Hello Everyone!
I am here blogging as a special guest on Munkey Joe's blog. This is my first time using blogger so please bear with me if it comes out looking all weird. =) For those who might not know me, my name is Lyn Stahl. I am the owner of Metalhead Minis- Commission Painting, Consignment, and Sales. Metalhead Minis was established in 2009, but I have been painting and collecting since 1997. Aside from Metalhead Minis, I also teach painting at multiple conventions such as GenCon and Genghis Con, I compete in painting competitions, and write articles for multiple hobby magazines around the world such as Figure Painter Magazine.
I wanted to take a moment to post some information regarding obtaining commission paint jobs from professional painters. Often times, when professional painters hangout and "talk shop", one of the most common topics is the fact that a lot of people feel our rates are too high and such. I have been thinking that there is a missing piece to this puzzle. The piece that I think is missing is that perhaps if people were honestly educated about why the prices are what they are that it might help the client side understand much better. I am hoping that this can be quite helpful all around.
Now just to be clear, there are many different professional painting businesses out there and they all have different rates for different reasons. For example, some businesses have overhead costs to consider as they might pay rent for a separate space to paint outside of their home. Some businesses might also outsource some of their work to save time, or charge per hour instead of a flat rate. Keep in mind that while it might make the prices a little higher, this might be a system that works specifically for the business and serves as a benefit to both the painter's work and their clients. My objective in writing this blog post is not to speak for all the miniature painting services out there. The information in this blog I have made sure to keep pretty general using average numbers and such as a "starting point" (for lack of a better term). This is just to help people in the community have an understanding.
We all know the saying "Time is money."
When it comes to commission painting, it is no different. When professional painters are working on a paint job, our time is worth money. Professional painters put a lot of money and time into their skill to get to that point.
- Paint and Supplies- Professional painters have to obtain a lot of supplies in order to start painting for clients. These items include (but are definitely not limited to) : Green stuff, Milliput, basing supplies, brushes, paints, airbrush, drills, pins, glues, and mixing mediums. These supplies can range from costing hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on how much they have of these items.
- Education- While this type of job does not require a college degree or a certification, the amount of time that an actual professional painter puts into learning their craft and staying up to date can run into just as many study hours. The education is obtained through classes at different conventions, books, website/video tutorials, instructional DVDs, and paint club meetings.
With these points considered alone, it is easy to see why a professional painter would want to earn a return on the hard work they have put in.
Professional painters who also compete and have won prestigious awards and commendations (I.E.- Golden Demon, Crystal Brush) might charge a higher rate which is understandable. Many sleepless nights were had in order to perfect their competition pieces and show their dedication to the craft. A lot of the awards out there are actually not that easy to obtain.
Depending on what quality paint job you as the client are looking for, it must be understood that you "get what you pay for". This is another saying that I am sure we are all familiar with. Once or twice I am sure that at least some of you have either made a purchase, had a car repair, or home repair done. Thought you were being given a great deal, it was super cheap, and then in the end found out that it was crap, and had to go somewhere else and pay a little more to have the job done right. There are a lot of horror stories in relation to commission painting through someone that was not a professional. The most common ones:
- This person charged me $20 (or some other low price) to paint my figure/s. It has been a year and I have not received it back yet.
- This person charged me (insert low, low price here) to paint my figure/s and when I got them back they were not they were not painted the way I asked. Now I have to get them repainted.
There are other horror stories, but I am sure these two alone should suffice. I am sure you get the point.
Let's talk about average hours and prices. Again, keep in mind that this is an
average to give you an informational starting point, not actual. Professional painters paint at different speeds and all do things differently. These averages are based on a 28mm miniature.
- The average rate for a table top quality (gaming quality) painted figure is $10-$30 as they take about 1-3 hours to complete.
- The average hourly rate that a commission painting business charges is $10-$15 per hour.
- High table top quality (a nicer table top quality that has more layering of colors and blending) figures take an average of 3-8 hours to complete.
- Display quality (collector quality, these models are primarily used for display cases) painted models take an average minimum of 20+ hours to paint.
Double the times for larger figures (I.E.- 54mm)
Triple the times for dragons.
Most miniature painting services also charge separately for assembly, drilling, gap filling, and pinning. This is because depending on the figure, assembling a figure can take hours alone. This especially holds true for larger figures and dragons.
I hope that this has been helpful. =)
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have other questions.
Happy Painting to All!
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