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Hey dakka

Hopefully a post here may attract some attention.
It may sound a very headstrong/massive ego thing to say but I think I have a fairly decent painting skill (willing to post pictures of various models to show) and i'm looking to do something about this.

I follow blue table painting on youtube, I love Les Bursleys work and . . . Natakue (The hammer 40k vlog guy) is pretty cool. I wants to be like these guys as im sure many people do.

What sort of thing do you think I could do to start off getting some commision style work done. Not even like full army painting or trying to make big profits, just making a little bit of money on the side to supplement a pitiful wage.
As I said i'm willing to post pics to help gauge wether or not i've got the right stuff to make it. And if nessacery I could do test miniatures for guys who see promise.

Ive always preffered the painting aspect of miniature wargaming and want to see how far I go

Here are a few examples to get the ball rolling



Yes I know his arms are missing


No longer has that awful black bit on the arm, very ashamed of leaving that on

Many thanks

~Toxic

You paint better than I do.

However, I don't know how you'd do in the comission painting.

First, professionalism is a lot of what people seem to want. Saying "Oops, it's all right: i fixed that little mistake" is fine for posting WIPs and army photos, but you're looking at doing it as a business. People will assume if you aren't posting pictures that are perfect, the work they paid for certainly won't be.

On a similar note, i'd recommend shooting with a generic backdrop. Especially on the tomb king guy, the background clutters up the image. You can get little mini 'stages' to do photography on, or you can build one: the simplest solution would be to use a piece of construction paper (probably white, grey, or blue) and place it against a wall. Don't crease it for the corner where the wall meets the floor: the gently curve will be hard to see on the photo, so it'll help the object look like it's against a blank backdrop.

Again, the more professional your samples look, the more people will assume you're taking this seriously.

My last note is that the color scheme on the Tyranid and Tomb King guy aren't doing anything for me, but that's really a personal problem, I think.

Some things I've noticed since becoming a Swap Shop Mod:

1) Communication - as with any business endeavor, communication is key. ALWAYS maintain contact with clients. If something arises that will affect your ability to get in touch with clients (health/family emergency, what have you), inform them of it. More often than not, your client will be understanding since, after all, things come up unexpectedly all the time. DO NOT 'drop off the face of the planet', for whatever reason. It leads to bad sentiments and causes a lot of frustration to your clients and will quickly lead to people losing faith in your services. DO update your clients on the status of their minis. Ultimately, this is a hobby of little plastic men, but considering how much money and time is invested in it, people can become very emotionally involved when things go awry.

2) Don't Overload Yourself - knowing how much work you can handle is another very important issue. I've seen too many painters get overzealous with getting clients that they take on too much and eventually freak out because they can't meet all of their promises. This usually leads to people dropping all contact because they get nervous about disappointing their clients. This is a BAD thing. If you find yourself over-burdened, be honest and frank with your clients. Chances are, they'll be understanding or, worst case, simply request that you send back their models.

Jin has hit the nail on the head... unfortunately most part-time commission services seem to have trouble keeping up with the communication side of things.

If you're getting paid for it, it's best to look at it as a business, so not communicating with your customers is just not an option.

This happened to me, and it was the most frustrating online experience I've ever had. It made me willing to pay almost as much for ONE figure as I did for the previous entire ARMY to be painted- just to make sure I got someone who was going to act like a professional.

It goes a long way!

Well Not to be to harsh, but your painting to me leaves a lot to be desired. What you have shown here is what I would call my "Slap-Dash" job or 3 colors and based, to get it on the table. I wouldnt pay anyone to do this kind of work for me. Your minis lack depth, some colors look very thick and chaulky and there are obvious flaws ( Termigants tail looks like it didnt get a wash, no distinction of its eyes or teeth, looks like its tounge is only half way painted. Chaulky colors,missing weapon and chip on toe of Usbati{what ever that TombKing thng is called} and a mold line in the lower left arm of the Plauge Termi, poor execution of blood on him also). Seriously I am not trying to dis-hearten you. You are looking to throw your hat in to a feild that has some very serious compition. You will have to bring your A game if you want to compete. The samples you have here dont do that. People pay to have there minis done for two basic reasons. 1) They dont have the time. 2) They dont have the skill. Your samples here dont show me, time investment or overwelming skill. You will have to lay out some cash to start even a small commision business, new paints, brushes, glue, basing materials, even a basic photo station/lightbox. If you plan in recouping these investments, you have to get people drooling over your work. Do you honestly think people would look at your work right now and say "OMG I have to get my Minis done by this guy!"?

I'm not a great painter (for several reasons), and I think your stuff is decent, but I'm not sure what luck you'll have. For one, what do you think you'd charge for your services? As a quick search, battleorder.net (which I have never used and have no affiliations with) charges between 3.00 USD and 6.00 USD for a single painted infantry person, depending on the overall quality of painting done.

Their $3.00:



Their $6.00:



Please take no offense, but I think you're much closer to the $3.00 range. Now, with this in mind, how much time did you spend on painting your gant above? If it's more than an hour, then I hope you're wanting to do this because it's a passion and not because you need the cash, otherwise you're better off picking up a shift at McDonald's.

Even "table top quality" has a huge distinction between professional painters compared to normal painters like us.

