In doing some freelance graphic work in the past Ive learned a few things. First is that most artists undersell themselves. An experienced top notch artist can charge anywhere from $300/hr. to $500/hr. Most graphic artists I know charge from $35/hr. to $100/hr. because they feel comfortable at this price range (depending on their experience) and dont feel like theyre soaking the client and keeps their quilt in check. But imagine this; in charging $35/hr. and you put in 10 hours worth of work into the project, your final price comes to $350. At $50/hr., come to a $500 pay. If you should go over the 10-hour limit, will you eat the down time? After some experience, the artist can tell, more or less, how long each project should take him or her. Things to consider; is the project being handed to you, that is, is the client telling you exactly what he needs or do you have to come up with the final interpretation yourself? If this is the case, how long will it take you to come up with a concept that the client will accept or will he continuously change his mind? Isnt concept time part of the job? It sure is! Also, once youve decided to on a straight price, you should explain to the client that if they should change their mind and want the piece reworked, there will be an added charge. Always take a setup fee (down payment usually anywhere from 25% to 50% of price) upfront incase youve already gotten started on a project and the client changes his mind and decides he doesnt want the work. The setup charge kind of forces the client to see the project through to the end and also alleviates any distrust you may have that the client will walk out on the project. This by the same token forces you to be more professional by placing yourself at the clients service. Offering both home phone number and cell phone number to the client where he can reach you at any time helps to instill trust and confidence between both of you. Most artists can estimate from experience how long a particular size job will take them, give or take a few hours. If you know you have all the required materials for the job and dont have to go off in search of materials then based on your hourly rate, you can give the client a good estimate of cost. The best way is to give a potential client a flat charge up front but leave yourself some wiggle room in case things dont go as planned. As for copyright, when you are commissioned by someone or a company to do a job for them, you must realize that you will more than likely be giving up most if not all of your rights to that work unless you provide your own copyright legal forms and place your own conditions such as artist recognition, artist limited use of work (exhibitions and such) clients compliance of tasteful use of the work. Any royalty clauses usually based on percentages of commissions from the use or sale of the piece. And so on. Treat the job as a regular job where you have start hours and quitting hours with time in between for coffee breaks and lunches. If you know a job is going to take you about 20 hours, break it up into 3, 7hour days at say $35/hr. comes to $735 pay for 3 days work. Sounds reasonable to me.