"Let's discuss prices - a living wage for figure painters!" Topic

I have been reading a number of threads here on TMP relating to the prices charged by painting services. Charges seem to vary wildly as does the finished standard, but I think the fundamental point here – where a painter can demonstrate good skills and a proven track record – is that any good painter should expect to be able to earn a living wage from his skills. One thing I have learned is how important it is to create a pricing structure that (a) reflects the level of skill and most importantly (b) reflects an hourly rate at least equal to accepted minimum wage levels.

Here in the UK that's around £6.00 GBP per hour (please correct me if I'm wrong)and that would be for mostly unskilled work. Now translate that to the time taken to paint a 15mm or 28mm figure to a high standard and I reckon many of us are working for below that? Nothing demotivates me more than finding I'm painting for £4.00 GBP an hour for example, but that would equate to the level of charges made by many services, and in order to compete for work these charges are pinned down.

I have been doing some calculations based upon the previous 8 months, during which time I have been a 'full time' figure painter, and it's pretty depressing really. However, I accept that it takes time to build ones reputation and establish a level of consistency and skill at a high level, and I have been grateful for the amount of work I have received, but I want to earn that minimum wage level now for my work, which I think is only reasonable?

I'd love to hear your comments, experiences, opinions on any of the above, whatever you think, maybe what you think is reasonable to pay for example for a 28mm Napoleonic infantry figure painted to a high standard, fully shaded etc and a strip of 6mm figures?

Should be an interesting survey.

Cheers,
Lee.

Considering some of the great painting skills I've viewed here and elsewhere, and considering my pretty 'average' painting skills, I think they should get showered with diamonds.

And those who do it for a living must love doing it because I imagine they would have to charge very high prices to earn a living at it. I could never do it as a job, since I usually go for painting two days at a time and then have a break. Mind you, I am painting 6mm miniatures which is not doing my eyes any good. But I see painting as part of the whole wargaming process.

But good painters should be rewarded and I'm sure wargamers who can afford to have their miniatures painted (and might not have the time) would be happy to pay for good quality.

No answer here, but rather a quick comment – if you want to make any kind of living painting, working on the speed at which you paint is probably even more important than the quality; when people pay per figure, not per hour, the same £x per 28mm figure can be penury for one guy and good money for another, depending how quickly they work.

(Sadly I'm a decidedly slow painter, so my brief dabble with commission painting is long behind me. I know others who can produce very similar work to my best efforts in a third of the time though, so it can work for them.)

Dom.

I'd never pay by the hour to have any type of work done. Unless it was made clear what the max number of hours it should take to complete the project. I take my car to the auto shop and have work done on it. They charge by the hour for labor plus parts. But there are regulations in place that say the max number of hours it takes to do different type of work on the car. I hire a contractor to replace a door on my house. I am not going to pay him by the hour cause there are no regulations saying how long it should take. So one guy can do it in an hour and another guy it takes six hours….

I send you ten 15mm miniatures to be painted. The max I would pay is 3.oo a piece. So based on your hourly rate, I'd expect them done in five hours. lol If it took you ten hours to paint them. That would be 60 for ten 15mm figs…. I would not pay that much for ten figs.

All I'll say is the market sets the price, as with pretty much everything. You can ask whatever you want, but if I can get similar quality work at a cheaper price that's the direction I'll go.
Every figure painting company I know of charges by the miniature and quality of painting (war game, collector or showcase quality).
Also consider you'll be competing against companies like Fernandos and Reinforcments By Post in Asia that offer good to excellent quality at pretty reasonable prices.
I think it would be a tough gig to do miniature painting as a full time job in an advanced western economy unless you're extremely talented or have some niche in the market.
I wish you all the best luck!

Also, a living wage for security guards that would allow me to hire someone to paint my figures!

