I'm considering commissioning a front cover for my first album, and I'd like to get an idea about prices before contacting artists. For now it'll only be the front cover, because the release is only going to be digital. I realise the prices will vary depending on the artist and the complexity the art, all I'm looking for is a ballpark.

Hi, check out here(There is an album cover art option): https://www.fiverr.com/categories/graph ... egory_tree

Otherwise find a friend who studies graphic design and is an expert on photoshop. Or if you don't want to spend money, DIY on MS paint. Good luck!

Fiverr is a solid tip that I always forget, however I was actually thinking of contacting somewhat established artists. Artists that have already designed artworks of albums I like, and I'm sure I'll run into those same artists on Fiverr.

I think you can expect to pay between 200 and 500€ if it's an established artist. It will really depend on the individual artist's pricing policy.

Yeah there are no "standard" prices when it comes to art other than the rule that the more famous the artist is, the more expensive it will be. The big boys like Paolo, Lewandowski, and Burke probably charge at least $1-$2k for a commission. I personally think it's silly how commonplace those three have become. I'd much rather see a nobody get some love as opposed to the apocalyptic landscape flavor of the day.

If you're on a budget just browse instagram tags for amateur artists. There is some real talent out there just waiting to be discovered, and folks that don't do it professionally will charge 1/10 the price.

All depends on how much you want to spend. I know a ton of artists that charge about 100-250 range. but you can easily spend thousands. if you scroll instagram under metal art hashtags you might come across some amatures that are willing to do it for super cheap but you can only expect so much from that route. you might strike gold or you might get something you aren't the most happy with.

I've paid everything from fifty bucks to over a thousand dollars for artwork. Depends on the quality/medium of the work, the experience and name recognition of the artist, your ability to haggle, etc etc.

I've had artists include the original piece in their pricing, I've have others include the cost of high-quality scans for me to use. I've had artists ship me the original piece to get it professionally scanned myself with the understanding that I would ship it back when I was finished. I've also approached artists who were outside of my budget and had them offer me lower prices by purchasing the license for an older, unused piece instead of commissioning a brand new one. I've talked artists into including the CD layout design with the price of their commission. I found a young talented artist who was already a fan of my band who refused to accept any payment when I asked him to do an album cover for me. Sometimes I get the label to pay for it.

The sky is the limit with these sorts of thing and I've literally never had the exact same experience twice.

Dang, I forgot about this thread. Good advice all around, thanks people!