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So, my friend has just asked if I'd be willing to paint up a 5k Tyranid force for him as he hasn't the time. He is willing to pay but I'm not to sure on what to charge, exactly.
I'm not the best painter, better than average but nowhere near GD or EM standards.
Do you guys have any idea? I am aware that actual painting serviced charge a bomb so it's not going to be anywhere near their prices but I was thinking a penny per point? Does this sound viable? Fair?

I'm really stuck :/

You need to figure out how many hours it will take you to paint 5000 points of tyranids and then you will need to decided how much your time is worth.

Basically, what is your time and effort worth to you? Some commission painters will charge anywhere from $3-$5 or more to paint a single 28mm model, then they'll charge extra for assembly, basing, and other services.

I did commission work in the past for friends, and like you I feel my skills are a little above average at best so I asked for half the price of the models. For example, I only asked for $20 to paint a 10 man squad of Imperial Fists. Now I only did a 2500pt army here, where as you are looking at a substantially bigger army so asking for a bit more would be fair.

@Scooty - It'd take me a while, but the thing is, I LOVE painting, apart fro fluff it is my favourite pare of the hobby, so it wouldn't be that much of a time sink as I'd be loving every minute of it hehe.

Ooo half the cost of the models is a very good idea. I'm doing some research at the moment but I may just end up reverting back to that idea eventually. It's just a shock, I've never even considered any kind of commission work before now haha!

Thanks for the replies guys! Really appreciate it.

 Price wrote:
@Scooty - It'd take me a while, but the thing is, I LOVE painting, apart fro fluff it is my favourite pare of the hobby, so it wouldn't be that much of a time sink as I'd be loving every minute of it hehe.

Ooo half the cost of the models is a very good idea. I'm doing some research at the moment but I may just end up reverting back to that idea eventually. It's just a shock, I've never even considered any kind of commission work before now haha!

Thanks for the replies guys! Really appreciate it.

I love painting too and it really the only part of the hobby I actively engage in.


That being said, I don't love it enough to sell myself short, especially on painting a 5000 point tyranid army.

You speak the truth, sir. Looking at various painting services, they are charging around £4/5 for a single troop sized model. So I could get away with £2/3 per model and then higher for MCs.
This is so stressful! I'm going to need to paint 5k of 'Nids to de-stress!

Something else you could do is get a ballpark estimate of the total value of the army and ask for a percentage based off that number. Be sure to figure in the cost of paints, brushes, basing materials, etc. I will also say that even though he is your friend, ALWAYS do cash up front. I ended up being stuck with an army because my buddy started making payments and then said he couldn't afford it.

Try to explain it to your client in terms of hourly work.

If you expect to get paid $15 / hr and it will take you one hour per mini, then you aren't off base asking $15 / mini. If you can crank out a squad in a few hours then price accordingly.



This is the fairest way to do it for both you and your client. One thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is commission services that charge a premium to paint entire armies using 99% airbrush methods. It may look OK in photos and on the table, if you suffer from vision impairment, but the money often doesn't reflect the time spent and it *could* be a lot better if proper techniques were used. One area where this stands out is weathering...

 NuggzTheNinja wrote:

This is the fairest way to do it for both you and your client. One thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is commission services that charge a premium to paint entire armies using 99% airbrush methods. It may look OK in photos and on the table, if you suffer from vision impairment, but the money often doesn't reflect the time spent and it *could* be a lot better if proper techniques were used. One area where this stands out is weathering...

There is nothing that makes using an airbrush "improper" when it comes to painting.

I understand where you are coming from, as I too have seen uninspired commission armies painted with an airbrush... And I have seen uninspired commission armies painted without one. Typically, when you see one of those uninspired airbrushed armies, the client paid for a decent looking army for the tabletop completed in an extremely timely manner. Whether that is worth it or not is up to the client.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

 NuggzTheNinja wrote:

This is the fairest way to do it for both you and your client. One thing that leaves a bad taste in my mouth is commission services that charge a premium to paint entire armies using 99% airbrush methods. It may look OK in photos and on the table, if you suffer from vision impairment, but the money often doesn't reflect the time spent and it *could* be a lot better if proper techniques were used. One area where this stands out is weathering...

There is nothing that makes using an airbrush "improper" when it comes to painting.

I understand where you are coming from, as I too have seen uninspired commission armies painted with an airbrush... And I have seen uninspired commission armies painted without one. Typically, when you see one of those uninspired airbrushed armies, the client paid for a decent looking army for the tabletop completed in an extremely timely manner. Whether that is worth it or not is up to the client.

In many cases airbrush is great. When it's used for literally everything on a model, it tends to look like ass. I won't name names, but some commission painters use it for everything including weathering, and it looks absolutely horrid up close.

There is at least one commission painter on Dakka (I won't name names) who does the airbrush job on literally every aspect of the model. It looks "OK" in photos, but I've seen one of their armies up close, in person, and it looks like complete gak.

Maybe the client paid for table top standard rather then display.

I will admit that an airbrush cannot really be used for fine detail. At the end of the day you will need to spend a good amount of time with a detailing brush.Airbrush weathering, on the other hand, can look completely badass.

I completely agree with the airbrush thing. I used one once and although it looked stunning, it wasn't my style of painting. I like the more direct approach with a brush, and it may be me not being able to use the airbrush as well as some people, but I found that I could add so much more character to a model, even a lowly troop with a brush that with a airbrush and that is what I like, character in every moel.

I am no commission painter but my oldest son does pay me to paint his army for him, he has no desire to paint.

Since I am not doing this to make money I charge him $25 per unit or vehicle. It is a very simple paint scheme on his Necrons but it looks good on the table.

Hmm, a flat rate per unit is a good idea, could work.
I'm getting a clearer picture of how to g about things with every different suggestion, really appreciate the input and thought

I have painted comissions on and off for 10 years. I have always done it the same.

for entire armies I ask for at least 25% up front. (You never know what could come up. What if you spill your blue paint!!)
Then I charge a base "estimate" all troops will be about $1 a model. Heroes will be 10-20 and vehicles are 20-40 all depending on the colors, techniques used, and like what was said earlier, the final value of the painted army.

I would get half up front if you have not done a commission before. Plus its for a friend so there is no real reason to stress.

Yeah, whatever I decide the price to be, it was always going to need half upfront, just to cover materials and paint.

With Nids, the main skin basecoat and 2 layers can be applied very quickly using an airbrush (ie about 30 gants in 2 hours) leaving time for finer details and carapace work.