# What's a fair price to charge to paint Miniatures?



## Sanackranib (Jan 20, 2003)

I paint pretty well, as those who have seen my paintjobs know and I have had several people in the past few months want me to paint their PC miniature. I told them $20 for a standard figure or $15 if their is not much detail. obviously larger figures would be more because they are more work and paint. From your expirence is this a good price for a good paintjob and sealer coat?


----------



## D'karr (Jan 20, 2003)

Take a look at some of the paint jobs on auction sites like eBay.  You can then compare your ability to others.

I've seen some minis there go for as much as $85 dollars.

A painted mini with a well worked out base and a coat of sealer seems like a good price at $20.  I would say that an average of $20 is fair if you are good.  If the miniature requires conversion, then you should adjust your price according to the difficulty of the work.

Any job that requires pinning for stability (large dragons) would easily cost 3 times as much.

I think the best thing you can do is get some well focused and lit digital photos of your work.  That way people can gauge what you can offer.

Remember that good is in the "Eye of the Beholder."


----------



## Wulf Ratbane (Jan 20, 2003)

The simple answer is, "What the market will bear." Browsing eBay over many years, I have seen folks pay obscene cash for mediocre paintjobs. Some people have more money than they have time or patience, and they are prepared to PAY for it.

My rule of thumb for a STANDARD/SPEEDPAINT paintjob is to charge what the owner paid for the miniature itself-- but that's for GW pricing, and it is definitely on the low side. Need 10 Space Marines painted? You paid $50 for a squad of 10? Fine, $50 for the paintjob.

However, I am a very fast, competent painter, and I think it's a fair price for the amount of work _I personally have to invest_. I've never been much of a gouger. 

For a single Reaper-style fantasy miniature, painted to a high (if not expert) level of detail, $15-20 seems fair. I suppose an expert paintjob could go 30-40, and if you included sculpting and conversions to personalize the figure to the buyer's character sheet, 50 dollars up to... well, as I said before, "What the market will bear."


Wulf

P.S. If you are as curious to see some of my Speed Painting work as I am to show off, check out these links:

http://www.batreps.com/hive_fleet_project.htm
http://www.batreps.com/auc-bevier.htm

Personal "Speed Paint" Work-- a couple of armies I painted in way too little time to prep for tournaments:

http://www.batreps.com/gbd-sm.htm
http://www.batreps.com/gt-orks.htm


----------



## Darius101 (Jan 20, 2003)

Ebay in my opinion is a bad place to judge what to charge for the figs. 
I would say $20 for a decent job is a good price. 
I asked some pros what they would charge me and it went by level of detail. 

Jen Haley level is $100 +  but she rarely does commision work anymore. I have seen her figures go for as much as $500 for a single work. 

Other pros will charge around $30 for an ink job and minor detailing and $50-$80 for an award winning level figure with full detail to order. This takes into account the amount of time they will work on the mini to do it right. This was for a 25mm fig and double that for a giant or dragon sized figure. 

I usually charge $10-$15 for a speed job (1-2hours) and $25 for a deail job that will take about 4hrs to finish right. And yes I can paint a decent figure in about 30min and get $15-$20 for it but I prefer to take a little more time. I used to blend the paints on the figure itself and they turned out decent..but alas age has made me more patient. 
Hope that helps, 
Darius


----------



## D'karr (Jan 20, 2003)

Darius101 said:
			
		

> *Ebay in my opinion is a bad place to judge what to charge for the figs. *




I don't think anyone said go there to judge what to charge for a mini.  What was stated was to go there to see where you compare in level of ability.

I've seen some real dogs of a paint job go for very high prices on e-bay.


----------



## cerberus2112 (Jan 20, 2003)

*Triple*

The standard fee is triple the cost of the miniature, accounting for the cost of the miniature, the cost of resources used to paint it (paint, brushes, primer, sealer), and your time as the talent.


----------



## Umbran (Jan 21, 2003)

I'll offer up a somewhat dissenting alternative - if painting miniatures is your hobby, you shouldn't charge anything.

If it's your hobby, you'd be painting _something_ anyway, right?  If the person you paint for pays for the miniature itself, the other costs (paints and time) are things you'd spend anyhow.

This person is giving you a chance to do something you enjoy more cheaply than you'd normally would, as you'd usually have to pay for the mini out of your own pocket.  He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it?


----------



## Gargoyle (Jan 21, 2003)

Why not charge?  If he earns a bit of money to buy more mini's and supplies for himself, then his hobby becomes self-supporting.  If the customer is happy with the job for the price, then it's a win-win situation.