I too will wish you all the best. But realistically where do you expect the money to come from? You are self-employed in a hobby related market. By definition you are guaranteed nothing. I am a reasonably talented scratch builder. I can demand what ever I want but I can't expect anyone to pay it. My experience has been, make a model, enjoy the project, use it in a couple of games, sell it fund further projects. Paid for my time? Yes, maybe 10 cents an hour. If you can find a figure painting job guaranteeing a minimum wage to do what I love to do, I'll sign up too! Regards, Rob.

I understand Ironwolf's point, but my take was that grambo was looking at the figure pricing and then seeing if 'working backwards' that would give him a minimum wage. (Maybe I misinterpreted that).

As pointed out by IW, and Dom, the balance is in achieving a decent 'gaming' quality at the minimum time. So pricing has to reflect your current ability together with your efficiency in painting.

I am also a slow painter, and it is not, for me at least, the most interesting part of the hobby, but equally I could not imagine getting someone else to paint for me. But I am a solo player – so I only have to please myself.

My only "advice", if it can be called that – is to calculate how fast you work now (assuming a decent quality) and try to identify how that speed can improve. If the 'new you' can improve quantity without sacrificing quality, then a cost/quality ratio might be able to give you a wage. But I suspect that (I assume you live in the UK) a wargames figure painter will never be able to sell figures for a living wage until they have a "name".

If you think that you have the skills to become a top name in this niche market, then what you aren't making now, if you see what I mean, is your investment in your future earnings potential.

Hope that makes sense. Good luck. I admire painting skills in others, even if I could never afford to buy (m)any units painted by a professional.

Hi Lee,

I feel your paint to a extent. Here are my thoughts.

Basically, I agree with all the comments so far. Painting figures is tough particularly when in competition with firms abroad who have much reduced labour costs.

I've been more or less full time painting for just over six months and have painted almost 3500 15mm figures in that time. Luckily I've got the work and I'm a quick painter, and I'm in the position where I'm pretty much booked up until Xmas now painting 100-150 figures per week in perhaps a 35 hour week of actual time with a brush in my hand. I'm pretty much bang on minimum wage.

Fortunately, my missus is the bread winner and I am the house husband. Figure painting fits round the school run and household tasks, and keeps me busy. I'd hate to have to rely on figure painting to pay the mortgage or feed the family.

As such in my position I don't think of it in X pounds per hour, rather in a "that's X amount I've earned today, that I wouldn't have earned otherwise".

When I started the service I totally underestimated the demands of answering emails, doing various bits of research, making sure I've got a decent stock of materials needed to base and paint with. Then there is the need to keep my website current as its my showcase, send almost daily pics to customers to show them progress etc, etc. I send a email practically every day to a customer asking about a current commission or something I've seen that might be good for their collections. I send out a monthly workbench update to let them know what's been going on at Wally HQ that might impact upon their commissions, and let them know roughly where they are in the grad scheme of things. The admin and customer service side is what makes a huge difference though and keeps people coming back. I've got 19 customers who've I've painted at least two or more orders from since Xmas. The regular punters, even if its just £100.00 GBP orders are bread and butter.

At the moment though I'm quite upbeat and positive about how its going. I am fortunately still enjoying every day of work and though I tend not to paint at weekends I actually find myself missing it. I am also fortunate in that the chaps I paint for are a really decent bunch who seem to be more like friends than customers.

It's not just painters, I work full time as a miniature artist, sculptor and model maker across all sorts of disciplines.

As others have said what counts when working professionally to earn a living is the speed of work, not the quality.

I can cover my business overheads and make a reasonable hourly rate turning out average to indifferent work for clients with minimal budgets that only want or expect average to indifferent work, whether that's sculpting or the occasional painting commissions I take on. Sadly the kind of work that's artistically rewarding and which showcases what I can do isn't often profitable.

It's sad fact when your ability and reputation is such that you are often offered three to four times the money it would take to make a profit on an average job, but the clients then expect ten times the work for their money(or at least expect a standard that will take ten times longer even if they don't appreciate that it will be so time consuming) because they think if they pay more they should get your best, not simply proportionally better.

