Rates for cartography commissions?

[Diamond]

I charge by overall pixel size and level of detail required. I'm working on a commission right now that's 1300x1600 pixels, with full geographic detail but no text, and I'm charging the client $45. Can't say if that's reasonable or not; this is only my fourth (paying) job, so maybe I'm waaaaay undercharging, I dunno. It seemed fair to me though, and the client had no problem with it, so I guess that's all that matters.

I don't like to gouge people, but I think the level of work you do requires an equal level of pay. It's just kind of hard to quantify what that rate should be; something that takes me an hour or two to do might take someone else two weeks. If the end product for both of us looks the same, who deserves more pay?

[tilt]

who deserves more pay?

The better negotiator

rate is always difficult - I wouldn't say that size matters (no pun intended ) more the amount of hours going into the project. You can make a huge map in 2 hours if the detail levels are low and you can work for a week on a small map when the detail levels are high ... so its difficult to base your prices on size.
HOWEVER - in some respects size does matter - cause the customer might feel he's getting more value for his money in a big map, so it has a psycological effect.

So I'd take these things into concideration:

Size of the map
Quality of the map
Pixel or vector map
Shall the client obtain the original files as well (normally not)
Exclusiveness of the map (may you sell it to other later - say after a set date)
Is it fantasy or real world - are there many rules to uphold (scale, placement of stuff)
then there is how much time you use talking to the client (with most clients not a problem, with some clients -big problem)
how many edits will you do without charging more
and the ... how much could the client pay factor .. ie you sometimes charge less to a small client or to a client who wouldn't use the map commercially

And later on ... the "how big an artist are you" pricesetting. The bigger the pricier.
For example a good friend of mine sells his art (paintings) for way more than the hours he would bill at a "normal job" - a small one about 40x50 cm costs 30-40.000 DKK (about 7-8000 dollar), then he just doubles his prices as he goes up in size... but he's good www.lindeneg.dk

so - its a difficult decision to make and always a question of appraising the client/job/etc ... but good luck and congrats on the commision

[Gamerprinter]

I charge based on expected time to create - I know how long it takes me to design aspects to a map. Once given scale, dimensions and detail I quote a price based on $20 per hour modified by whom the customer is. Sometimes I charge less for non-publishers. The detail in the map is more an issue than the overall scale, as I do this in vector size is not really relavent as regards to the price. A small map with lots of detail may take longer to create than a less detailed 24 x 36, for example. The smaller map would cost more.

GP