"Sculpting Rates For 15mm SF Creatures?" Topic

Someone asked me this week what my going rate is for sculpting alien bugs and such.

Honestly, until now, most of what I've done have been things I experiment with and, when I post pics on TMP I get an offer or two:

link

QUESTION: So, what is an average rate for SF creatures for use with 15mm?

Please help. I don't want to overcharge for my amateur work, but I don't want to give it away either.

Thanks,

Dan

Please don't quote me but last I heard the going rate for sculpting services was $10 USD per mm. I stand to be corrected however.

Cheers
The Baron
flytrapfactory.com

Linear or cubic? :)

Dan

I've heard that "rule of thumb" also – CC, what he means it that a 15mm figure would be $150 USD and a 25mm figures would be $250. USD However, I know that for some sculptors it depends on what they're sculpting, and I know some charge as little as $50 USD for a 15mm figure.

I've never been paid 10 USD per mm at 1:100 scale. On a few occasions, it was close but most of the times I've been paid like 50-60 USD per sculpt. Sometimes even less. However, I charge for international shipping.
Well, I suppose I need to make better minis.

PF 2009: "Well, I suppose I need to make better minis."

I don't think that's possible! Your work absolutely rocks.

Now, for creatures that are more horizontal than vertical, what do you guys suggest?

Dan

Perhaps a bit less. I mean a 18 mm long worm wouldn't need both of its sides to be sculpted as a 18 mm high human with front and back done. If you've made a horse or something like that, that would be different since you would have sculpted all parts like for a standing human.
Not sure that makes sense.

If it helps we charge on average $10.00 NZD per mm for our sculpting services, this rate negotiable for large volume contracts.

Cheers
The Baron

I imagine a lot will depend upon the overall bulk, shape, and detailing of the creatures.

As mentioned, a simple worm or slug should be a lot less costly than a 6 or 8 armed/legged creature with antennae on his head, and very fine sculpting of its body/scales, etc.

Good point!

Thanks,

Dan

50,000 kronkites!

A friend of mine who is a freelance miniature sculptor charges by the hour so the more work involved in sculpting the miniature the more she will ask to be paid, i think she used to charge around £10.00 GBP per hour but that was several years ago now.

50,000 kronkites!

Unless it's a sci-fi sculpt, in which case payment must be made in *Quatloos*…

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

I don't want to overcharge for my amateur work, but I don't want to give it away either.

I hear that.

So, what is an average rate for SF creatures for use with 15mm? …for creatures that are more horizontal than vertical, what do you guys suggest?

What you can get away with. Or what people are willing to pay. I've seen this asked a few times (asked it a few times myself) and more pro sculptors seem to give that answer rather than 'X currency per mm'.
Despite being more vague and frustrating, not particularly helpful given that first line I quoted, I think it's more 'right'. I think the price depends on a long list of things, including experience, reputation, speed, quality, complexity, enjoyability, and the commissioner's budget.

So feel your way into it. Charge something like $100 USD-150 as a reference point, and see where you go from there with subsequent commissions. Don't demand the big bucks as a relative newbie, but don't go on to work for peanuts either.

-----
Warren B.
minisculpture.co.uk

10$ per mm is ok price if you ask me. it is your unique piece of art and you will probably spend more than 30 minutes of your time doing it. 100$ for 15 mm human would also be great (especially for new aspiring sculptor). I know that for client maybe that is expansive but when I think of the time invested and value of the ooak thing… Of course there are other ways of compensating your time and talent (stuff they sell, figures or glory) but that is between you and your client. Cheers and keep on sculpting!

Cheers!
Ivan

panhelion.blogspot.com
miniature-worlds.blogspot.com

Excellent suggestion guys!

I appreciate all your help.

Dan

For 15mm, I have had a couple of sculptors, and never paid more than 65 USD for a sculpt in that scale. Maybe for very large monsters to go agaionst 15mm guys, but not for a normal guy. If you can get 150 per sculpt, jump on it in a heart beat, but I know I wouldnt be able to afford to hire you at that rate.

