Commission Painting

captainquark · **Posted:** Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:26 pm

Hey

I was wondering about the whole business of commission painting, and things like how would one get into it.

What level of painting ability would someone need to have? I know people can be commissioned to paint to different standards, but say tabletop standard?

Secondly, speed of painting. What is the average expected time to turn around models? I assume you'd have to be fairly proficient at batch painting?

And of course a key component of any business is the customers. With so many people out there offering commission painting, how do new people get their name out there, and get some customers?

Any helpful answers to these would be great

I hope I'm not treading on any toes with this, but its something I have been thinking about, and would like to find out more. Naturally though, gotta keep practising the painting

Hodush · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:41 am

I can't give much information but as far as getting your name out there - join your local clubs and game a lot, sponsor some tournaments with some discounts or free painting.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:43 am

You need to speak with Dead Marsh Spectre. He is a commission painter.

Dead Marsh Spectre · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:23 pm

Your right - People require models painted from various levels from tabletop to showcase standard. The best way to start out i would say is to join a fantastic site like this one so theres stage one completed already.
Enter the monthly painting challenges as these help you to push your skills further and further and help you to experiment with new techniques.

You could start a blog as I did and post pictures of your work as you complete it on there. You can put a notice up to say that you are available for commission painting and see what happens.

With regards to turnaround time it varies from job to job but yes often large batch paints is key. I am just finishing up on a batch of 43 TLA elven spearmen which was a long and tough batch to get through.
The main drawback to commercial painting is it leaves very little time to paint the models that YOU actually want to paint for your own collection. If you enjoy painting then give it a go. Commission painting is not for everyone it can be quite difficult to put the time in painting a model, slowly falling in love with it and then parcelling it up and posting it off to its new home at the end.

Good luck with it and if you need any further help or advice you can either PM me or email me at deadmarshspectre@sky.com and i'll do my best to help you out.

captainquark · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:43 pm

Thanks a bunch DMS, great advice there :yay:

I hadn't thought of the painting challenge on here, but that would certainly be a good idea. I have just started a WIP thread here, and I'm also going to be updating my gallery, but a blog would probably help too. Just wondering, what do you reckon would be good ways of getting my blog noticed? Obviously I could put it in my sig here, but what else could I do? Maybe join other wargaming forums, or perhaps facebook etc.?

Again, thanks for the help

Dead Marsh Spectre · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 1:54 pm

The best way of getting your blog noticed is to paint LOTS and as well as you can. Try to go the extra mile with every model you paint. Push yourself to try out new techniques on your models and then practice them over and over. Regular posts on your blog will keep increasing the number of hits you get. If you set a blog up let me know the web address and i'll put a link on my own site. Facebook is pretty much unchartered territory for me (I don't understand how it works lol) but my new site Shadow and Flame has a facebook page (which Dave my business partner deals with) but definitely seems like a worthwhile platform to use as it receives quite a bit of attention.

The best advert you can put out is your work. Start painting and posting pictures and above all have fun with it. No good if you don't enjoy what your doing.

Vekin · **Joined:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 1:17 pm **Posts:** 2

You could also try ebay. There is a lot of painted miniatures for sale on ebay at various levels of painting standard.

Taking a look at them will give you an idea of what people are prepared to pay for painted figures. You could also sell some of your work and see if it reaches the prices you would like to sell them for.

captainquark · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:20 pm

DMS, painting lots shouldn't be a problem, as, well, I love painting models

Vekin, ebay is a good idea, the only thing is, a lot of 'pro-painted' models on there really aren't 'pro-painted' :shock:

It's an idea to keep in mind though, although I am very fond of my lotr models, which so far are the only ones I collect. Which leads me to....

Should I perhaps buy the occasional 40k or Warhammer unit, and paint them, to a) gain experience painting things other than lotr, and b) display on a blog so that I can show I can paint things other than lotr. Would that be a good idea? As realistically, 40k and Warhammer seem to have a much higher fanbase than lotr, and thus I imagine a high majority of any potential commissions would be them.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Mon Jan 27, 2014 12:27 am

It makes sense for a commission painter to have several figure types that can work on, that way you have a wider audience. If you stich purely with one then you are reducing your market area.

mertaal · **Posted:** Mon Jan 27, 2014 8:03 am

40k will definitely be the big seller for most "army" type commission painters, although I imagine the PP side of things is increasing, especially in the states. For display pieces the market is, I think, much more diverse. So many cool companies out there making awesome models.

Vekin · **Joined:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 1:17 pm **Posts:** 2

captainquark wrote:

DMS, painting lots shouldn't be a problem, as, well, I love painting models

Vekin, ebay is a good idea, the only thing is, a lot of 'pro-painted' models on there really aren't 'pro-painted' :shock:

It's an idea to keep in mind though, although I am very fond of my lotr models, which so far are the only ones I collect. Which leads me to....

Thats quite true about ebay and the standard of painting. That said it will give you an idea of the prices and what you can sell your items for.

As is said above you will need to expand the type of figures you are happy to paint to expand your chance of work. 40K is a good choice as is historical minitures if you choose the right period.

Commission Painting

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