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hey guys,
for all who do not know my name is deadly chicken or DC. and I collect 40k, but have dabbled long ago in whfb & LoTR. I have decided to start commisions so as to get some more cash for paint and the likes.
I dont pretend 2 b the best painter in world but i can do an army standard well and free hand writing and pictures to an acceptable standard. The prices for my work (if you choose to accept me) are varying. My lowest being 2 english pounds and the highest is well...... i dont know yet. I will paint units to your exact specifications and paint scheme. I will paint any number of units, (however tedious or boring it is) and will paint large units. I will put all my effort and painting skills into your models and if you let me a bit of personal flare. Not many people would trust a first time commisioner (commisionaire?) with there model but i guarentee if i break or lose and of your models (when they are in my possesion) I will replace the model or give you all your money back. I have a wide selection of paints and will paint to your exact paint scheme. I will check with you that the painting is up to standard via this thread before chargeing you and if it is not i will either try again or send you your models back free of charge.umm, so please pm me for more details or use this thread. I will post a pic of my latest guy as soon as I get my camera back

If you don't put any effort into composing a proper sales pitch to your (potential) customers, how can they be sure that you will put any effort into their models? You could be the best painter in the world and I wouldn't trust you with my models if you opened with a pitch like that.

Plus, saying that you are going to use commission jobs to "improve" your painting skills is a VERY bad thing. People who look for a painter to do commissions for them are looking to get their money's worth. Yes, you *might* want to improve your painting skills by taking on commission jobs, but stating it out loud is just going to make people wary.

In summary, make an effort to compose your sales pitch properly before you jump into the fray, and be confident about your skills when you do.

any ideas how i could improve it?

deadly chicken wrote:hey guys,
for all who do not know my name is deadly chicken or DC. and I collect 40k, but have dabbled long ago in whfb & LoTR. I have decided to start commisions so as to improve my skills and get some more cash for paint and the likes.
I dont pretend 2 b the best painter in world but i can do an army standard well and free hand writing and pictures to an acceptable standard. The prices for my work (if you choose to accept me) are varying. My lowest being 2 english pounds and the highest is well...... i dont know yet. I will paint units to your exact specifications and paint scheme. umm, so please pm me for more details or use this thread. I will post a pic of my latest guy as soon as I get my camera back

Wait, this thread looks familiar. Anyway try to improve grammar, that should help a bit. Also, people generally want to get the best paint job done if they're going to pay for it. The most likely customers you are going to get are the lazy, who cannot be bothered to paint them. You should also expect to actually spend more on doing this than you will actually make. Because you mentioned this is to improve your skills, you're kind of giving the message that the models they send you will basically be test models. The best option would be to improve your painting skills and include some pictures of your best work with your oppening post. This will give them an idea of what they'll be getting for their money. But, don't lie to them; if your painting skills are not that great work on them until they are then try this again. Mention things like how long you have been painting for as well. Think of it as applying for a job; try to convince them how talented you are, but without lieing or exaggerating.

As for your post it could be typed out as (Basically the same, but I attempted to make it look a little more professional (Sorry in advance in case you are offended by this is some way)):

Hello everyone, my name is deadly chicken (or DC for short). I collect 40k, but I also collect WHFB and LoTR. I have decided to start commisions as a way of helping to pay for my hobby. This below picture is an example of my work.
[Include best picture]
Although this is not the only race I collect. I also collect and paint [insert other races, including a picture as an example of each race]. [Include WHFB and LoTR pictures]
My prices vary between model sizes and are negotiable. However, my lowest price is two english pounds. [Insert information about shipping costs and region restrictions (as in what countries you can do this for)]. If you chose to accept me, please describe your painting scheme in as much detail as possible to ensure that I can paint it exactly the way you want. PM for more details, and feel free to review my work in this thread.



As for the pictures try to add a comment under them, maybe a small explaination what you were aiming for when painting, or to mention small details you are proud of. Probably just a sentence or two about it, no more than that.

n0t_u wrote:
Hello everyone, my name is deadly chicken (or DC for short). I collect 40k, but I also collect WHFB and LoTR. I have decided to start commisions as a way of helping to pay for my hobby. This below picture is an example of my work.
[Include best picture]
Although this is not the only race I collect. I also collect and paint [insert other races, including a picture as an example of each race]. [Include WHFB and LoTR pictures]
My prices vary between model sizes and are negotiable. However, my lowest price is two english pounds. [Insert information about shipping costs and region restrictions (as in what countries you can do this for)]. If you chose to accept me, please describe your painting scheme in as much detail as possible to ensure that I can paint it exactly the way you want. PM for more details, and feel free to review my work in this thread.

What he said.

Why did you open a second thread? I see not much difference to the first, apart from the lack of pictures.

sA

lol meh opened second thread after recommendation from experienced dakkaite's
I forgot to mention about shipping. I will pay for it as long it is less than 1/4 of the cost. (please refresh and read pitch again i have edited it.)
Here is some of my best 40k work (no fantasy or LoTT as that was a while ago and i was gak back then so...) :

You need to improve your picture taking skills so that people can actually make out the detail and quality of your figures.

n0t_u has already given a very good re-write of your original post which will make you sound more competent and trustworthy.

In general, if you are looking for business, stop *all* the textspeak and contractions, and use proper English that they teach you in schools. Before posting anything, read and re-read it to make sure that you have gotten everything right.

