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Workflow & Core Tools · iart-ai/freelance-motion-skills

motion-pricing

This skill should be used when the user asks to "quote a motion project", "estimate this animation job", "how much should I charge for this video", "what's my day rate", "build a quote", "price a 30-second explainer", or "is this estimate fair". It explains motion-design pricing models, the day-rate math, the cost drivers, and outputs a line-itemed quote with a worked example.

L1 Basic · Source registration onlyV1 Commit-PinnedDual-pass Audit
Author iart-aiGitHub iart-ai/freelance-motion-skills ↗Stars 3License MIT（仓库根 LICENSE：'MIT License' / Copyright (c) 2026 iart.ai；.claude-plugin/plugin.json 的 license 字段亦为 MIT）Commit d85c2b4846
Control levels describe skill capabilities and suggested control measures; they do not represent quality or safety certifications, nor do they dictate usability. Usage decisions rest entirely with users and administrators. Different agent hosts apply varying constraints; do not assume hosts provide automatic protection. Third-party skill copyrights belong to their original authors. Use at your own risk.

1How It Works & Mechanism

The primary criterion for choosing a pricing model is whether the brief is locked: if it is not locked, use a day rate or decline to provide a fixed quote.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Is the brief locked (scope, deliverables, revision cap all defined)?
Purpose: Preemptively resolves the structural risk of fixed quotes being eroded by scope creep—a fixed price requires that scope, deliverables, and revision caps are strictly defined upfront.

Internally, always estimate by the day (the only honest unit of effort); externally, provide a fixed project fee with revision caps. The model only determines what the client sees.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Always estimate internally in **days** (the only honest unit of effort), whatever you bill on. The model above only decides what the *client sees*.
Purpose: Separates the pricing unit from the presentation unit, preserving an auditable engineering foundation (days × day rate + markups) while preventing the client from haggling over day counts.

The day rate is a derived value and must be calculated using realistic billable days (120–150 days); dividing by 260 working days produces a money-losing rate.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Most solo motion designers bill **120-150 days/year**, not 260. Dividing by 260 produces a rate that loses money.
Purpose: Provides the rate formula ((target income + operating costs) ÷ billable days) with a full worked example (£75,000 ÷ 130 ≈ £577 → rounded to £600/day), replacing gut-feeling day rates with an auditable derivation.

Cost drivers build up day counts item by item: duration (non-linear), complexity/style, asset creation, revisions, rush turnaround, and licensing scope.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
3. **Asset creation** — design/illustration, 3D modelling, rigging, sound design, voiceover, music licensing. Each is a separate line, not "included."
Purpose: Establishes a disciplined rule against the common error of design fees getting swallowed by animation fees (each asset category must be its own line item); quantifies rush (+25–50%) and licensing (+25–200%) as explicit markups.

The quotation is a structured line-item table (scope / days and amount per line / subtotal / markups / total / payment terms / exclusions).

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Rush surcharge (if applicable) +__% ____
Purpose: Formats the quote into a client-ready approval document skeleton, including validity periods (30 days) and explicit exclusions (stock/music licensing billed at cost, extra revisions at day rate) to avoid downstream disputes.

Always run five cross-checks before delivery: cost per finished minute, missing asset lines, capped revision pricing, alignment between licensing and price, and whether a 10–15% contingency was added.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Are revisions capped and priced? Unlimited revisions = unlimited cost.
Purpose: Turns "does this figure feel right?" into five auditable checklist questions; per-minute rates serve strictly as sanity checks and series estimates, not as the primary pricing metric.

Provide approximate 2026 baseline ranges as benchmark anchors, but explicitly require local adaptation rather than treating them as fixed pricing.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
Caveat: treat every number as a starting anchor, not a fixed price.
Purpose: Explicitly declares "these are anchors, not quotes", gives ranges for day rates, per-minute, per-project, and markups, and requires users to adjust based on region, seniority, and client tier before reconciling against the day-rate formula.

Counter-examples quantify the exact financial loss of gut-feeling quotes: £3,000 for 16 days of work at a £600 day rate = a £6,600 loss.

skills/motion-pricing/SKILL.md
no day math (£3,000 ÷ £600 = 5 days for a job that's really 16 — a £6,600 loss)
Purpose: Uses arithmetic rather than vague advice to demonstrate why pricing must be built from days and cost drivers; also highlights three concrete mistakes: missing the design line item, uncapped revisions, and flat pricing across distribution channels.