Having been in hobby related side-businesses for about 20 years now I think I can say that no one will EVER get paid a decent hourly wage for doing this stuff! I recently did a custom terrain job. It was for something I'd never done before so I wasn't sure how long it would take and I didn't want to scare off the customer by charging too high. Well, one thing and another and after working for about two months on this thing I found that I'd made about $1.00 USD an hour on the job. My own fault, of course, but if I'd asked for a fair wage I'm sure I never would have gotten the commission in the first place.

The bottom line is that you'll never get rich doing this stuff :)

Some good points made there, thank you. Just to clarify what I was saying there I was indeed 'working backwards'as 'AppleMak' rightly understood (maybe I have not explained myself well above)and trying to calculate the speed v quality v hourly rate equation. 'Fat Wally' (Kev?) seemed to totally grasp my point here too(I love your Essex Napoleonics). I do understand market forces etc and I tailor my paint job to the price paid, you just have to! I'm capable of painting to a very high showcase standard, been doing it for over 30 years so had a lot of practice, but when the market dictates say £2.00 GBP to £2.25 GBP to paint a 20mm metal infantry figure for example, then I have to come in at a reasonable hourly rate which is reflected in the paint job. I'm fully booked, and have just three regular customers at the moment who keep me as busy as I'd like to be right now,so I'm not touting for work as I said previously, I'm just trying to establish how potential customers feel about this.

Lets just give a quick example here – these figures are 20mm older style metal 'Les Higgins' figures. They have an old school charm and are clearly less detailed than say a Front Rank 28mm figure and much faster to paint. Having painted loads of them now I'm fully up to speed with the methods required to give a reasonable finish. This is my £2.00 GBPoo per figure standard and both the customer and I are very satisfied with this. I could add far more shading, more detailing etc, but not for £2.00 GBP obviously!! The upside is that my customer can keep me painting for 'years' as he has said so it's a good relationship. Hourly rate on these comes in around £4.50 GBP to £5.00 GBP per hour, and I look upon it as a discount for a regular supply of work. Soon as I return one box another is ready to follow, and we work in batches of about £200.00 GBP – £250.00 GBP at a time.

To clarify my situation as FW did above, my wife is also the main breadwinner and I have a disability (mental health) that means I rarely get out. I receive Disability Living Allowance so any painting I do helps towards the household budget. But far more important to me is that I feel that I'm once again working and contributing, it's made a huge difference to my family and my illness.

So taking that typical 28mm infantry figure as an example chaps, how much would you or do you consider a fair price to pay for a good paint job and what would you expect?

Lets call it market research, never a bad thing to do:-)Be interesting to see what other replies we get here.

Cheers,
Lee.

Interesting debate. As I have just experienced all this in setting up my new road company I can see the common points. Under estimating time for the tasks other than the one you are being paid for is important to consider.

As for an hourly rate, its a tough one. I don't think people put things into perspective enough.

For example I sell a 24 piece road set for as little as 35 pounds. When I told someone that they said "oh". When I pointed out that was only the price of eight pints of beer and it would mean they didn't have to spend ten hours making their own, they saw it was great value.

Cheers

Jaz
Http://revolutionaryroads.comcom

ScottWashburn – your experience is just the sort of thing I had in mind when I started this thread, it's so easy to under price just to get the work and it leaves you feeling really deflated. I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones actually, but I just wanted to start the debate.

Lee.

The guys I know (me included) want gaming paint jobs--not works of art. When I sold painted figs on ebay I would figure out how many of x type of figs I could paint in an hour and base my price on that. I painted four 25mm figs an hour and didn't have any problem selling them in lots that worked out to be over minimum wage. I think the biggest return is in selling painted DBA armies (it was for me and others, anyway).

I never thought about making a living at it but, as noted above, any money I made was just extra money that I wouldn't ordinarily have had.

link

Reasonable standard £6.00 GBP – £8.00 GBP Really well painted 28mm – £10.00 GBP Superb painted 28mm £15.00 GBP That's unvarnished, not based and not including the figure price oh and per casting, ie. one foot figure.