We just know how to paint + wash ,
the professionals use actual brush strokes to help high light and shade , ( look at the scout sergent pants high light near the crotch armor )

Lots of thanks for the comments and criticisms, its all very helpful and definatly helped me see where I stand

BALANCE
I shouldve probably chosen some pics taken recently, I have started using sheets of white paper to give me a plain backdrop that isnt cluttered or anything. I will definatly be getting my hands on a lightbox when I end up at university. Currently my room light and a lamp or two are my light sources, so granted my pics arent the best.
I understand the comment about the professionalism, probably not worded right how I put it, but of course with time things like that improve

RITIDES + JIN
Great advice for if I do make it, I know its a harsh market to be in and communication with clients is totally paramount.
I would definatly be starting small, with school work, regular work and socialising I know the pressures of getting my mini's done

NICOREX
Wow, definate critic after reading the comment I was a little disheartened but in retrospect I know what you mean (mould lines and details not done). I know that I need to work on things like that and im always looking for new ways to approach painting. Supplies are things I will need to invest in, like with paints. At the moment im sticking to GW colours, mainly because ive always been around them. I would like to try out other types of paint systems but without ordering them from the internet it is hard to get some materials. And a low income doesnt help that situation.

DAEDALUS
I hadnt given much thought to charges for it. Ive been putting random lots on ebay to see what they seem to make, and also looking at things online but I hadnt secured much in the way of a price range. I wouldnt really be looking to make huge amounts of money on them, 90% of painting is just doing the painting and seeing the finished article for me. My current ork army has been fully painted up but hasnt seen a single battle.
Just a little thing, those two examples . . . I would maybe pay more for the marines than the purple and black mini, the trousers look off to me.
I take no offence, id rather people be straight up with me than bulls**t and dance around telling me a few good things.
I havnt really timed how much time I spend on a mini. I tend to have a model and work on it while watching a movie on IMing my friends so it can take an entire night with things going on inbetween. Its definatly a passion, I love painting and that is what I joined the hobby for. If I need cash incredibly badly ive got tonnes of crap I can flog off

I think im going to get some pictures of more recent models to show what my current level is and see how they go down. Or possibly just have a blog and dump things in there
Again thank you so much for the comments, they all mean alot and are helping me see where i'm at

~Toxic

I've done a few different commision armies, so a quick note:

-Painting armies on commision doesn't necessarily mean stellar quality. Often individuals simply want an army they can field and get solid painting scores with and lack the time/patience to do it themselves. These kinds of jobs have been more common than the "Give me an amazing looking army" requests. It's not a bad niche role to fill as you can usually get some good business, but it requires some experience using time-shaving techniques to paint the models quickly enough to make up for the lower pay and still keep a solid level of quality.


As far as the models, they don't have much definition and the colors look kinda flat. Good usage of a base 3-color scheme with a wash and some detail highlighting can go a long way to making a simple paint shceme look good. If you can find business, then good on you, but from what I'm seeing you still might have a little ways to go.

Here is sample to what i charged for $4.
You get: Assembling/ Prep , Primer , Painting , Basing , Sealing

MrToxichazard wrote:Ive been putting random lots on ebay to see what they seem to make, and also looking at things online but I hadnt secured much in the way of a price range.

Keep in mind that eBay isn't really representative of actual prices. Painted stuff on eBay, unless it's painted by a multiple Golden Demon winner, generally sells for less that you would get on commission, as your price is reliant on two people coming across it who both want that particular miniature painted that particular way.

So what you see on eBay are things going either for less than they are worth, or for substantially more than they otherwise would, when a couple of people get into a bidding war.

Working on commission, you're making specifically what the customer is asking for, and so your price can be suitably adapted to that.


I also wouldn't recommend paying too much attention to what other people charge. It can be useful as a rough guide, but everyone works differently so what the customer is paying for is not a set, quantifiable standard. They're paying for your work. So ultimately (at least if you want to make a long-term go of it), you need to charge what you feel your time is worth.

I found comission painting just wasn't enough money for time invested for me, given my speed at painting.

What I generally do however, is offer comission painting of small units and squads, done to a high standard, in exchange for trade.

I can usually get a lot more value for my comission services when people just feel they are trading away their old minis they dont want anyway, then actually giving me cash.

I can then often either use these minis if they are something I want, or trade them along again for minis I actually want.

I have a pretty decent fulltime job tho. I more do comission painting as a way to practice new models without buying them, get my name out there, improve my skills, as I want to become a studio painter in 10-15 years time, after all my family life has settled down and I have a lot more experience under my belt.

If I did charge money tho, I don't ever offer a flat rate. I use a quote system.

So for example, a squad of basic tactical marines painted to a nice standard, would be cheaper than say, a honour guard painted to the same standard. (they'd probably actuall be double the price).

I also echo what Jin said. I never let myself have more than 1 comission ongoing, and 1 comission coming in, because I want to have time to paint my own models, too. I usually set aside saturday for comission work, and do my own models on week nights to relax after work. I also never accept a comission of greater than 10 basic models, or 5 'character level detail' models at a time. (so I wont accept one comission of say, 50 space marines. I'd do 10, send off, if client is happy, can send the next 10, if i'm free and if he wants.)

But almost all the comissions I get are just for command squads, characters, or special vehicles like venerable dreadnaughts.

To be honest, your painting skills arn't up to scratch just yet.

You may be able to convince some kiddies at your local store to let you paint their minis yet you wont have much luck with an online service.

they're not ugly models, you just need some practice with your dry brushing and highlights. You also need some more experience to know what colours blend well and how you should build up your coats.

My advice is to treat every model with the most care, grinding through minis doesn't help your skills at all except maybe your speed painting, which never looks good.

personally, on a scale of 1 to 10 i paint on a level 7, i do have a little painting service in my garage, though im not going international... ive been painting my friends minis for 3 months now, its actually reeling in some cash. so a little garage idea can take you a long way.