How to Price Pet Portraits (A Simple Guide for Artists)
ART BUSINESS TIPS
3/23/20263 min read
Pricing your pet portraits is one of the most important (and most stressful) parts of running an art business. Charge too little and you'll burn out resenting every commission. Charge too much without the confidence to back it up and you'll lose clients before you've even started.
The good news? Pricing doesn't have to be guesswork. There's a straightforward formula, and once you understand it, the whole thing gets a lot less scary.
If you're looking to commission a pet portrait yourself, you can view my prices and get in touch here.
Before we talk numbers, it's worth understanding why the market for pet portraits is so strong — because knowing this helps you price with confidence rather than apology.
Pet ownership in the UK reached record highs after 2020, with over 34 million pets across UK households. Pets are family members, and commissioned portraits are often bought as meaningful gifts — for birthdays, Christmas, or as memorials. That emotional weight means clients are genuinely willing to pay well when they trust the artist.
On top of that, handmade personalised art is increasingly valued over mass-produced alternatives, and social media — especially Instagram and Pinterest — has made it easier than ever for clients to discover and buy from independent artists. Your potential client base is no longer limited by geography.
All of this means: the demand is there. The question is whether your pricing reflects the value you deliver.
Here's the foundation everything else is built on:
(Hourly Rate × Hours Worked) + Materials + Overhead + Profit Margin = Your Price
Let's break that down:
Hourly rate: Don't set this based on what feels comfortable — set it based on what you need to earn to make your art business sustainable. If you want to earn £25,000 a year working 30 hours a week, that's roughly £16–£18 per hour before you factor in non-painting time (admin, marketing, packaging).
Hours worked: Be honest here. Include sketching, reference review, client communication, packaging, and any revisions — not just the time you spend with a brush in your hand.
Materials: Canvas, paints, varnish, packaging, postage. These can easily add up to 10–15% of a portrait's cost if you're not tracking them. If you're not sure which materials to budget for, I've put together a list of the exact tools and supplies I use.
Overhead: A portion of your equipment costs, website fees, software subscriptions, and anything else that keeps your business running.
Profit margin: This is what lets you invest back into your business and your skills. Don't skip it.
These are suggested ranges for the UK market. Your prices should reflect your experience, your style, and the time each piece takes.
For context, my own A4 acrylic pet portraits start from £170.
Want to Go Deeper?
Why Pet Portraits Are Worth Good Money
The Pricing Formula
Related reading - You might also find this useful: How to Paint Black Fur in Acrylics — one of the trickiest techniques to get right, broken down step by step.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
Undercharging to compete
Low prices don't attract better clients — they attract clients who undervalue your work. Compete on quality and style, not price.
Not accounting for consultation time
Brief discussions, reference reviews, and revisions all take time. Build them into your rate from the start.
Forgetting packing and postage
These can eat 10–15% of a small portrait's revenue if you're not factoring them in. Always check current Royal Mail rates and include them in your quote.
Never raising prices
As your skills and reputation grow, so should your prices. Set a reminder to review your pricing at least once a year.
Discounting too easily
Habitual discounting trains clients to wait for a sale rather than pay full price. If you want to run occasional promotions, do it intentionally — not out of panic when enquiries are slow.
Here's a simple benchmark: if you never get clients saying your prices are too high, you're probably charging too little.
Aim for around a 60–70% conversion rate on enquiries. Some "too expensive" responses aren't a failure — they're a sign you're pricing correctly and attracting the right clients.
Pricing with confidence is a skill, and it gets easier with practice. The artists who consistently get their asking price aren't necessarily the most talented — they're the ones who know their worth and communicate it clearly.
The Confidence Rule
If you'd like a more detailed breakdown — including pricing scripts, how to handle client pushback, and a complete business framework — the Artist Business Starter Kit covers all of this in a 65-page workbook.
👉 Explore the Artist Business Starter Kit
Or if you'd prefer a free starting point, grab my free guide below — it covers proven strategies for pricing and selling your pet portraits online.