pencil portraits...how much should I charge?

[joko]

i've been asked by a number of people to do a portrait for them, but I have no idea what to charge...

I am also thinking of starting a website an offering them for sale properly

they are just A4 pencil sketches done from photographs, but can people generally give me an idea of what theyd expect to pay for a portrait of this type?
they would not be framed.

ive looked at some online but the prices seems to vary, and some of the quality of them is not that good...

I believe mine are very good and that people would pay a wee bit more to know they will be getting a true likeness and a good skilled drawing

but of course i dont want to overcharge - just want to charge a fair and reasonable price

my mates will be getting mates rates of course but id like to find a price to sell them online

any ideas??

thanks

[cazzz1975]

I broached this with someone who told me that they can get a photo scanned to look like a pencil drawing so they would not pay for a hand drawing (scanner accuracy being 100%)

I think if you tried a canvas portrait people may be up for that more

[joko]

mmm...they don't look too great though do they, or look 'hand drawn'...they just look like a computer simulation...which is what they are ...but they arent as nice - mmm interesting point tho, thanks cazzz

[im-hungry]

Hi - my advice would be to sell on ebay rather than your own website simply because ebay already has established heavy traffic and lots of artists selling their wares. If you have a look you can get a feel for what people are charging but more importantly whats selling. Just click on the artists feedback and you can see what they have sold and for how much and how often. I wish you all the best!