The average for 6mm is £20.00 GBP which is £3.33 GBP per mm, or about $5.25 USD per mm.

Yes, 6mm is small so takes less time, but it is also harder to make something that small look recognisable.

I myself also was willing to do stuf for far less then what I stated above. 100 would be great but then again I mention glory etc. that can be combined with far lower fees then 7-10$ :D

Dan I on average pay between £30.00 GBP and £38.00 GBP for my 15mm sculpts, the most expensive has been £70.00 GBP, these being the large battle robots.

Mike

£20.00 GBP for a 6mm? Blimey that wouldn't cover the cost of my cats food lol I suppose if you doing it as a hobby you can afford to do things cheaper but at those prices no one is going to make a living.
L

cat food IS expensive :)but then again in time of real crisis I can always eat the cat, actually I think my late grandma actually did that during WW2… sorry I know it's unrelated but had to share

I've only had experience with 3D sculptors, so you also need to include 3D printing into the mix, but on the other hand you have more flexibility with the 3D sculpt (so imho it evens out and could be far cheaper if you intend to do multiscale pieces).

It really depends on who your contracting to do the sculpting, pro's with great work ask as much as $15 USD-$20 per mm, amateurs with less experience but still good sculpts as little as $4.5 USD-$6 per mm.

What's the obsession with 'per mm' anyway?

£20 for a 6mm? Blimey that wouldn't cover the cost of my cats food lol I suppose if you doing it as a hobby you can afford to do things cheaper but at those prices no one is going to make a living.
L

These people actually do it for a living.
They do 6mm for some very well known companies.

Factors to include are how many they can do per day.
What their cost of living is.
etc..

I plan on getting some green stuff practice in when my daughter goes to school.
I reckon based on what I can do now, that I could do 5 x 6mm figures a day.
£100.00 GBP a day would do me more than ok.

What's the obsession with 'per mm' anyway?

No idea.
I would insist my figures be sculpted on their side in that case!

I agree 5 sculpts per day for 20 GBP each would be great if client is ready to take so many… Then the amount of xy figures per month would compensate but I don't know if there is such a demand…

I agree 5 sculpts per day for 20 GBP each would be great if client is ready to take so many

Sculptors can have more than one client!

;)

Anyway, the chaps that do my 6mm for £20.00 GBP each also do 15mm and 25mm, not sure on what they charge for those though.
But they are always busy.

Hm… I think we should talk :)

mail me up:

mail@angelbarracks.co.uk

mail on it's way

No idea.
I would insist my figures be sculpted on their side in that case!

Heh.

Per mm made sense when I started thinking about selling sculpts, way back then, but these days it seems kind of odd and arbitrary. Like you say, AB, what if a mini is longer or wider than it is tall? Is a regular 30mm tall humanoid mini automatically worth 5x the cost of a 6mm mini, regardless of any other factors? If an average 6mm mini is 4-5mm wide, is a 30mm tall, 4-5mm wide mini automatically 5x the cost too, same as the more human-proportioned 30mm mini?
Does volume come in to it at all? Not in terms of X currency per cubic millimetre (but think about that for a minute. Sounds a bit daft, doesn't it?) but any of the other things I mentioned before that would likely come with larger mini size. Greater fidelity, extra detail, work effort, etc?

If an illustrator was told, 'we'll pay you X currency per inch of image you produce, but it must be precisely Y inches tall. We'd pay the same to Jimmy down the street who's just about mastered stick figures', do you think they'd snap it up? Or would they laugh in the speaker's face?

Indeed.
Sculpting is a skill and whilst there is an almost common market value you will always pay what you think is good value for that persons time vs output.

My RDF infantry cost a lot more than £20.00 GBP.
Why did I pay a lot more?
I think the level of detail is better than most and the sculptor after the first few figures he did, knew what I wanted and I could leave him to it.
(also the sculptor did one rifle from green stuff and had it cast into metal so he could attach identical guns to each figure, that is not something every 6mm sculptor will do.)