*looks around at his dozens of unpainted minis and sighs*


----------



## Mark (Jan 21, 2003)

Umbran said:
			
		

> *He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it? *




Who gets to keep the mini...?


----------



## NiTessine (Jan 21, 2003)

Umbran said:
			
		

> *I'll offer up a somewhat dissenting alternative - if painting miniatures is your hobby, you shouldn't charge anything.
> 
> If it's your hobby, you'd be painting something anyway, right?  If the person you paint for pays for the miniature itself, the other costs (paints and time) are things you'd spend anyhow.
> 
> This person is giving you a chance to do something you enjoy more cheaply than you'd normally would, as you'd usually have to pay for the mini out of your own pocket.  He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it? *




Well, most published authors also enjoy writing, and if they weren't getting paid, would still probably be writing, just as a hobby. And like miniature painters, authors, with a few exceptions, have to have a normal day job to make the ends meet. See where I'm getting at?

That said, I generally get paid in other miniatures, or bitz. If I ever received actual money for a paintjob, I think I'd set the price as the price paid for the miniature.


----------



## Sanackranib (Jan 21, 2003)

*painting*



			
				Umbran said:
			
		

> *I'll offer up a somewhat dissenting alternative - if painting miniatures is your hobby, you shouldn't charge anything.
> 
> If it's your hobby, you'd be painting something anyway, right?  If the person you paint for pays for the miniature itself, the other costs (paints and time) are things you'd spend anyhow.
> 
> This person is giving you a chance to do something you enjoy more cheaply than you'd normally would, as you'd usually have to pay for the mini out of your own pocket.  He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it? *




That would be fine except I have a couple hundered of my own miniatures that need paint, also the investment in paints and brushes was al,ost entirely my own. lots of my collors are old and either thined down or hardening. so If I were to get into it as a "business" I would have to invest in paints, blades and brushes. I am not planing to do it as a business and on the adverage it takes me between 2-4 hours (I do use some inks) and a lot of the time is waiting for paint to dry so it doesnt take that much extra time to do 2 at once


----------



## MGibster (Jan 21, 2003)

Umbran said:
			
		

> *
> This person is giving you a chance to do something you enjoy more cheaply than you'd normally would, as you'd usually have to pay for the mini out of your own pocket.  He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it? *




But I'm giving him a mini that he might not be able to paint.  Seems to me everyone is the winner.

Marc


----------



## Umbran (Jan 21, 2003)

NiTessine said:
			
		

> *Well, most published authors also enjoy writing, and if they weren't getting paid, would still probably be writing, just as a hobby. And like miniature painters, authors, with a few exceptions, have to have a normal day job to make the ends meet. See where I'm getting at?*




Yah, but the analogy tends to fall apart, in that the total amount of work involved in painting a mini is counted in hours of labor.  Good writing of any length takes much, much longer.

I don't think "several" people really cont as "a business".  Compared to the "couple hundred" Sanackranib has of his own to paint, "several" don't really amount to much.

The question really is - how much painting were you planning to do?  If these several make you spend significant money on paints and brushes, then charging for that is reasonable.  But one mini doesn't take triple a mini's jcost to paint, if you're painting many minis...


----------



## Lord Pendragon (Jan 21, 2003)

Umbran's argument reminds me of those people who try and get artists to draw their characters for free.  Respectfully, it's a crock.  If you want the benefit of someone's labor, whatever form that labor should take, you should be willing to pay for it.  Period.

And the author analogy doesn't break down.  Short stories can be written in much shorter periods of time, even less poems.


----------



## Gizzard (Jan 21, 2003)

Try also CoolMiniOrNot.com.  The minis that are displayed and rated are also hooked to the relevant EBay auction.  This makes it easy to sort the minis by skill level; something which is not possible on EBay directly. 

As far as price goes, depends on your talent level.  I saw something fabulous go for over $270 yesterday and today I sort of randomly picked this which is a very clean job and currently $140.  Even a rather mediocre figure seems to go around $10-$25. 

Tangetially - the idea that mini painters might give away minis at cost is hopeful, but not very likely.  Lol.  If I enjoyed painting my mini, I will enjoy looking at it later, I will enjoy showing it to my friends, perhaps I will even enjoy playing D&D with it.  I might consider selling it to finance my hobby, but I doubt I will randomly give figures away.  To me this new, painted mini is worth much much more than the pewter figure I bought originally.  I wouldnt sell any of my stuff for even triple, frankly - I just like the little guys too much.  ;-)


----------



## Umbran (Jan 21, 2003)

Lord Pendragon said:
			
		

> *Umbran's argument reminds me of those people who try and get artists to draw their characters for free.  Respectfully, it's a crock.  If you want the benefit of someone's labor, whatever form that labor should take, you should be willing to pay for it.  Period.
> 
> And the author analogy doesn't break down.  Short stories can be written in much shorter periods of time, even less poems. *




Yes, and we see how much professional poets get paid, huh? 