Organise your pitch in a coherent manner, what do your potential customers need to know? What might you want to know? For example:

1. Opening
"Hi, my name is Deadly Chicken (aka. DC) and I am a collector of 40k models. I have recently decided to start accepting commissions to paint models as a way to help pay for my hobby/expand my collection/whatever.

2. What you are offering
(Insert best example of your paintjob here)
As you can see, I am able to paint to a reasonable tabletop standard (euphemism for "I am not really a good painter"), and I am offering my services at a very low rate, starting from GBP2.00 for a basic model and working upwards from there based on the complexity of your requirements. A rough guide would be: (Insert a table here, give example models and how much you would expect to be paid for them, i.e. Ultramarine - GBP2.00, Chaos Space Marine GBP2.50, Predator Tank GBP10.00).

3. What you need from your customers.

If you do wish to hire me, then we will have to have a discussion as to the details of your colour scheme, and work out a suitable final price for your models. If you are sending the models to me, then I will expect payment when the job is done and you are satisfied with the result. If you wish for me to buy the models for you, then please send me X amount to cover the initial cost. (If you are just starting out, make X = half of retail price so that people won't think you're out to scam them).

4. Other things you need to consider (but not necessarily let customers know)
- How are you going to get paid? Having a Paypal Account is ESSENTIAL. And get your own, do NOT use your mom's.
- Dedication is a must. If you start taking commissions, then you got to see them through. No matter how painful painting that 600th Ork Boy is, you gotta finish it off once you've done a deal with someone. Flake off, and best case you get called out and your name and reputation end up in the crapper, worst case the police get involved.
- Communication with customers. Be aware that you must keep in constant contact with your customers. Keep them updated with progress photos etc. Customers that are kept in the loop will be happy customers.
- Make sure you are going to be happy doing what you do. I took commissions for a while, and I tell you, it gets really old, really fast. I charged GBP3.00 per model for these guys, and I think I begging on the street would have netted me more money.



Also, your photography skills need to be improved. Selling models (and paintjobs) over the Internet lives and dies by your ability to capture flattering and clear photos of your work. Just look on eBay for example, virtually every painted item which sells for more than it's cost price has excellent photos.

Invest in 1. A proper camera with a macro function (usually a little flower symbol), mobile phone cameras will NOT suffice. 2. A tripod so that you can use the camera properly. 3. A good desk lamp to light up your models. I am guessing from your photos that you've used a flash on your models, this sometimes works, but most of the time it just makes models look ugly.

To the op not to be mean or sound like and asshat but i wouldn't pay you even to paint my cats nails your work is bad my friend it is really bad. not bad as in for a newb but if your trying to sell your skills id rather shot my nuts with a paintball gun then buy your work. again i wasn't trying to be mean but the post above me shows good work thats worth money, yours is not. keep trying to improve your skills before you try to sell your skills.

I'm going to agree wtih Deathmachine here, that is atrocious.
To improve your painting you need to do a lot, including watering down your paint and applying less layers (all those models are very thick looking), show a larger variety of work (black basecoat with red guns is pretty basic, can you paint yellow, red, white?), finish the bases, apply highlights, blending, and a variety of other techniques to show you can actually paint, and just in general produce a better product before you try and market it (proper grammar and spelling in your posts will go a long way to presenting a professional image).

:(


Automatically Appended Next Post:
screw this! I'm going to ask a MOD to delete this thread.
Thank you for putting me off painting.

its not to put you off painting im just being honest with you why would i want to pay for a model that looks like it was one of my first models that i ever painted (12 years ago) almost everyone sucks at one time until they learn how to be good i remember my mom saying how good i was and my buddy said ohh riiiiggghhttt thats okay i guess. it opens your eyes youve been told thats its not good im sorry but its not. now you can learn what not to do by reading the painting logs just keep trying its hard at first.

Thank you for any comfort given.
now im going to go and paint harder than i ever had before!

Commission painting isn't for everyone and you need to be ready to approach this as a business. If you want to learn and practice, which I certainly applaud, one of the things you can do is to offer to paint figures at your local game store. As you get better, you might even volunteer to help paint the store armies, make terrain, paint scenery, etc. It's all good experience.

cool thank you for the idea. I will certainly ask.

It's not to put you off painting - see constructive criticism of last post - it's that people will pay for services they want. Commission painting isn't just 'you get money for nothing', you need to produce quality work. Keep practicing, I admire your enterprising spirit.

. I am going to keep working. Just finished an urukai pikeman. will post picture as soon as i get my camera back from my thief of a big sister.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Quick question:

Where can I get vallejo paints? they appear to be favourited over gw paints.

For Vallejo paints apply here:

http://www.em4miniatures.com

Beware that they come in dropper bottles, so unless you have a palette setup you won't be able to use them properly.

Chicken; as has been mentioned, you do not have the skills to charge for your work. The best thing you cam do is to read and re-read every tutorial out there. Even though WD is awful, the masterclass section is very good. The internet is full of guides to help you, just follow them (slowly) and you'll improve. You can only get better.

yawn.

Im getting tired of being told that commisions aren't for me. I ALREADY KNOW THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HENCE THE CHANGE OF FORUM NAME FOR ALL YOU UNOBSERVANT F*CKTARDS!!!!!

sorry about the swearing.

any way back in the world of ^.^ I have finished my show-off urukhai. Criticism un-welcome but go ahead anyway. lol.

P.s any one got any link to good tutorials?

Modquisition on: this thread is closed pending the banhammer being swung about in thorlike fashion.