Material Cost Calculator — Track Art Supply Spending

Knowing your material costs is essential for pricing artwork profitably. Many artists underestimate costs by forgetting consumables like mediums, solvents and replacement brushes. Tracking costs per piece helps set minimum prices.

Include everything consumed to create the artwork: canvas or paper, paints, mediums, solvents, brushes (amortised over their lifespan), varnish, framing materials, fixatives, and any speciality items. Do not include studio overheads here.

Paint left on the palette, canvas offcuts, failed starts, spilled medium and worn brushes all add up. A 10% waste allowance is conservative — some techniques like impasto may waste more.

For supplies used across multiple works (like a tube of white paint), estimate the fraction used per piece. If a £10 tube lasts 5 paintings, allocate £2 per piece.

Studio overheads are separate from material costs. Include them in your hourly rate calculation instead. This calculator focuses purely on physical materials consumed per artwork or project.