So you just started an account... Or maybe you've been here a while and you just aren't getting a feel for things. Well Dorian is here to help you out! Here is an ongoing guide and the tricks of the trade. How to get followers, how to critique work...
Typically, I've found there to be a lot of flexibility when it comes to art based on style. There are no hard and fast rules, but in general a full person in a simple background, you're looking at $50. Meanwhile, a portrait style with only their face might be $25. Adding backgrounds of any decent quality explodes the cost accordingly. That's assuming color with some competent (but not great) shading.
Realistic, cell shading, black and white, commercial use, use of complicated armor, NSFW content, all of that can potentially adjust the price for an illustrator. All images were not created equal...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
As for designers, they can be cheaper, and they can be more expensive. Ultimately, what you're buying is their eye for design and skill with photoshop. Personally, I have no eye for art. Even when it comes to the illustrators, I buy images from... I literally can't tell when images are good. I've had images I thought were fine that my fans hated, and images I thought were awful that my fans applauded. So, when you hire a designer, you have to trust that they know what makes a good book cover.
Then again, maybe you already know the design you want, and you're literally just there to tell them exactly what you want. I suppose that is the difference between a book cover designer and a book cover creator, although I didn't make a distinction earlier for simplicity's sake. Thus, that might be one more layer you have to go through. Some book cover artists are just there to realize your design, while others expect to have a bit of creative freedom. When it comes to it, the designers, especially the good ones, are usually worth more.
As for where you can find these artists, Wattpad's own illustration sections in the forums is a good place to start checking, but you'll find a lot of other places you may need to check too. You can hire illustrators on Fiverr, or also find them in Deviantart, Pixiv, or one of the many other places where illustrators congregate. There are also places on Reddit, like /starvingartist and /hungryartist that you could also post ads. This is where I'm going to change gears and give you a bit of warning.
I do warn you though, some "book cover creators" price themselves at the rate of a "book cover designer", trying to use your doubt to shuffle their way in to some free money. The same can be said with illustrators, some who are less qualified than they lead on. That's why...
Deciding On the Price Can be Awkward
On the /hungryartist Reddit thread, there is a post that tells illustrators what they are worth. They offer rules to keep artists from being underpaid, not allowing anyone to ask for an offer <$15 and even going on to claim that on average, an artist is worth $35 an hour. I will state I fully understand the reasoning behind this, and understand the need. Read my chapter on "You're Worth It" for more thoughts on placing value on your work. However, these kinds of encouragements can also lead to some major misunderstandings.
You see... a qualified artist IS worth around $35 an hour. The problem is, the vast majority of artists you'll come across pedaling online are beginners. Many think they are a lot better than they actually are, and will even get offended if they encounter anyone who faces them with even basic amounts of criticism.
