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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Painted-Scarface-amp-Cordelia-Infinity-Angel-Giraldez-/281633428699

Holy gak!
Yes, that is how much they usually sell for. I saw a BA furioso for something like $1000 once.
They are insanely priced.

And, apparently this is mini painted by Angel Giraldez...

http://studiogiraldez.blogspot.co.uk/

I am not really surprised

Well, there are professional painters and there are "pro" painters. Since angel giraldez is one of the best mini painters in the world, he can charge what he wants. Some of the other ebay sellers aren't quite so legit.

@KaptinBadrukk: you are welcome to your opinion that some minis are "insanely priced", but keep in mind that when painting is someone's job, bills still have to be paid, and a guy still has to eat...
the time that it takes to create a world-class paintjob is not insignificant...
the time that goes into developing the skills takes years...
in my opinion, hard work, and high level skills, should be rewarded with higher prices...

i would never call myself a "pro" painter, because that title has become a huge joke on eBay, but i am a professional...
i do this for a living, and only work to the highest standard...
i have done work for a handful of companies in the industry, had my minis published in rulebooks and they are used as the studio examples for the online stores...
i am a Golden Demon winner, and have my work appear in the CMON annual every year...

a single 28mm man-sized fig starts at $200usd from me...
a TAG would run about $400usd...
add those together, and you get exactly the price this is going for...
the quality that this piece is painted to is top-notch, so it seems like a fair price to me...
remember that you are looking at a display piece, not a bog standard gaming mini...

cheers
jah

I looked at it and thought the price was kinda cheap. It'd take me around a month to paint and build that, and I doubt I could match the style, you won't see another like it. Ever. Think about that for a while.

@Winterdyne: the price is definitely cheap when you consider that the TAG is a one-off conversion, and the painting is top-notch...
that is without even considering the prestige of owning a beautiful "Angel Giraldez" mini...

i work hard to create original interpretations of a character's bog standard mini, and paint them to an award winning quality, and still get people telling me that $250 is way too much to charge for a unique conversion piece, so i just accept that it comes with the territory of selling painted minis...
it is a sad truth of the business...

@KaptinBadrukk: here is an interesting question for you...
did that $1,000 BA Furioso actually sell???
a painter can put whatever price he would like on a model, but if it doesn't sell, then the asking price is meaningless...
the public determines the value of a painter's work, really...
while five people may comment that they think my prices are too high, there is always one guy who feels that it is a fair price...
i don't have a single painted mini sitting around collecting dust, because everything i paint sells, and my work schedule is booked for months in advance...

i'm pretty sure that Angel's piece will sell, and probably for more than the starting bid...
his work is just that good...

cheers
jah

For a large mini with top-quality Giraldez paintjob?

Yes, that's about right.

As for what commonly is labelled as 'Pro Painted' on ebay, that stuff usually sells for less than bare plastic/metal.

There are more close ups of that piece in his blog. Its a spectacular piece.

Here is exhibit B. Meg Maples was a staff painter at PP. She has won several Crystal Brushes (not sure about Golden Demons).

Her work is just amazing.

Here is her commission page. Look at the pricing....

http://arcanepaintworks.blogspot.com/p/commissions.html

Here is an exclusive Gorman DeWolfe model she had done for a client that skipped on her and it got something like $760 on ebay, and while its fantastic its not close to the best she has done.

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:
Holy gak!
Yes, that is how much they usually sell for. I saw a BA furioso for something like $1000 once.
They are insanely priced.

You're paying an artist for anything up to a couple of weeks' work. There's nothing particularly insane about that sort of price, if the quality is there.


It's a lot if you look at it purely as a gaming miniature. As a piece of art from someone with skills of that calibre, it's a bargain.

Indeed that's not a lot of money when you consider what went into it.

Yes when you say "you're paying up to a grand for a plastic miniature" it sounds crazy, but in reality you're not paying for a miniature, you're not paying for a paint-job, or a luxury item, or even a work of art. You're paying for some of the highest caliber professional talent that can be hired in the hobby. You're hiring an artist who comes with a lifetime of experience, and is willing to dedicate hours an hours of his life and work on a project that he will ship out to you after painstakingly paining it to perfection.

Frankly, anything less would be an insult to the artist's skill and time. If you can appreciate those things then the price should start to make sense. Just my two cents.

$600 for that piece? BARGAIN! I'm quite sure it went for a lot more and IMHO deservidly so. I think at times folk forget that a beautifully professionally painted fig is no longer just a plastic/metal/ resin/whatever 'toy' - it becomes a work of art. Go into an art gallery something and see what is charged for a painting. My father is a watercolour artist and he takes about 4-5 hours to paint the largest size painting he does. They usually sell for about 1500-2000 euro. A figure (for example the Giraldez one the OP mentioned) without a doubt takes much much much longer to complete. The skills needed for either take just as long to develop, perfect and continue to improve. Just my 2

@darefsky: she has a Gold Crystal Brush for Magneto, but no Golden Demon trophies...
looking at her prices, I guess it is time to raise mine, since our resumes are pretty much identical...

cheers
jah

I have to agree. Which is why when Winterdyne and I had a brief discussion today over Facebook, I didn't baulk at the price he quoted - in fact, I thought it quite reasonable.

