PAINTING FOR FUN AND PROFIT

As your painting skill begins to improve, it will no doubt draw a lot of positive comments from fellow gamers who are impressed by the quality of your work. They might ask you to paint some miniatures up for them. You might entertain the notion of earning some money doing this... but should you? Let's talk about some considerations before you embark upon earning income for your painting work.


One: Keep It Fun
There's no faster way to kill your enthusiasm for a hobby than to make it feel like work. Sure, there's that old adage about "find a way to make a living doing what you love", but when what you love starts to feel like work, you might start to love it less.

I would not recommend trying to earn a living painting miniatures. It's fine to do as a side hobby that might incidentally bring in a little spending money, but unless you get hired (or commissioned) to paint for a game publisher or studio, odds are you will not earn enough to make a living on it.

So realistically evaluate how much of your free time you are willing to spend doing work for others, and stick to that. If you start to feel like painting is a chore, you've probably agreed to take on too much. If that happens, I'd advise refusing all but the most lucrative commissions until you eliminate your backlog.

Personally, I have enough of my own stuff to paint that it will surely take years to finish - and one old friend for whom I have an ongoing commission for work. But he paid me very well, in advance, and bought me a whole new set of paints and tools to do it. And he lets me choose the stuff I'd like to do out of his collection, so I can pick stuff I'd like to paint.


Two: Your Time Is Valuable
When I started painting for friends long ago, we had a general rule of thumb that the cost for doing the work would be the value of the model. I've heard that rule of thumb elsewhere, but I don't think it's financially sound. It's fine if you just enjoy doing work for friends while they fund your army or collection, but the reality is - time is money. And you're not getting a very good return on your time if you get $10 for spending 3 or 4 hours on an individual figure, or even $50 for a squad that takes 10-15 hours to complete.

If you're good enough that you can paint professional-level work in a jiffy, more power to you! But most of us will take a bit longer to paint something up to a high level of quality - and that's what someone who's paying you to paint will expect.

If you decide to begin accepting commission work from people who aren't close friends, be firm on what you feel your time is worth. Do not be embarrassed to ask for what your time is worth, and graciously decline offers for less than that. I never promised anyone the best quality work for the lowest price, but I do strive to deliver the best results I can for what I ask.

If I felt I could ask the same amount per hour for painting as I do for my day job, I'd gladly quit. But currently, I know I'm nowhere near that level of quality and efficiency combined. As the old sign says:

"GOOD / FAST / CHEAP - Pick any two of the three".

But the fact is taking longer in return for accepting a lower price is devaluing your own time even further. Money comes and money goes, but time's the one thing you only get so much of. A rich man and a poor man both only have 24 hours in every day - if you don't properly value your time, how can you expect a potential customer to?


Three: Be Realistic About Your Capabilities
As my skill has improved, I'm comfortable in saying that I can deliver results that are "close to studio quality". I don't fancy myself as a "professional" painter, but I've seen enough stuff in hobby stores and online to know that I'm better than many others.

Still, I know that not all of my work is always my best - I'm improving, and at a dramatic rate over the last couple of years, but I know that some of my work is excellent, and others merely "tabletop quality". Not everything I do is fit to enter into competition, but it all looks better on the table than my opponent's army, hopefully.

The biggest lack of perspective comes from the abundant misuse of the term "professionally painted". It's a vague term that means different things to different people. In the strictest sense, it simply means "people give me money to paint miniatures" - but that carries no connotation of quality or technique. People generally take it to mean "work far above average quality". Feel free to search for items on eBay using this term, and you will see a wide array of work that proves how meaningless this term can be. Some work can be truly exceptional (and those individuals will surely ask for what the work is worth), while others will list "pro-painted" models with visible overpaint, gaps where parts join, excessive brush marks, and other characteristics that indicate sloppy preparation, lack of technique, or simple failure to care about achieving the best results.

Do those sound like the sort of things a professional overlooks? The word should mean more than just someone who accepts money for work (the proper word for that is "mercenary", actually). It should mean someone who takes pride in their work and strives to deliver quality for the asking price.

It's okay to use the term "well-painted" if you don't think your work is top-notch but is still better than others. I've sold "pro-painted" minis on eBay before, and listed others as "well-painted" simply because I knew they weren't of professional quality in my own opinion. Quality and professionalism may be in the eye of the beholder, but in this case, the only opinion that matters is that of the buyer. If you are looking to obtain a good price for your work, good quality is an expectation.

