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I had an interesting thought, which do you prefer , would you prefer to paint the models yourselves and game with them or commission an artist to do it. I have noticed that there are a lot of commission painters on here and on ebay and with the cost of buying the models, would you prefer to have someone paint them for you .

Paint them myself. I enjoy the satisfaction of having a bunch of painted models that were done by me, especially since commission painting is crazy expensive. I also don't like the potential for someone saying "nice army! How did you paint that?" "I paid someone to do it for me." ".... oh"

Its a function of time vs. personal preference and budget.

Personally I paint all my own stuff; but I am ok at it, and I enjoy that process and don't mind if it takes a while.

As a person who does commissions for others (terrain, and painting) someone usually commissions me because;
* my techniques are unique, and they like the look and don't want to do it themselves.
* they just don't have the time, but have some spare cash.

I prefer to paint my own stuff. The only reason I might get a commission painted army is because I don't have the time to paint an army and want an army. These days I have very little free time to paint and/or game. In which case I don't need some crazy competition quality paint job, just a run of the mill table top quality army.

Armies that are commissioned don't deserve to be compete for best painted IMO. Plus it's a pride thing to have a completely painted army on the table and every successive army looks better and better.

I paint most of the miniatures for our gaming group. i don't charge anything and it's a pleasure to do it for friends.

However, when I get bogged down, I have resorted to a commissioning a good painter to do work for my personal collection.

There are some really great painters out there offering services and a smaller number of oustanding painters who do not advertise simply because they couldn't handle the volume or just don't want to do it as a business.

I prefer painting my own stuff, but i have seen some gorgeous painted armies by commissioned artists and id die to have one in my collection.

I dont agree with someone paying to have an army done then entering it into a painting competition. That means your taking credit for someones work.

I prefer self painted armies but I can see why other people would want theirs done by someone else

Stoupe wrote:Armies that are commissioned don't deserve to be compete for best painted IMO. Plus it's a pride thing to have a completely painted army on the table and every successive army looks better and better.

cjharrisman wrote:I prefer painting my own stuff, but i have seen some gorgeous painted armies by commissioned artists and id die to have one in my collection.

I dont agree with someone paying to have an army done then entering it into a painting competition. That means your taking credit for someones work.

I'm of the opinion that a commissioned army should be allowed to be put for best painted BUT any prize/credit should go to the commission artist, not the client. If the competition does not allow entry by proxy (most don't) then no, the army shouldn't be entered. Of course I have an interest in this - being able to rake in competition kudos would only help my business grow. :-)

As for the OP's question - most commission places don't meet my quality at a price I'd want to pay. It's a bit like asking a cobbler who he'd get to fix his shoes.

I'm more of a painter than a player, so if I commissioned an army, I wouldn't have much of a hobby to speak of, anymore. I also have more time than money, so doing it myself is the most economical (in a more general sense than simply "cheap") way.

If I did have the money to pay for a few showpieces from one/some of the big names I probably would, but for my own viewing and satisfaction more than that of others. If I went to a FLGS to show off an army, I wouldn't get much satisfaction plunking down some other guy's work, no matter how many compliments I received - the credit goes to the painter, unless "My, what a fat wallet you must have" is what I was after.

I don't begrudge people their commissioned pieces, though, by any means - good looking armies are good looking armies and I'd rather see them than indistinct blobs of garish paint on little plastic disks, no matter who did the work. Eye candy aside, though, I'd rather chat hobby with the guy that did it himself and I'd certainly rather compete with locals presenting their own work. Let the commission painters compete online or at the big conventions - local painting comps are for the locals, as far as I'm concerned (not that I've entered any, to date - no sour grapes here, just talking gut feeling and hypotheticals. Also, I'm working under the assumption that the commission painter isn't one of the locals - that's just bad luck for his competition if he is!).

[edits for typos - need more coffee!]

I definitely prefer to paint myself, when I have the time. I find no greater satisfaction than when Im setting my army up at a game store and I have other players swarm around my models and compliment them. I also like to learn the techniques and nuances of painting. The game itself is not much more than probability, so anyone rolling the dice well on any day can beat a really experienced player....but taking the time to learn how to become a talented painted is definitely admirable.

and as for the players out there that make no effort to paint their army's and show up with plastic mini's right from the box......

For me it goes both ways. I am more painter than player. In fact I haven't played a single game yet.

I like painting my own models for a couple reasons. 1 you have exact control on what you want done, 2 it saves a lot of money, 3 Being complimented on your own work is such a rewarding feeling.

My buddy bought 3000 points of guard from a local com painter. Cost him just over 1k.

Now he can't paint for beans, wanted a decent standard, and had the money. He asked me but there is no way I want to paint a horde army lol.

The amazing thing about commission work is that you get a fully painted army in record time. Most people prob have jobs, kids, other interests so they are not painting full time. The local com painter had them done in a week.

I will say though that by my standards they were about a 4 out of 10 but hell from a distance their uniformity looks really nice.

My models are mine and mine alone. I'm not a particularly prolific painter but I'd rather have them unpainted than let someone else do it. It does feel great when I actually get something done.

oadie wrote:I'm more of a painter than a player, so if I commissioned an army, I wouldn't have much of a hobby to speak of, anymore. I also have more time than money, so doing it myself is the most economical (in a more general sense than simply "cheap") way.

I am the exact opposite, in the past 4 months I've had maybe 1 hour to devote to painting, yet I make enough money to hire a great commission artist to paint my figures.

I have 1 army (my favorite army) that I am trying to paint myself, its been 4 years and while things get finished its extremely slow going. I bought a second army and I hate playing with primed models so that one I've shipped off.

Part of my enjoyment of the hobby is seeing the army I painted on the field. I would never commission someone to paint for me. Plus I'm cheep. And as a stay-at-home dad, I have far more free time then cash.

That being said, other people have different priorities. I painted a large chunk of my friends SoB army. He likes the wargaming part of the hobby, but doesn't have the time to do the painting. He'll buy painted stuff from e-bay, even if it doesn't match the scheme of his army.

Different people like different parts of the hobby. I'd rather face an army painted by a 3rd party then an unpainted one. If someone doesn't want to paint I understand, but I appreciate that some go the extra mile and pay to get a painted army.