These are the rates I know some painters are achieving. Neatness and consistency across multiple units counts for a lot.

I looked into doing some commission work purely to generate some hobby funds but decided I was far too slow.

I also might add that I charge by the job and not by the figure as such. Quotes depend upon manufacturer and how many we're talking not on a £2.00 GBP per figure, or whatever.

Its a really interesting question Lee and certainly makes you think a bit.

The world is full of people getting undervalued financially and to be honest as you say Lee we're lucky in choosing what, when and where to do it. Some people have no choice and have to go with whatever hand life has dealt them.

That's a very good point FW, I get to work sitting looking out across the garden, dog at my side …. certainly not all bad :-) I'm not bemoaning my lot in life at all and I enjoy doing what I do and get a lot of satisfaction every time I deliver a job.

Timmo, I can see in terms of time how those prices can be justified. Some just want the basic 'wargame' standard others demand the best that can be achieved, most I guess sit somewhere in the middle.

79th pa .. that's interesting, thank you.

Keep them coming chaps!
Lee.

Many good quotes have been made here but there has always been so many variables. This is my 30th year on the commercial side of the table. It sounds as if you are trying to justify painting for a living to your spouse , family or bank. It will not happen.

I have seen many painters come and go but no one has ever made a cinsistant living wage at it. For about 15 years a professional painter has been going with me to conventions. Superb quality yet he has not made a consistant wage at it.

I even knew of a manufacturing company in the northeast of USA which provided pre-painted 15mm back in 1984. He had immigrants doing the painting at below minimum wage level, yet he still went out of business.

As I said earlier, there are too many variables and variations of how to do it. Lets talk about how to do it first. There are painteres who only do contract painting and those who do mass production painting.

It looks like the going rate is around $2 USD per figure for base shade and primary color and $4 USD for essentially foundry 3 color…28mm size that is.

Now just figure out how to paint x of them per hour to get your rate.

part 1 : Contract painting is generally considered the most profitable painting. A guy does not paint a product until requaested. A few will actually buy the castings and paint them if it is a long-distance customer. This is not recommended as the buyer can back out at anytime since they have nothing in it. Most veteran painters will not only have the client provide the castings to be painted but also provide the painting guide or books to be used to paint them. As mentioned earlier, some guys charge by the casting and others by the job. Charging by the casting will cost you money as a painter. In almost all cases the castings will have to be mounted on bases which cost money and flocking added which also costs money. These are things often overlooked in the per castings option.

Another place where the by the casting option can cost a painter money is the varying casting scales. It takes just as long to paint a 15mm to a B quality (yes there are painting grades) as it does a 10mm. Yet most customers expect a cheaper price for 10mm.

Delivery is also an expense issue unto itself. If you are providing a service and getting paid for it, then that is taxable income. Almost no customers want to pay a sales tax (but it is required in many States for internet sales) nor do painters consider this when they are doing income taxes. Nor do many painters go to the trouble of getting local business license which they should. So it seems that many, not all, painters are walking the line. (Wives involved in bitter divorces have turned in their husbands for tax violations or used it in negotiations on more than one occasion.

Our studio take 12€ for a single infantry 28mm model, it is in our country an high price, but it is high because we make only high quality.

It means that we support all the customer preferences, make particular effects, work the blending only with a brush and much other.

In my humble opinion, what you pay in a painting service is not only painting of the models but also the customer care for the service that you need

part 2: mass painting.
Mass painting is far more risky than contract painting but is how many painters get their start. Inherrant problems include painting what is in demand. One of the hard aspects of mass production is the ability to chose an area that is in demand. Is the system being played, how popular is the demand and what scale. This will also include the right era, casting scale, nation and unit. If you do not get all of these right then you will have a lot of un-saleable stoack or it will have to be sold at a discount.

Most mass painters tend to have a business license which allows them to buy castings at a discount. This is essential in order to increase the profit level and to give the painter room to bargain on prices.

