So when you guys say
You mean freelance? Then it would make sense, because whenever I consider freelance work I generally value my time 2x-3x as much as at my fulltime job (character td) and end up charging 25-50 pounds per hour… Which makes more sense because I only have limited time after work that Id rather spend on other things, so I feel I should charge more. However I find it easier to charge on a per-complete-project basis. That allows me to work at my own speed (within the timeframe given by the client of course), and it gives the client a level of financial transparency that is hard to ensure when only charging by the hour.
For example for a complete character rig I take on average 1200-3000 pounds depending on the demands of the client. That price is composed of many things, from estimate working hours, to the technology I use while making the rig and the time it took me to develop that in the first place. Its mainly based on the complexity of client demands such as facial rig quality, character mesh resolution, requirement of anatomical deformation, costume rigging, custom animation control requests, aditional rig management tools such as pose/anim import/export tools, mirror and positioning tools, dynamics and baking, etc. etc.
So OP should specify in the question if you mean a rate as a fulltime job at the studio, or as a freelancer or outsource artist.