To get a more objective opinion on the quality of your work, have a look at CoolMiniOrNot.com . Here, users can rate photographs of painted or customized miniatures, as well as offering constructive comments, tips and encouragement. If you feel like you have skin thick enough to handle constructive criticism, take the leap and post some of your work up there. In my opinion, a score of 5 or 6-ish (after a sufficient sample size of votes) indicates "tabletop quality", where a score in the range of 7 indicates "well-painted" and 8 or better is truly deserving of the title "professionally painted". You can link eBay auctions to this rating site, which can serve to generate more traffic and higher bids if your work is truly exceptional.


Four: Finished Work Isn't Always Worth More
Tying in with what I've said earlier, it's important to note that a painted model isn't always worth more money. Most people will only offer a good price if all of the following conditions are met: The miniature is painted better than the buyer is capable of painting himself, the color scheme is consistent with other models with which the new purchase will be used, and the price is lower than they would pay elsewhere for a better-painted model.

We've already talked about the dangers of undercutting yourself on asking prices - given the third point I just mentioned, it serves only to devalue the work of everyone who's painting for hire. But the more important aspect in asking price is the first point in the previous paragraph. People won't always pay more for a painted model than an unpainted one, if they'd have to strip it down and repaint it for their own uses. This is true even of miniatures that are no longer in production. Sometimes, you may find a better bid from a collector that wants an unused, unpainted item that can no longer be bought in stores.


Five: Be Clear on Your Expectations
This is one of the most important aspects of painting for hire. Even with a customer you know well, it's super important to be clear on what you are asking and what you intend to deliver - and equally as important to know the customer's expectations. With all but your most trusted friends, it doesn't hurt to get it all in writing, for your protection and benefit as well as the customer's.

In order for a customer to feel he has gotten his money's worth, you'll have to deliver exactly what he envisions. To do so, make sure that the buyer is explicit in terms of colors, pose, equipment and any other relevant detail. If they can offer a picture that's similar to what they have in mind, ask for a copy or a link to it. If they cannot show you what they want, then do a prototype model before embarking on an entire squad or army. There is no sense wasting time doing up 10 models only to find that they're not at all what the buyer had in mind.

Also, be sure you're not putting yourself at risk financially. If you front the cost of the miniatures and the buyer backs out on you, you've just lost that money unless you can resell them elsewhere. If the buyer pays up front (and I advise they do, at least for the cost of the materials but preferably half of the finished price - or even better, in full!), then that buyer will want some assurances that you will complete the project to specification, within budget and in a timely fashion. Be sure not to promise more than you can deliver and build customer confidence by laying out terms of what you will offer if you cannot complete the commission to these pre-established terms and expectations,as well as what you expect if the customer requires any changes to terms or specifications while you are in mid-project (they will and they do, be prepared!). And make sure you are prepared to honor your commitments!

Remember that if you are accepting money in return for work, you are entering into a business transaction. If you're listing an item on eBay, be up-front about what the customer is getting. Include photographs of the actual work. It may be tempting to show only the best view of the item or to be vague in the hopes of getting a better bid - but if the customer receives something that isn't exactly what they expected to get, you can be sure they will ask for a refund (in part of in full), may leave negative feedback (which will affect your future transactions), and may file a claim with eBay.

It's equally important to be choosy about your clientele - the last thing you need is for someone to turn your avocation into a hassle or a financial loss, or worse yet, to haul you into small claims court when you have delivered everything promised in good faith. There aren't many people out there who will deliberately burn a professional painter (though they do exist!), but there are enough of them who will turn a profitable commission into a loss by backpedalling, changing specifications, or outright getting cold feet. If you haven't been ironclad in what each party expects and delivers, you may find yourself on the losing side of this transaction. Protect yourself (financially and in reputation) first and foremost.


Six: Reputation Is Everything, and Your Work Speaks For Itself
To elaborate on what I've mentioned above, your stock-in-trade depends upon your reputation. Even the best quality work is meaningless if people are hesitant to risk their money on a commission. Customers will expect the best work you can deliver for their hard-earned money, and since time is money for them too, you'll find the best success when you value their time and money as much as you do your own.

If the planets all align, and you find the ideal buyer who is willing to offer you a good price for your time and effort, who explicitly details exactly what they want and sticks to it, and who is willing to allow you the latitude to deliver those results, that customer is a keeper! After the conclusion of your first successful commission with them, you'll have a better sense as to what they want and expect, and they will have greater confidence in your work. They may be prepared to offer you more money for future commissions if you've delivered a good value the first time, and you may be prepared to offer other considerations in return for ongoing, reliable commissions in the future. Congratulations on the start of a mutually beneficial business relationship!