Many painters will operate a combined operation. A lot of contract painting with some mass painting. Back to the list of extra costs that lowers the wage level. In order to reach a living wage, the painter, who is self-employed, must also be able to pay their quaterly SSI, quarterly income tax, State income tax, health insurance.

Raw material also will reduce wage level, including the earlier mentioned flocking, basing material, paint, glue, electricity, paint bruaches, cleanign material shipping boxes, packing material, paper flags and banners, decals, gas money to go to conventions, hotel costs, booth costs, advertising, special clothing both to paint and promote your business at a show.

All of those costs and those mentioned in part One would have to be considered to determine a lviing wage. It is not only the cost per castingfor a job. So never expect a living wage in order to just do painting. You will have to have a steady source of income. At best the painting service if all of the tax and business Is are dotted adn Ts are crossed, it can be used as a tax shelter and reduce your income taxes.

Commission painting is tough. Speed is key, but if you're willing/able to put in long hours because you love the work that can alleviate some of the cost per hour concerns.

I've been doing it steadily for about two and a half years now as a sideline. I only paint on my days off from working the game store and sometimes in the evening. I enjoy it and it helps the cash flow but I don't think that I could survive doing it full time.

I can totally understand that if you breakdown it down professional miniature painters are probabaly earning a horrible hourly rate however from the other side this is a hobby.

I have a limited hobby budget so I need to find the best deal on my hobby purchases that means if I need someone to paint my miniatures (which is granted unlikely)I'll end up going for the lower price end becuase I can't afford not to.

I am,so I'm told, a decent painter myself and I've thought about figure painting as a way to make money but I've never been able to see away to make painting bring in as much money as a regular Joe job.

Very interesting thread. And I think you could say the same not just about figure painters, but also wargame rules writers, terrain builders and holiday wargames businesses. Anywhere where a hobby is involved that relies on after tax discretionary income.

I'd be the first to agree on a cognitive level that £10.00 GBP a figure is well worth the money for a high standard of figure painting. But there is no way I could pay that much – £240.00 GBP a unit just is not on. A single 20 unit army for £5,000.00 GBP would instead pay all of my household bills and local taxes for a full year. No contest.

And, worse, when I see some of the stuff that is selling for affordable prices, it very often seems to be hastily splashed about talentless painting, and I refuse to pay for figures which will look worse than what I can do myself. And so the painting mountain increases.

You are not only competing with overseas low-cost business paradigms of course. You are also competing with E-bay/bring and buy armies (amazing what a coat of Tamiya smoke varnish and new consistent basing will achieve with an old army). Figure manufacturers also often have their own painting services (with effectively almost free casting costs) and then there is always that guy at the club who does a unit or two for you for cash in hand while he's watching the telly at night.

Perhaps your business model should be like the photographer businesses of the 21st Century. This is an age when oridinary folks have greater access to cameras than ever before, have photo editing and printing facilities in their own homes, and at a cost which is not only affordable, but getting lower every year. With the internet you dont even need to print stuff out to share images. Despite this photographic businesses are thriving well enough. They are thriving because they are careful about their cost base, and only doing work in areas that pay today. Specialist work, such as portraiture and weddings etc.

So why not specialise in the one or two areas where wargamers will spend a bit of money per figure cos they dont want many of them. Generals & ADCs, Elephant or chariot units, or Elite/Guard/Special units. Perhaps larger scale figures for the gift segment, models for film and TV production companies, models for business customers – for retirements, product launches etc. Or painting figures for minis firms to show off their wares to the best possible effect. Or one-off terrain/dioramas for museum pieces. These might all pay a better rate than yer average wargamer.

There is a market for talent if you have it. But its not necessarily the mass wargamer who is living on a reduced and discretionary hobby budget. You must deploy your talents where there is a market. Being professional means exactly that. You sometimes sacrifice pleasure, time and your own preferences of subject for what the customer wants enough to pay a commercial rate for.