2Core Capabilities

01Pricing model selection (day rate / fixed fee / per finished minute / value-based pricing) along with their applications and risks
02Day rate worksheet: (target income + operating costs) ÷ realistic billable days, with a full worked example
03Six cost drivers and markups (rush turnaround +25–50%, licensing +25–200%)
04Line-item quotation template (scope / days / subtotal / markups / total / payment terms / exclusions / validity period)
05Five pre-delivery cross-checks plus a 10–15% contingency buffer
062026 anchor range tables (day rates, per finished minute, per project, markups) with mandatory local adaptation
07Sample total project pricing by project type (explainer / social media series / brand R&D / national TV commercial / logo sting)
08Counter-examples and prescriptions for common errors (7 symptoms → fixes)

4Recommended Governance & Evidence

Suggested Controls for Safe Operation
For Agent Runtime
Can be auto-loaded
For Administrators
Register source and version
Evidence & Triggers (File Paths & Excerpts)
  • SKILL.md: Pure prompt instructions and rule text without script execution or external impact
Audit Notes: Pure prompt instructions/calculation methodology: no scripts, no outbound network requests, no credential reading, and no disk persistence; generates line-item quotes and internal day-rate formulas. Notes (do not affect risk tiering): (1) All currency values are sample anchors (£-denominated, Western-market ranges) and must be localized and reconciled based on region, seniority, and client tier; (2) Outputs are intended for real-world quotes and contract clauses (payment terms, kill fee), whose enforceability depends on the user and jurisdiction.

5Second-Pass Verification

  • [ok] 是否存在脚本或联网动作 — 全目录仅 Markdown；代码块只有报价单与算式，无 shell/JS/URL（除署名页脚）。
  • [ok] 区间数值是否被声明为「需本地化」而非通用价格（防误当定价） — SKILL.md 明写 'Illustrative only — anchors, not prices. See references/rate-card.md for full ranges and localize before quoting.' 与 'treat every number as a starting anchor, not a fixed price.'；表格标题也标 '2026 ballpark ranges (localize before quoting)'。
  • [ok] 算式与示例是否自洽（内部一致性抽检） — 日费率推导与反例亏损数均可复算一致；示例总价（16 天 × £600 = £9,600）与行项目天数合计一致，未发现算术错误。
  • [unlocatable] 这些区间值的市场依据 — 2026 区间（日费率 400-750 / 750-1500、每分钟 1,000-20,000+ 等）无引用来源、无调查数据；文档自称是 Western-market starting points 经验值，本次只读侦查无法核验，也不应作为报价依据直接使用。

6Verdict & Scenarios

  • Transforms pricing from gut feel to fully auditable calculations: internal day estimates + cost-driver buildup + markups
  • Resolves structural risks upfront: avoids fixed quotes when briefs are unlocked, preventing scope creep from wiping out margins
  • Derives day rates from realistic billable days (120–150 days), eliminating the classic trap of dividing by 260 days
  • Comprehensive quote structure: line items, markups, payment terms, exclusions, validity period, and sign-off lines ready to send to clients
  • Quantifies risks through counter-examples with concrete arithmetic, delivering far more persuasive guidance than generic advice
    • Best for: Ideal for freelancers and small studios: quoting new projects, sanity-checking existing estimates, setting or adjusting day rates, explaining pricing breakdowns to clients, and applying markups for series, rush jobs, or buyout licenses. Also ideal for standardizing pricing workflows into reusable worksheets and templates.
    Not for: Not suitable for: (1) authoritative local market pricing data (provides benchmark anchors only); (2) drafting legal terms (payment/kill fee clauses require legal review per jurisdiction); (3) establishing brand motion guidelines or revision workflows (refer to brand-motion-guidelines or client-revisions from the same pack); (4) automated invoicing or accounting reconciliation—this skill interacts with no financial interfaces.
    Install Agent-Ready
    ① Verified Mirror 2026-09-28
    Option A · Direct DownloadDownload motion-pricing.tar.gz
    sha256: a9f72f8bf60c37bf…
    Option B · Copy Guide for Agent
    install.json
    Agents automatically download and verify mirrors from this JSON guide.
    ② Upstream GitHub
    GitHub Repo ↗
    Pinned to commit d85c2b4846.