No, it isn't a crock, because you seem to be forgetting a very important conditional phrase in my original post:

_"...if painting miniatures is your hobby..."_

The difference is in your intended goal.

Dr. Midnight, another poster on these boards, is an artist.  I would _never_ try to con him into doing art for me for free.  I know that he's trying to earn a living doing artwork.  I'm not about to steal time from him that he'd otherwise use earning his wages.  If he volunteered to do a piece of work for free, as a present, I'd jump at the chance, 'cause I love his work.  But if I ask him to do it, I'd very well expect to pay.

Liquide is another poster on this board who does artwork.  He is perhaps less polished than the Doc, but some of his stuff is nice.  But as far as I'm aware, he does his work for fun and to improve his skill.  To him, I might turn and ask if he'd like to try a sketch for a character I had planned.  

I, myself, paint the occasional mini.  If someone came to me, handed me a mini, and asked me to paint it, I'd agree without a second thought.  Minis are pricey these days.  The guy is offering me a chance to engage in an activity I'd normally do anyway, just for fun, but is making it somewhat cheaper.

The difference lies in your stated goals in undertaking the art.  If the purpose is to earn money, then treat it like business, and charge.  Just be ready to have people say it's not worth the $$.  If the purpose is to have fun paintintg, then don't charge.  You're more sure to get "repeat business" if you don't charge, thus supporting your leisure activity, withe the addition of earning the warm-fuzzy feeling you get out of makign someone happy with a gift.


----------



## NiTessine (Jan 21, 2003)

Oh, and then there is another reason I _have_ to charge for the miniatures I paint...

I saw how they treated the other miniatures I'd painstakingly painted for several hours. The players had just chucked them in the same pile with the rest of his army, and transported them all without any protective material, in a suitcase. It was revolting. So, I figure that if they've actually paid for the miniature, they'll show it a bit more respect.


----------



## Sanackranib (Jan 21, 2003)

*painted figures*

I "encourage" my players to either paint them therselves or pay to have it done for the same reason . . . well sort of. they tend to treat mine better if they have done the work or paid someone else to.


----------



## thalmin (Jan 21, 2003)

Shortly after I started playing (20-some years ago) I painted some figures for myself. Others in the game liked what I had done and asked me to paint some for them. Realizing that time spent painting their figs was time I couldn't spend on mine, I agreed, but at a price. $2 a fig, which they provided. Soon I was swamped with requests, so I started to raise my asking price, except for my friends. Until I discovered that one of my "friends" was taking the figs to school and selling them for $15-20 each.
Talk about killing a hobby.

(I am about to paint my first fig in about eighteen years. For myself.)


----------



## Painfully (Jan 21, 2003)

When I started painting I offered to paint the minis for my gaming group for free.  I was still learning, and as long as I could practice new things I was happy to paint.  Now, considering the time and financial investment I make to get good brushes and new paints (and, I admit it, more figures too), I charge about $10 for the average Reaper figure.  But these are for minis made to be on the tabletop and actually gamed with.  Showpieces are much more time consuming and prices have to be adjusted accordingly.

If I were a buyer, I would look closely at how well the painter can blend their colors, how realistic the flesh tones appear, do the colors look natural, are there freehand designs put onto the figures, and so on.  Since you are planning on using eBay, just set your bid low and let the audience determine what your mini is worth.


----------



## Azure Trance (Jan 22, 2003)

> Jen Haley level is $100 + but she rarely does commision work anymore. I have seen her figures go for as much as $500 for a single work.




Wow, she's smokin'.

http://www.wegotgame.net/jen/confrontation_index.html


----------



## KnowTheToe (Jan 22, 2003)

Azure Trance said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Wow, she's smokin'.
> 
> http://www.wegotgame.net/jen/confrontation_index.html *




And those pictures don't come close to doing her work justice.


----------



## Darius101 (Jan 22, 2003)

Yeah they look 1000 times better in person. She sells on ebay all the time and even sold her Golden Demon winner from this year. 
Here are a few sites of other painters work for you too look at. 



http://miniature-painting.net/index.html 
This is currently haveing a contest on the mini that was on the site posted somewhere above this post. 
VIC will keep you busy for a while and has a ton of good information for a new starting painter getting into the biz.
Check out the many links he has here talk about jumping in to a large data pool.  

http://www.wegotgame.net/jen/main.html 
This is Jens original page and has the jumping point to her ebay sales ...for those who are interested. Some slimes bought Jens figures on ebay and entered them in a number of contests. Check this site out for details. 

http://www.secondworld.net/ 
This is Anne's index ....was a website and she does sell on ebay under the nick Viatalla (I think that is how you spell it) she paints for a living and is reasonable when doing commission work about $35 for a basic figure. She basis her price on the number of hours and level of detail you want. Golden Demon level is $100 to start. 

