Mik5757

With the context of the rest of my post, I'll still stand by my original point that its unlikely that people are willing to pay much for commissioned mod work, with the exception of someone wanting very specific people to work on their project. Everyone should reconsider ever entering a casino ever (other than for entertainment). The odds are purposely stacked against you. Going into a casino and expecting to profit is comparable to trying to make a living off of Doom mapping commissions. It's unlikely.

I would see this as the biggest factor for commissions working/not working in the Doom community. I would assume most of the people here like the game and/or like making content for it, so I would be willing to bet that there is a pretty big pool of people willing to do work on a project for free. This devalues paid commission work, with the exception of those wanting specific mappers / spriters / coders to work on a project. I would also dare say that most aspects of Doom modding are rather accessible for those willing to learn, especially mapping. The work tends to be fun, which is why the people here do it as a hobby. Compare this to drafting a schematic for the middle tube of an expandable baton, or making an informational brochure for Yorkshire Terriers, or designing product packaging for a strobe light. No one is going to to do any of these for fun, they are dull jobs that serve a commercial purpose (which also tends to be where the money is). All of this goes into what people are willing to pay, and how low of an amount artists would be willing to work for. For here, both of these seem like they would be very low.

If a layout is already made for the map, and you just want me to build and polish it, I would estimate that to take a solid 8 hours of work. If you also want me to design it from scratch, add an hour to that. A project deadline of 1 week won't incur any extra costs for rushing the job. I would charge $20 an hour for anything Doom related. The work is relatively easy for me, and I enjoy it. I also have some competition (with Ermi apparently offering $1 per map). $160-$180 dollars guarantees you a map made to your expectations (and likely well past them) within a week, with the first build being completed within 4 days. Bugfixes and small changes are, of course, free. You will be given my business email, phone number, and Discord ID, and can contact me at any time with questions or concerns. If you need me to create any graphical assets (textures, sprites, etc), or if you need any major scripting/coding done, we would negotiate a price. Exact payment terms would also be negotiated. I would give you discounts if there are additional maps, which would be negotiated once we have an exact amount of work that needs to be done (I've offered a 10% discount for a 40 hour project before). Mind you, this is all hypothetical. I'm busy with my own personal project at the moment, and we're in a bit of a crunch at my day job. I couldn't currently guarantee you a map done within a week. I also lowballed an estimate that I would pay another mapper earlier, which probably puts me at a disadvantage (whoops). Honestly, I'm more likely to contribute a few maps to your project in my free time as a hobby, rather than a job.

If the client doesn't agree to the timeframe or the price, you negotiate. If they agree, then the work is done within the established timeframe, and the client pays. I'll have a displayed price per hour, which is almost never accurate by the time the invoice is paid. For example, I used to charge $50/hour for designing schematics for 3d print models. Client wants me to make a set of 6 objective markers for Warhammer 40k, so that he can print them out and sell them at his hobby shop. I quote him $600, which is 2 hours per objective marker. He needs the project done in 30 days. I actually ended up spending around 20 hours on the project because my 3d printer's heated bed stopped working, and the prototypes weren't coming out right. I also worked at a fairly leisurely pace. Because the client did not request any major changes after the contract was made, and the delays were on my end, I did not charge anything more than $600. The project was still done before the deadline, the client was satisfied with the work, and the models are now being sold at his shop. Working faster just means you technically make more per hour. If I quoted a client 12 hours, and end up completing the job in 6, I will still charge the client the full amount that we agreed on. The client cares more that the project is done correctly, and that it is done before the deadline. It makes no difference if you take every possible second to complete the project, or if you complete it in a nanosecond, as long as it's the desired quality and within the deadline.

I'd just like to chime in really quick as someone who was doing freelance graphic design work as a living about 3 years ago, and am now employed full time as a web designer / graphic designer: Prices vary heavily based on how much I am actually designing. Say, if you had map layouts written out, a list of assets needed, and an end goal, the rates are lower than if you wanted me to manage the entire project from start to finish. Then, I would estimate how much time the project will take, and if there are any crucial deadlines that would change my normal working pace. I personally only charge more than the estimate if any of the conditions of the contract change (make sure this is written down somewhere on the agreement that you both sign). A low asking price is actually just as likely to scare a potential client away as an excessively high one. For example, someone that values their own work at one dollar per map doesn't inspire much confidence. Without knowing anything else about that person, I would assume that a 1 dollar map would be of low quality, and I probably wouldn't get much support or professionalism. Me personally? If I was commissioning maps for a project, and willing to sink money into it, I would never hire an artist that charges 1 dollar per map, because someone who charges such a low amount likely won't take this project very seriously. I would rather pay somewhere around $50 - $100 per map based on the length, if I like their previous work. I wouldn't suggest trying to make a living off of Doom commissions, seeing how most modders are willing to work for free, and there isn't much money to be made for either party. If you want to pay someone to make a mod for you, keep in mind how skilled they are, how fast they work, and how reliable they are. Make sure the terms of the contract are clear. Don't be surprised if you end up paying a lot for 40+ hours of work.