needed to take a shower. He didn't even bother to make up another excuse. But folks liked his work.

You can get away with a lot if you are talented enough and ultimately deliver--not that I recommend anyone impose their quirks on others, lot's of business are not going to put up with that unless you are a top name.

As someone who has worked with a lot of freelancers (mostly for custom python scripts and Web development, and artists for marketing material), the most important thing, after actual skill, is communication. Often, the most sensitive aspect of a project is not cost but predictability and schedule. Be clear up front what changes will increase the cost. Be careful with ranges. Customers tend to remember the lower number.

I feel for artists. Most buyers don't have a lot of experience buying art and they often underestimate the work involved. Also, there is so much competition that it is easy be undercut. If you live in America or Western Europe, you can't really compete on cost and make a decent living. There are many excellent artists in other parts of the world willing to work for a much lower rate that still gives them a good quality of life. Your advantages will be ease of communication and legal protections, but that often isn't enough. You better work on a distinctive and marketable style and build a great network.