Yes, Winterdyne, I know I haven't e-mailed you yet. I'll get to it after work tonight .

I'm really hoping we can schedule something. I would love to have a representative piece of yours in my cabinet.

Honestly, I still feel bad for asking Winter how much he charges and then never getting back to him as I was super busy. (I was just trying to get an idea of his stuff, ((I think it was in the BTP white knight thread,)) not actually commission something.)

That being said, someday... someday! *Shakes fist*

Art=money

 jah-joshua wrote:
@KaptinBadrukk: you are welcome to your opinion that some minis are "insanely priced", but keep in mind that when painting is someone's job, bills still have to be paid, and a guy still has to eat...
the time that it takes to create a world-class paintjob is not insignificant...
the time that goes into developing the skills takes years...
in my opinion, hard work, and high level skills, should be rewarded with higher prices...

i would never call myself a "pro" painter, because that title has become a huge joke on eBay, but i am a professional...
i do this for a living, and only work to the highest standard...
i have done work for a handful of companies in the industry, had my minis published in rulebooks and they are used as the studio examples for the online stores...
i am a Golden Demon winner, and have my work appear in the CMON annual every year...

a single 28mm man-sized fig starts at $200usd from me...
a TAG would run about $400usd...
add those together, and you get exactly the price this is going for...
the quality that this piece is painted to is top-notch, so it seems like a fair price to me...
remember that you are looking at a display piece, not a bog standard gaming mini...

cheers
jah

If you have the funds, and want the best you have to pay for it. If your getting jobs, then your pricing is right. At a certain stage your paying for art, a and just because art is is only 28mm tall its price reflects ins qaulity

I definitely agree that the model in the OP is on the cheap side; I've seen less go for more.

Angel Giraldez is simply a wizard with an airbrush.

Be nice if the OP model's base... was actually on the base.

Looks too fragile to even move from shelf to shelf.

I definitely want to get good at painting my minis so I can make a living selling them!! That's top notch work for sure and I know I'll never be able to reach that standard but a guy can dream!! Lol

Gragga Da Krumpa wrote:
Be nice if the OP model's base... was actually on the base.

Looks too fragile to even move from shelf to shelf.

it's a display base...
the resin plinth is the base...
the rocks are glued on top of it...

cheers
jah

JAH, have you got a gallery with your highest standard works? You might make more from me, after we sort out fully the arrangement we already are on.

Gotta say, even though I do this for a living I was tempted by the price. I would love to own one of his pieces.

Just figure how many hours it would take to paint a miniature a particular quality, how much that painter values their time, and how rare the skillset of that painter is, and there you have it

$600 is only $10 per hour for 60 hours, $20 per hour for 30 hours, $50 per hour for 12 hours, or, 6 hours at $100.

Now, think about how much you pay per hour for: unskilled labor, car mechanic, automotive body work, plumber, electrician, engineer, architect, dentist, lawyer.

Pretty cheap, for that mini, huh? Angel GiraldeZ is probably not charging more per hour than someone would make as a line chef of a 4-star (out of 5) restaurant, and would probably earn more on tips tending bar on a single, good evening.

I'm a contractor and regularly bill for more than $600 in a single day. angel definitely spent more than a day on that. It's a steal at that price. If you have the money to drop on such.

Remember that ebay takes 12%, if he bills in a currency different than his own, paypal charges another 5% to convert it. Which it appears he did here because he is in Spain and he is billing USD. So wham right there ebay rape for 17%.

Then the model costs is also going to stick it in. What does that mini cost?

Ya, commission painters don't make F all.

@gokhm: i'll shoot you an email, mate...

@kb305: i certainly feel like i don't make much money, but i love what i do...
i love watching Angel do his thing, too...
he's one of my favorites...

cheers
jah

This model is around 50 dollars. So his profit is around 450 not including paints, brushes and shipping materials.

Am i right on the 5% to exchange currency?
i do know for a fact that there is the real exchange rate and then there is the "paypal exchange rate", and the paypal exchange rate is "we're taking some of that".

 KaptinBadrukk wrote:
Holy gak!
Yes, that is how much they usually sell for. I saw a BA furioso for something like $1000 once.
They are insanely priced.

It's insane that someone who is a leader in their field would get paid only a few hundred dollars for what looks like a month's worth of work, I can earn that much in a day depending on what I'm doing

But stuff like that is art rather than table top models. I will admit, personally, even though it's really well painted for the price, I do think it's a little insane but that's just because I don't see the point in displaying models as art. If I'm painting a display piece, for me the fun isn't in the displaying, it's in the process of creating it. I'll usually only display a model on my shelf up until I finish the next one at which time the one that was there previously just gets put away with all the rest, lol. If I want a model as a gaming piece, then I just want as many models done as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible to a half decent level.

But that's just me, if you are buying a model as a display piece the price is quite reasonable.