If and when I find sculptors that 'get' what I want and can turn my ramblings and cruddy images into what was inside my head, I will pay more for that.

Agreed, I guess that each sculpt can be valued by itself but per mm price could be a guideline like from x to y per mm depending on level of details etc.

As always in these conversations we not all talking about the same thing lol Going to have to have a lot of customers if your going to 'knock out' 5 sculpts a day, two weeks flat out work and then …………. and of course its all a matter of what comes out as the end product.
Think I'll shut up now ( about time to! :Ed)
L

I charge £3.50 GBP a mm alphaminiatures.blogspot.co.uk

I do need to improve though

Asking what to charge is like asking how long is a piece of string. Quoting by the mm is also somewhat of an unreliable practice as the height of a figure has less of an impact on the work involved than the subject matter, which in turn has less of an impact than the refinement and precission of the sculpting. All you can do is estimate how long it will take you to produce what your customer wants to the standard they will be happy with and multiply that by the hourly rate you'd be willing to work for.

I've worked full time for the last dozen or more years as a model maker and miniature artist/sculptor for customers ranging from corporate and advertising clients to hobby retailers in the gaming industry. Over the years I've been paid over £1,000.00 GBP for 25mm sculpts and I've also produced 40mm sculpts for less than £50.00 GBP each, often the cheaper sculpts are the ones on which I make the better hourly rate.

As an amateur you can justify the time you spend refining a sculpt in terms of enjoyment, as a professional you have to justify each hour in terms of revinue generated. So it's not about sculpting to the best of your ability, it's about how quickly you can produce the minimum needed to satisfy a customer.

That said if you are starting out in this business and have another source of income, then sometimes it's not about the money at all but just getting that first lucky break and getting your work known!

I charge randomly for commissions depending on whether I want to do them, how big they are, how much I think materials will cost and how long it will take. If they are interesting it tends to reduce the price.

I am only an amateur sculptor so I don't need the money to survive but I have charged as little as £30.00 GBP-00 for a 28mm miniature all the way up to £100.00 GBP-00 for a 28mm Halfling (20mm tall).

It is definitely a case by case thing.

"If they are interesting commissions it tends to reduce the price."

That would be a common afflictation even among us professionals, there have been times I've come off the back of a well paid but boring corporate job and tendered an insanely low quote for an interesting project, one that would only covered my overheads, essentially working for free to guarantee getting a job that I could enjoy for a few days.

My experience has been that many sculptors have a standard price that will vary a bit depending on the design and the number of figs. You can often get a better deal if you are having them do more at a time.

I have had many folks in the industry chuckle at the "per mm" rate scale. I have also had many folks chuckle at the idea of paying $100 USD+ for a 15mm figure. There are folks out there that will work cheaper.

You can also get some savings by using cast dollies and bits if your project is big enough.

-Eli

To be honest, the only reason I started scupting in 15mm, was to save me having to pay out for scuptors!!
I wouldn't think myself good enough yet to even think about charging for my efforts, nor even taking commissions, but for stuff I have in mind, I know its going to save me ££££££ in the long run.
I have had lots of quotes for stuff in 15mm and they vary widely, from reasonable to waaaay over the top!!
Not to say that the more expensive is always the best, but i reckon lots of very good aspiring miniature sculptors only charge a minimal amount, just so they could get a foot in the door of this industry, not because they aren't any good!

i've been a artist for most of my life . i had a stint doing sci fi mini's for a few years .. i have a lot of time put in with many mediums and different art projects . so don't forget to know your self as a creative person .. it helps define what you want as payment and how flexible you can be .. what's your over all style as a artist ?.. my style is to keep creating costs low . i have good communication from the start with who .. i work with . i also always try to get a good idea at the jump point ..so i do not flutter around .. i hit my clients with all the factors and if they do not want to listen to details in the early stages .. i try to avoid working for that kind of client if i can .. i wish you luck