Going rates for custom animations

I am curious what people are charging to develop custom animation.


Do you charge by the keyframe? .. by framecount? ... time it takes you to make it? How do you factor for differing perms? How do you handle ownership/retension of rights of IP for reuse redistribution to another client or in competing or non-competing products of your own.

I work out a detailed estimate for the job based upon the number of keyframes I will have to do. I then charge for my time at an hourly rate with a fixed price contingency added.

Im not so pro at quoting in SL yet. I have that same prob too..

some animations maybe longer but are simpler.. others are short, but need lots of tweaking to get the hands/legs etc aligned plus getting the animation to loop smoothly over certain frames and action is not so easy.

but I'll say estimate what that animation can make you on the market in total and base your calculations on that.

Best way, if possible, is to share the earnings if its a product.

otherwise might as well produce it yourself and sell it on the open market.

For me, Im still slowly trying to make a name for my store & my quality of work. So not only is it better just to stick to making stuff I like (time is precious) and make $ at the same time.

I work in SL not just for $ I rather do that in RL. pays more.
The reason Im doing it in SL is that I get to do what I like..

To price anim projects I factor in the following

Complexity of the anim (1av, 2av, more, length, action, etc)
The availability and cost of similar anim
The permissions requested (personal use, fill perm, exclusive rights)
The marketability of the anim if exclusive right are not required
The deadline I will be working under
My interest in the project (does it look like fun vs. work)
Demands of RL at the time.

I add all these up then make a WAG (wild assed guess). If the client agrees I will start work. I take no payment until the client takes delivery of the final product and is completely happy with the product. Not very scientific and I run the risk of being stiffed (hasn't happened yet) but I not doing work to make a living. Thats what the 70+ hours a week in RL are for *grins*