Now about getting paid to do what you love ....I believe that the artist should decide what he does with his art. Same with a writer, poet, sketch artist...ect.  Treating it as a business is the right thing to do if you want to make a little side money. If your painting for friends then charging them $10-$15 is fair regardless of the fact you would be painting anyway. You would be painting your stuff not theirs ...so it is taking time away from your personal art. 
I like this thread ..good work and advice guys keep it up. 
Thanks, 
Dariuus
**Edit
http://www.dark-age.com/main.php 
Jens latest works of art... she is the painter for this game.


----------



## Azure Trance (Jan 22, 2003)

I assume J Haley is also the one (or at least part of a small circle of artists) who paints all those nifty show minis I see for Confrontation that makes me want to add it in my shopping cart? So tempting ... yet unabashedly evil ploy. I want it for how it *might* look.

Edit



> Some slimes bought Jens figures on ebay and entered them in a number of contests.




Oh? What happened? Only contest I'm familiar with is the GD, and thats only because of my exposure to WD.


----------



## Darius101 (Jan 22, 2003)

She paints Confontation but the ones posted on the sites are the ones from France. I knew at one time who it was that painted them it was in an article that also showed the shop in Paris. 

Games Day in canada and in Chicago were two of the places where the guys got caught putting her miniatures in the contest. 
When she posts her figs now on ebay there is an agreement that you will not use this figure for any competitions where the figure will be judged on the paint job. I believe she also now signs them in some way so judges know it is hers. 

She was selling complete squads of various characters at the booth at Origin2002 last year. They were very tempting. She also was fully dressed in Brom constume.

Check this out too...tons of information:
http://games.necrosys.com/ 
http://www.dreamwater.net/zaphodsminis/home.html 
Painters Guild and painting service.


----------



## RichDR (May 17, 2015)

I charge the paint used and tips. Just done a 39 man imperial fist and told the gentleman just that, paint and afterwards if he wanted to tip I gave him my PayPal. 
I just enjoy painting. The tips are nice cause then I don't have to fund my own plastic addiction, but they aren't required.


----------



## William Arthur (Aug 18, 2020)

I know i'm late to the party here, but the fella that said he would gladly paint a mini, for anyone, ive got 200 whats your address. I need them painted and I want them done by the end of the week ... K thanks 

Also when you are done I plan on purchasing 600 more from a kickstarter, will you also paint those for free?

I have a few friends that need free painting done as well, not sure how many minis they have but shoot me an email and we can get it setup!


----------



## Myrdin Potter (Aug 18, 2020)

If you are new at painting for money, I tend towards $15/hour plus an adder for materials (paint and brushes). I think $30/hour + adder is a reasonable rate for an experienced painter. For a renowned artist, whatever the market will bear.

Hourly rate is for time spent painting. Any sort of a layered paint job has a reasonable amount of drying time between layers, but if you time yourself, the time per figure tends not to be as long as it seems.


----------



## MNblockhead (Aug 19, 2020)

So are flat rates uncommon? I would find it difficult to send out a mini without at least a price cap.


----------



## Myrdin Potter (Aug 19, 2020)

The flat rate I would charge would be based on an hourly charge and the estimate I made in advance for how much time it would take.


----------



## aco175 (Aug 19, 2020)

That $20.00 for a decent paint job was in 2003 dollars, so that is closer to $100.00 now at the rate we are printing money.


----------



## ccs (Aug 19, 2020)

Umbran said:


> I'll offer up a somewhat dissenting alternative - if painting miniatures is your hobby, you shouldn't charge anything.
> 
> If it's your hobby, you'd be painting _something_ anyway, right?  If the person you paint for pays for the miniature itself, the other costs (paints and time) are things you'd spend anyhow.
> 
> This person is giving you a chance to do something you enjoy more cheaply than you'd normally would, as you'd usually have to pay for the mini out of your own pocket.  He's giving you something, and you're gonna make him pay to do it?




I've yet to meet someone who's hobby is painting minis/models (or playing minis based games) who doesn't have their own backlog, multiple projects, or both.  They don't need to worry about you "giving" them something to work on.
So if they're painting your stuff?  That means they're not not painting their stuff.   And you're using up their supplies.
So expecting Free is foolish.  

