Creative Rate Index: Sources for Artists
A citation directory of published guidance for creative freelancers—not a rate survey, a price table or a claim about what artists should charge.
Different publishers cover different disciplines, territories and rights. Follow the source, check its edition and decide whether its context matches your work. Estimates only, not legal or financial advice.
CARFAC–RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule
- Publisher
- CARFAC and RAAV
- Year / edition
- 2026 edition
- What it covers
- Canadian visual and media artists: exhibition and screening royalties. Consult the other schedule sections and relevant collective agreements for the work in question.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-13
This is a rights-and-fees schedule, not a universal commission price. Identify whether the work involves exhibiting, reproducing or creating an artwork; those permissions and services should not be treated as interchangeable.
Guidance on fees and day rates for visual artists
- Publisher
- a-n The Artists Information Company
- Year / edition
- 2025 guidance
- What it covers
- UK guidance for artists and those paying artists to negotiate short-term work, including commissions, residencies, workshops and community projects.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-13
Use the original guidance to think through the work period and responsibilities. For a mural, separate painting days from preparation, access equipment, materials and travel rather than assuming a day rate pays for every project cost.
How to licence illustration
- Publisher
- The Association of Illustrators (AOI)
- Year / edition
- Publication year not stated on the checked page
- What it covers
- Commissioning illustration and defining the permission granted to use it. AOI has additional pricing and membership resources.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-13
Start by describing the actual use, not by asking for an unrestricted price. Separate the creative work from the permission requested and record media, territory, duration and exclusivity. This page does not reproduce AOI's pricing calculator or member-only material.
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, 17th Edition
- Publisher
- The MIT Press; authored by the Graphic Artists Guild
- Year / edition
- 2025 (paperback publication: November 4)
- What it covers
- A published handbook covering graphic arts business practices, pricing, contracts and rights. The cited public pages describe the book; the book itself is a paid publication.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-13
Read the appropriate discipline and edition rather than treating a book description as a fee table. BidLogik links to the publisher and Guild, but does not republish the handbook's pricing tables, contracts or interviews.
ASMP Licensing Guide: Paperwork Share commercial example
- Publisher
- American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
- Year / edition
- Publication year not stated on the checked page
- What it covers
- A photographer's commercial licensing example, discussing separate production and reproduction-license fees and limits on third-party use.
- Last checked
- 2026-10-13
ASMP explains that it cannot set or suggest prices; this is a member's example, not an ASMP recommended rate. Use it to understand the structure of a license and the distinction between making photographs and permitting their use, not as a universal price.
How this directory is maintained
We read the public source pages and record their publisher, stated year or edition, scope and link. Where a page does not state a publication year, we say so rather than inferring one from a copyright footer. We have not copied fee tables or calibrated our calculators to these sources. Calculator multipliers remain editable planning assumptions, not measured market averages.
Download the citation metadata (JSON). Rights in the source publications remain with their owners. A link does not imply endorsement.
Questions and answers
Does this page recommend a rate?
No. It summarizes where to find published guidance and the context it covers; it does not prescribe prices or publish averages.
Are the calculators based on these fee schedules?
No. They use your own costs and editable planning assumptions. Read the source separately if you want to apply its guidance.
Are all resources free to read?
The linked public pages are accessible references, but some books or further member resources require purchase or membership. We do not copy restricted content.