I think that works. I charge a flat rate for a base with 10 icons, and then each additional icon is a very minor value because at that point, the major work is done and it encourages a larger purchase which means more icons for your commissioner which is nice for them, and you make a little extra too without burning yourself out.
I'm not much help on the colouring style because I... only have one way of doing it and it's not a patch on what you're doing here, but I've used different styles of drawing and I generally charge the same for them because the difference in effort isn't worth the hair-splitting. Charge according to your comfort zone. If you know it's going to take you hours to do something semi-realistic versus a cartoonier look, gauge whether it's going to be worth the extra expense you'd need to charge to justify it and either include that stipulation, or write it off and stick to what you're happy/confident doing.
I think colour is a similar deal. The difference in time and effort between the styles you've shown there is probably pretty vast, so charge according to what's realistic - and also, what's not going to burn you out if you get more than one or two orders of it. I do painterly colouring in my spare time but I wouldn't make icons for it personally, because the amount of time it takes me to make anything look saleable is just appalling. Charging as much as I'd have to for a 100x100 image isn't worth it to anybody. If they'd like an icon, they can just commission a full picture and then icon it - because then I'm getting paid a reasonable full-commission amount for what would probably be the same volume of work, and commissioner gets a full image for what they're paying instead of a sad little squashed version.
So it might be the case where you say "Okay, I can see these colour styles being worth it to icon, but these styles takes me a long time and I might lose a ton of detail in a thumbnail and would have to charge a stupid amount for a set, so I won't make it an option." Some things are just better cut out for fully-fledged commissions than icon sets.
It might seem like you're shaving your abilities down, but it's mainly about streamlining your range into what's best value for money for you and the commissioner.
no subject
I'm not much help on the colouring style because I... only have one way of doing it and it's not a patch on what you're doing here, but I've used different styles of drawing and I generally charge the same for them because the difference in effort isn't worth the hair-splitting. Charge according to your comfort zone. If you know it's going to take you hours to do something semi-realistic versus a cartoonier look, gauge whether it's going to be worth the extra expense you'd need to charge to justify it and either include that stipulation, or write it off and stick to what you're happy/confident doing.
I think colour is a similar deal. The difference in time and effort between the styles you've shown there is probably pretty vast, so charge according to what's realistic - and also, what's not going to burn you out if you get more than one or two orders of it. I do painterly colouring in my spare time but I wouldn't make icons for it personally, because the amount of time it takes me to make anything look saleable is just appalling. Charging as much as I'd have to for a 100x100 image isn't worth it to anybody. If they'd like an icon, they can just commission a full picture and then icon it - because then I'm getting paid a reasonable full-commission amount for what would probably be the same volume of work, and commissioner gets a full image for what they're paying instead of a sad little squashed version.
So it might be the case where you say "Okay, I can see these colour styles being worth it to icon, but these styles takes me a long time and I might lose a ton of detail in a thumbnail and would have to charge a stupid amount for a set, so I won't make it an option." Some things are just better cut out for fully-fledged commissions than icon sets.
It might seem like you're shaving your abilities down, but it's mainly about streamlining your range into what's best value for money for you and the commissioner.