So when I paint for others, how much I charge depends upon;
How good a friend you are,
What exactly you want painted.
The amount of detail/quality you want.
How many figures you want painted.
How much time I expect this project to take.  And on a related note, how soon you want/need this done.


----------



## Umbran (Aug 19, 2020)

ccs said:


> So expecting Free is foolish.




Dude, the post you are responding to is from 2003.   I'm pretty sure that the statute of limitations is up after _seventeen years_.

And, I didn't say anyone should expect anything.  I was putting the focus on a choice by the individual painter.  No expectations on the part of others logically follows or is implied.


----------



## Wolfram stout (Aug 19, 2020)

Mark said:


> Who gets to keep the mini...?




I don't know if that was designed to drive home a point.  But, I know a situation where that fits perfect.  In my D&D group, we have one guy that paints minis as a hobby.  At the start of a campaign, he really goes out of his way to try and find good miniatures for each player.  He buys them, paints them, and brings them to the games....and takes them home.  He never complains if the campaign is short lived.

He very well might paint someone's mini for free if they provided the mini, because as Umbran pointed out, that is what he likes doing.


----------



## ccs (Aug 20, 2020)

Umbran said:


> Dude, the post you are responding to is from 2003.   I'm pretty sure that the statute of limitations is up after _seventeen years_.
> 
> And, I didn't say anyone should expect anything.  I was putting the focus on a choice by the individual painter.  No expectations on the part of others logically follows or is implied.




Didn't notice the date.
But if threads would auto-lock to read-only status after x period of inactivity it'd keep the necromancers out.


----------



## pogre (Aug 20, 2020)

On a recent Kickstarter for Heroforge they had an option for a custom mini hand painted for $149.00. Their normal price for a custom printed mini is $25-$30. Roughly speaking that's $125.00 for the paintjob. Now, given this is a company with overhead and contractors - that's naturally a high price point. 

I can paint at or above the level they are charging. I would charge a stranger $75.00 for painting a 28 mm scale character figure, including custom basing. I generally do not charge friends for painting miniatures that are going to be used in my campaigns.

Even at my prices, I had more work than I could keep up with and I burned out on commission painting. Make sure the price is worth your time and passion! 

I have friends who have turned miniature painting into a career. They do sell figures and do commission work, but most of their revenue comes from Twitch broadcasts and Patreon.

I know this is an old thread, but I enjoy talking miniatures!


----------



## Wasteland Knight (Aug 20, 2020)

William Arthur said:


> I know i'm late to the party here, but the fella that said he would gladly paint a mini, for anyone, ive got 200 whats your address. I need them painted and I want them done by the end of the week ... K thanks
> 
> Also when you are done I plan on purchasing 600 more from a kickstarter, will you also paint those for free?
> 
> I have a few friends that need free painting done as well, not sure how many minis they have but shoot me an email and we can get it setup!




The main part of this thread was 2003 with one intermittent necro-post in 2015.  Now in 2020 you decide to take umbrage? Lol.

In any case, for work like painting minis or custom building terrain, the amount that fairly compensates the artist is going to be far more than the average client would pay.

I know a few people who are heavily into minis war games as their primary hobby and, by the painting awards they’ve won, paint at a very high level. 

From time to time they’ve sold of a painted army for what sounds like a good bit, but when talking to them they laugh and when it breaks down they are being“paid” a tiny amount on an hourly basis.  They all have good day jobs, and they sell off painted minis when their display cases are seriously overflowing and they want to try something new.


----------



## Mmitta200 (Apr 3, 2021)

I am seeking someone in Miami or aventura Florida that paints miniatures. I will start off with a few jobs and this can become something that is full time work. Please email me if interested michael@aurumkings.com


----------



## Fenris-77 (Apr 3, 2021)

It depends on your resume and your skills. Last time I charged someone for a single fig it was $100, which is about my standard for a top-tier single figure on foot, and also about righty considering the time that paint job takes. I don't usually, or didn't usually, do units on commission, but the prices would be in the hundreds for that as well for my solid table top quality job.  Those prices are based on my skill set, as should anyone's be. I have multiple golden demons as well as some best painted wins, so that what my end of the hobby looks like.


----------



## Emerikol (Apr 3, 2021)

Wulf Ratbane said:


> The simple answer is, "What the market will bear."



This is the simple answer.   The price will vary a lot based on your skill level.

There is also the opportunity cost for you.  If you enjoy the work, and see it as found money then you may not want to sweat the last drop of cash out of your customers.  If it is hard work and you'd rather be doing something else almost always then charge for that.   If you like the work then it can be an easy way to pocket some extra spending money doing something you enjoy doing anyway.


----------

