Determining what to charge for painting a mural should be different for each mural you paint, based on the difficulty of the design and the size and shape of the wall on which you will be painting. For every mural, however, three general components should factor into the final price: your skill level at painting, the depth of your experience as a mural painter, and how much of your time and effort will be used to paint a specific mural. Here are some general ideas and guidelines to help you come up with a formula that fits for you.
Instructions
1. Determine the number of square feet in the mural you will be painting by multiplying the length of the wall by the height. This information will give you a comparison between the size of the mural and the sizes of individual paintings you have sold. Figure out what you have been paid by the square foot for each painting.
2. Assess the complexity of the mural design and estimate the amount of time in hours the mural will take you to paint. Use the information to compare with the complexity of the paintings you have sold and how much time each one took.
3. Determine what amount you can add in or leave out because of your skill level as a painter. Obviously, the greater your skill level, the more your painting is worth. But, you will also need to take into account the market in which you are painting so you don't price yourself out of the market.
4. Determine what you can add to the mural price by how many murals you have painted and how complex and high quality they are. Again, you must consider the market in which you are painting, and how much your experience and skill level adds to the package. Don't forget to consider what should be added if the wall you will be painting is curved or has a surface that is difficult to paint.
5. Calculate what you think would be a fair price to charge for this specific mural, then do some comparison pricing. With this information, adjust your price, if needed, to what you think will be appropriate for your specific circumstances. If your market will not bear the number you came up with in your formula, you can determine an hourly wage that would be acceptable to you and multiply that times the number of hours you determined the project would take in Step 2 of this article.