Remember that Michelangelo didnt do general house painting. Just one or two pieces at a time. And used apprentice labour for part of it all too (how old are the kids!!!??)

Remember also that the most successful trader in the wargames business – Games Workshop – routinely charges the highest possible prices on everything they do, uniquely have managed to field a retail presence in most of the UKs urban conurbations, but still has not found a way to make money out of painting mass armies. Except for selling the actual paint.

MAking a sideline income isnt so hard, but making a living out of it….. well that's tough.

I found out long ago painting houses (real ones) pays better.

"I'd never pay by the hour to have any type of work done."

I suggest you consider the concept of false economy.

1815Guy makes an interesting point. Rather than trying to do work for the typical gamer, you might be better off soliciting work from manufacturers.

Given all the KS wannabe start-ups, you'd think skilled painting would be in high demand.

It has always been a hard biz to be in..you have to love doing what you do cause no one in the US will pay those prices that seem to be common in the UK..3.50 to 4.00 for a 28mm is about the going rate that 2 ponds plus change..I worked for Ral Partha for 12-15 years and they always payed in metal that I could paint and take to conventions or have ready to go generic units..had to hit 5 or six conventions a year just to be seen and make face to face contact wit the customer…painters provide a service and you have to deliver a product the buyer wants and sometimes you have to grit your teeth and paint something that makes your teeth hurt like Garde Lancers in purple and yellow for a fantasy {"Napoleonic" world

One issue never brought up in this discussion is the consumer base that you are aiming at. I know several painters that make a living doing painting, but then I couldn't afford their prices, which means their service is not aimed at me as a customer.

I dislike the separation of speed and quality, because the later is a subjective term. I have seen painters that really fast and provide quality miniatures that exceed "Wargame Standards". Are classical art pieces? NO, they are painted figures with a quality about them that is enjoyable to both the painter, customer, and the people he games with. If you want art equal to a Golden Demon award, then be ready to pay to for it. If a painter can then paint to that level, then they shouldn't have a problem getting more than minimum wage.

In the last election, a man running for governor wanted to change the pay of waiters and waitresses to reflect the tip increment system of other states because he meet a waitress who was making over $100 USD grand a year. Do you think that waitress was concerned about any minimum wage level? No, she work at in restaurant that appealed to a certain clientele, and how she did her work in that establishment was very financially rewarding.

The same is true in regards to painters, sculptors, and miniature manufacturers, your clientele and services will often determine what wage your working at. And, you also need to remember, if your buying habits are "to get it as cheap as possible", then don't except more from your customers.

what I have seen in the past is your average working class stiff never argued over the price he had to pay either by mail or at a Convention..the the guy in the 1000 dollar shoes was always looking to get it as cheap as possible..just an observation on who knows the worth of hard work..I have even seen units I painted and sold entered in con panting contests two hours later..take all kind to make a customer base

I've turned away from seeking painters for my figures. I can't afford what I think is a fair price, and I can't expect somebody to accept what I can afford.

is that any good painter should expect to be able to earn a living wage from his skills.

We all should be able to have a job that pays a living wage. Sadly even the richest countries can't manage that, let alone the poor ones.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride – as they used to say.

well I would love to get a fig company gig IronWind has some stuff for me in the fall but that is 6 months away..used to do for Ral Partha for metal..4 for 1.. still would if an manufacture's were interested

If I were to charge for 6mm, to paint at my own standard, and make a fair wage given my skill level, I would have to charge $4 USD US per cavalry figure. The market will not bear it. As one who has married into a family of established artists, I can tell you it is a combination of sheer talent and luck coupled with patronage, that allows living artists to eat.

Scratch that, my math skills are bad. Make that $ 9 per figure US mounted and delivered. $200 USD+ per regiment, at 30+ hours per regiment

$9 USD/fig x 708 figs = $6,372 USD on fifteen cent plastic figures.

I wish you well in your attempt but that's a weeeeeeeee bit over my budget.

