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Hey guys how much would you charge to paint per unit. Someone wants me to paint there army. Not a pro job just decent dry brush and wash but a nice job. What would you guys charge? I dont know how many units he has, i was thinking about saying per unit. any suggestions?

 pask423rd wrote:
Hey guys how much would you charge to paint per unit. Someone wants me to paint there army. Not a pro job just decent dry brush and wash but a nice job. What would you guys charge? I dont know how many units he has, i was thinking about saying per unit. any suggestions?

OP, that is the most loaded question one could ever ask.
The answer has to start with: "That depends".
Easiest way is to look at a website for someone who does this kind of thing and you would see a few categories.
It would also completely depend on your relative degree of skill.

Look at Frontline Gaming, their pricing is pretty comprehensive and give good examples of the quality at each level.
(Quality of paint job, quantity, size, basing requirement, certain colours are an extra charge, adding magnets... there are many things that can add to the work.)

Frontline Gaming
https://www.flgpaintstudio.com/pricing/

Blue Table Painting for one:
http://bluetablepainting.com/portfolio/

PaintedFigs
http://www.paintedfigs.com/prices/

thank you

I've done commission work - found that I hate it - stopped for many years - tried again - remembered I hate it.

Anyway... You and your customer need to negotiate the price vs. quality. The customer needs to be happy with what they receive vs. what they've paid and you need to be equally as happy with compensation vs. the work invested.

It's that simple.

My very first commission painting jobs... I wasn't even paid cash. The customer compensated me with expensive MtG Beta rares.
My last commission painting job... I was charging as much as $33 an infantry model.
In all cases... terms and payment were negotiated and agreed upon by both parties.

Yeah, there's a huge swing in price depending on quality vs speed.
Best thin to do would be to chuck up a pic or two of your work and we can tell you how much we'd be happy to pay for it.

If you're starting a commission service that's one thing, if someone just out of the blue asked you if you can paint their army for them I don't think it's unreasonable just to add up the cost of materials and hours you'll spend, give yourself a decent hourly wage and tell them that's how much it'll cost.

If you're actually starting a commission business then you have to also figure out where in the grand scheme of things your skill and speed level places you and determine a pricing. But for a person just asking you out of the blue, I'd just tell them a price that gives me a decent hourly pay.

And be realistic about the time it'll take you to do stuff, time yourself to see how long it takes you to get from a sealed box of miniatures to a finished unit - I think almost everyone underestimates how much time it actually takes.

Also, who is 'someone'?
A friend, lover, husband, a disabled kid from the flgs, the flgs needing a new starter army for a game you love, a games company executive, a commission service outsourcing work?

Here's a table I made for a mate.....Guess what I charged? What would you pay?



I charged nothing as I had the majority of materials knocking around. It cost me very little and I'll be able to play on it which is a great swap. Same would go for painting a friend's army, I'll happily take a few evenings and a couple of beers to do a painting session with a mate to get him up to speed if I no longer have to play against a wall of grey. Other people on my above list would not be getting it for the same rate.

I would say base it off the number of hours spent working on it - at an estimation. So perhaps paint up one mode as a demo - that model will both show how you envision their scheme; the quality of the final product; act to make any chances that might be requested and also give you a rough idea how long it might take

From there price it up per hour and give a value that you feel is reasonable for your time.

Then you and the client can haggle about it.


As this is once off that's about the best of it since you're not going into business you don't have to consider running costs; tax; shipping; work hours etc.....

One of the best commissioning guidelines I ever saw:

You can have fast
You can have cheap
You can have quality

You can have any two of the above but not all 3.

Alex Kolodotschko wrote:I charged nothing as I had the majority of materials knocking around. It cost me very little and I'll be able to play on it which is a great swap. Same would go for painting a friend's army, I'll happily take a few evenings and a couple of beers to do a painting session with a mate to get him up to speed if I no longer have to play against a wall of grey. Other people on my above list would not be getting it for the same rate.

That is 100% what a friend does.
I have had a few "bulk" painting sessions to get a friend's army up and looking good and the other way around.
That is what keeps the hobby going and makes it fun for your immediate group.

quickfuze wrote:One of the best commissioning guidelines I ever saw:
You can have fast
You can have cheap
You can have quality
You can have any two of the above but not all 3.

Yeah, you could almost end the thread on this.

quickfuze wrote:One of the best commissioning guidelines I ever saw:

You can have fast
You can have cheap
You can have quality

You can have any two of the above but not all 3.

I can have cheap AND quality??? This hurts my head.

I can have cheap AND quality??? This hurts my head.

I can do you cheap quality work anytime. Delivery sometime in March 2035.....

stroller wrote:
I can have cheap AND quality??? This hurts my head.
I can do you cheap quality work anytime. Delivery sometime in March 2035.....

That sounds like a failed Kickstarter slogan.
Love these topics, so many speaking from various mixed experiences.

More my version of the triumvirate.

You can have it quick, right, and cheap.

Any two.

When I was painting for my friends as a side hustle, I charged MSRP for a basic tabletop paint job.

If I were painting for a living, I'd seriously reconsider my career choices.