When hiring a manga artist, you aren’t just paying for their time. You’re also paying for the years someone has spent honing their skills. That’s especially true for manga artists, because Japanese graphic novels and comic books have such a unique style.
You’re not only looking for an artist who understands and follows the rules of your chosen style—you also want someone who has some serious skill in that style. However, you also need an affordable manga artist. Finding all these qualities in a single artist can seem like a challenging proposition.
The cost of hiring a manga artist largely depends on the following factors:
- Total page count
- Size of the production run (Depending on the size of the run, you may need to speak with a lawyer to make sure there won’t be any issues on that side.)
- Type of art you need; color as opposed to black and white
- Artists level of experience
In this article, we’ll discuss how much it costs to hire a manga artist, including the average hourly rate, the salaries of manga artists across different cities, and how manga artists get paid.
What Is the Average Rate Per Hour of a Manga Artist?
To hire a manga artist expert, the average cost is $25.52 per hour; the lower median cost of hiring a manga artist is $21.56 per hour. Often, the wages of manga artists depend primarily on their popularity. For example, famous manga artists may charge as high as $500 per page.
It’s essential to note that manga artists can be paid on a per-page basis or an hourly basis, so you’ll need to arrange the details with your chosen artist to see which option is best for both of you.
The cost of hiring a manga artist increases with the experience of the artist and as the manga created by an artist becomes popular. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median salary for fine artists in 2012 was $44,380 per annum. In Japan, a manga creator is paid between 3000-8000 Yen per manuscript page.
In 2019, the best manga creators earned nearly $900,000 annually, where they collected 70,000,000 Yen in royalties from selling 5,300 volumes of a Manga series.
Manga Artists Salaries by Cities in the USA
Over the years, Manga art has become popular as fine art in the United States where it’s referred to as AmeriManga. The cost of hiring a manga artist in the US varies based on their location.
In the United States, the salaries of manga artists vary from city to city, with the average manga artist in the United States making around $65,789 per year. Manga artists earn the most in San Francisco at $98,648, which is generally 50% greater than the US average.
The salary range of Manga artists in the United States varies between $12,521 at the low end and $339.998 for the best artists, with a median salary of approximately $61,039.
How Do Manga Artists Get Paid?
Manga artists are paid in two fundamental ways:
- royalties
- per page for the manuscript
The NewsmatoMedia reports that per page for the manuscript, you should expect to pay around ¥3,000 ($29).
As for royalties, manga artists get around 1% to 10%. This all depends on a manga artist’s ability to negotiate their contact, how famous they are, and the previous work they’ve done.
Final Thoughts
The cost of hiring a manga artist depends on many factors such as expertise and experience, location, market conditions, how famous an artist is, page count, and paper quality. Experienced manga artists will charge a high rate but also work faster, deliver high-quality work, and have more specialized areas of expertise.
However, a manga artist who is in the process of building a client base may charge less competitively to attract more clients.
Finding the right manga artist at an affordable price is a daunting task. But we make it easy here at Guru.com to browse through our freelancer manga artist profiles, so you can find the perfect one for your next project. From Manga artists to Discord Bot developers, you can find the expert you need on Guru.
