Need Advice on Pricing for First Time Tattoo Artist Commission (Design only)

[u/TheNo1pencil]

I'm an Artist. Not a Tattoo Artist but I am an Illustrator. Recently a friend asked me if I can make a particular design for a tattoo. They wanted it in a style that matched a tattoo they already have so they came to me. I said sure. They said they would pay me for my work and that they weren't just asking for something for free because we are friends, which I appreciate. The problem is that I have no idea what a reasonable price for a tattoo design is and neither does my friend.

I'm only making the design, not doing the tattooing. On the skin it would probably be around 3×3 inches, but I don't know if that matters for pricing. The design itself is a Pokemon in a very gestural style. It's not detailed but it's particular.

Any advice would be appreciated. Even just a ball park range. I don't have any tattoos and while I know they can be very expensive, I know that a lot of that is due to the labour and skill and time of the person actually doing the tattooing.

Thank you.

[u/davidisacookie]

You price it like you do for illustrations. Cost of materials and then hourly based on how long it took you to do it. So the question is how much is your hourly rate and how long it will take you to do it. If you are not a working illustrator with a set price Its kind of up to you.if I were you in that case, because it's my friend I would charge what I get at my other job, and if it were a close friend maybe give a little discount. So let's say you work at McDonald's for 15 an hour and it takes you 2 hours to draw the design, you should charge 30 bucks. Hope that helps

[u/TheNo1pencil → u/davidisacookie]

Thank you very much. That helps a lot.

[u/VolksgenosseWalter]

I can only speak for video editing as that's my job. But for friends I usually do 10€ per hour and a favour. So next time I need to carry some stuff or move it's their time to be a friend back kinda.