My brother is a CGA animator. It is a highly skille profession. He works on feature films, network series, ads, etc. What he did 10 years ago and charged for, the new software does automatically. Bollywood animators can do a lot of work for 50-70% less. His profession is under intense price pressure.

Painters are no different. I use lots of services. For what I want the market says a 15mm foot figure is between $1 USD and $3. USD So that's all I pay.

I have found that here in the U.S. (not sure about the U.K. or Europe) that people want the best quality of a paint job for the absolute cheapest price. I've been told that I paint fairly well yet I have trouble getting any more for my figures then someone who paints to half my level.

I'd love to be able to support myself & family by painting but I know that isn't realistic. It would be nice to have it as a side business but even that isn't easy to do.

I want wargame quality, unbased and unwashed.

If I want collector quality, I'll pay for it. If I want figures on the table with paint on 'em I'm not paying collector quality prices. I'm not setting up museum pieces, I'm wargaming.

pay .70p per cav fig- and I feel like I'm stealing from him. I am. I don't expect the same quality I can produce myself however- and in 6mm…it not strictly necessary to have that level of detail. The figures I painted in the illustration above, I could never make 'my money' back on. Thats my point.

some like washes some don't.. charge the same either way…that's what I mean..your working for the customer their figs their call..but what I charge stays the same

pay .70p per cav fig- and I feel like I'm stealing from him

I agree, which is why I quit looking for painters. the budget won't allow it.

John T – of course, I can't charge that for my painting- If I could, being an artist would be easy. Now if I had a patron, or in the case of my father-in-law, a huge magazine chain, I could get money for quality. The patron has to have a lot of money, and value the unique product. This is why 99% of the western world has mass produced furnishings, art, food and automobiles- and 1% has unique and custom everything.

JT- I only hire someone else when I know I need the figs for a table next year, and will never have the time myself to paint them. Wargame expediency.

Sure, I've even traded figures for the quality paint job I wanted. Worked out for both of us at the time. It's not a consistent method to get things painted, though. And $2 USD-3/per for plastic figs isn't something I'm going to pay. At 1:1 for a short WWII infantry battalion, that's $5 USDk for paint on less than $100 USD worth of figs. That doesn't compute.

Now, if I had the disposable income, it'd be a whole different story.

I know a guy who makes a decent wage as a minis painter. Seriously, about $36 USDk a year.

Yes, his wife works and he stays home with the kids, but he does make a decent wage for a single man without any super-expensive hobbies like guns or cars.

I am going to echo a lot of the comments made here. As a fun exercise I sometimes do the math to determine what I could make painting figures, here is my, "best possible scenario" estimate:

1) Rating of Completion – The fastest I've ever painted Napoleonics was 72x 15mm figures in 18 hours.

2) Cost of Materials – The best price I've ever paid for unpainted 15mm Napoleonics was 5¢ per figure shipped, I'll even ignore brushes, paint and basing material as "absorbed from profits" since they are bought in large batches and hard to break down to individual figures.

3) Time for Flags – I paint my own tissue paper flags, French Napoleonic flags are among the fastest and simplest I paint, it is easy to do a dozen in an evening so we'll just throw those in for free.

Thus we have:

72 figures X 5¢ per figure = $3.60 USD materials cost
72 figures X high market rate $3 USD per figure = $216.00 USD

$216.00 USD – 3.60 = $212.40 USD

$212.40 USD / 18 hours = $11.80 USD per hour

That is the best possible money I can make based on the market rate by leveraging the lowest costs and the fastest painting. It is unsustainable and it is not enough.

$11.80 USD an hour ends up being a maximum of just under $25,000 USD per year assuming you can do it full time.

In order to make a comfortable living I'd guess most people want to double that. That'd mean about $6 USD per 15mm figure and we haven't accounted for health insurance and retirement savings yet.

A 12 figure battalion ends up being $72 USD… I don't think I'd have a lot of customers.

Cheers,

The Bandit