When does paint add value?

[Elbows]

I've heard that writing poetry is one of the few things that makes you less money than painting figures, go for it 

I went to school for theatre...

[Cubs]

Most of the people I know personally who do paint figures professionally and to a high standard, including some very fine painters here on LAF, would probably tell you better than me, that its not really a living as most people would understand it.

Amen brudder.

I charge £30 per model and don't make a minimum wage hourly rate. Having said that, painting services like Artmaster charge considerably less for a very nice 'tabletop' standard that would look great in any game. I suspect this style of painting is the most financially rewarding one, where £ per hour gives the best return. If you can get a good system going where you can pump out a good standard of finish and complete twenty models a day, that's going to bring in a half decent wage, but I don't know if you could ever get rich!

[Hobgoblin]

I charge £30 per model and don't make a minimum wage hourly rate. Having said that, painting services like Artmaster charge considerably less for a very nice 'tabletop' standard that would look great in any game. I suspect this style of painting is the most financially rewarding one, where £ per hour gives the best return. If you can get a good system going where you can pump out a good standard of finish and complete twenty models a day, that's going to bring in a half decent wage, but I don't know if you could ever get rich!

When I was at school, I worked for a local shop's painting service. There were three standards: "basic" (block colours, though I generally added a simple wash - the equivalent of dipping today, I presume), "collector" (simple highlighting, shading and detail) and "deluxe" (the best you could do). When I went to university, I abandoned gaming completely (the only game I played there was rugby!), but I used to paint for the shop when I returned for the holidays, as and when commissions came in. I can't remember what the rates were, or what they would be in today's money, but the money was, as you say, all to be made in the lower categories. I could make much more per day doing that than in any other student holiday job (which isn't necessarily saying much!) and funded some month-long interrailing trips from it. But it would have been hard to live on for long, especially as the volume of orders was so inconsistent.

My standard of painting was (and is!) very far from "professional", but there was a knack to getting simple techniques like drybrushing right and using washes judiciously, so that you could turn around reasonably painted units pretty quickly. For fantasy and SF figures, good colour choice, proper thinning of paints and drybrushing with a genuinely dry brush went a very long way.

[CriticalGeek]

My standard of painting was (and is!) very far from "professional", but there was a knack to getting simple techniques like drybrushing right and using washes judiciously, so that you could turn around reasonably painted units pretty quickly. For fantasy and SF figures, good colour choice, proper thinning of paints and drybrushing with a genuinely dry brush went a very long way.

This is my level as well.  I am one of those individuals who doesn't like models in my collection that I haven't painted myself, barring the odd display miniature a friend has done as a present, but never for any army or actual project.  I, personally, see no value in models having paint on them via Ebay or what have you as I'll likely strip them or, more likely, not consider buying them at all.

[Duncan McDane]

For me, never, it's just hassle to get it stripped again.
Unless the fig was a gift from someone, but then we're talking about emotional value, something you cannot really pin a pricetag on.

[eilif]

In my experience, Paint adds value only in a few situations.

1) The most obvious is when the model is painted to the customers specifications by an artist of their choosing.

2) In historical situations, it generally adds value when the subject is painted historically accurately and the basing is relatively generic.

3) In fantasy and sci-fi gaming value is usually only added when the figures are armed and painted as per the company's published artwork and based in a way similar to that as well.

4) High quality pieces intended for display and painted to a high standard can be worth more even if not painted to a certain company or historical standard.

Otherwise, it's been my experience that painted minis add little overall value to a miniature. I've had more situations where a model is cheaper because it has paint on it than where I pay a premium for a painted miniatures.

[Johnp4000]

I have been selling painted figures on Ebay for a couple of years and find that painted figures always return a nice profit.I always see it as a wage supplement rather than replacement.When I started out I was lucky to buy an overstock of Warlord plastics at £6 a box so couldn't fail to get a profit, even if I had sold the figures unpainted.
It pays to know the market, I would suggest the people who strip paint off, or enjoy hours of research and painting aren't your market anyway.Fortunately there are plenty of Simon Millars out there who regularly buy painted figures and I would suggest that this is the majority of gamer out there otherwise I would still have 400 Legionaries in my basement!
However, you have to follow trends, and the present popularity of small scale games may have some impact on whether units or individual figures will sell better.To get the maximum profit you would need either a large lead mountain or a source of cheap figures and also the commitment/time to paint every day.

[Elbows]

^This.  While I don't paint for profit...at all.  I do paint to a good enough standard that I would make a decent chunk of change if I ever abandon a project or simply don't need/want the miniatures any more (don't see that happening, but who knows).  As I may have mentioned earlier, I sold off a small group of seven Reaper figures with a piss-poor paintjob and it returned something like $50-60.

So if you can paint "at all", you can definitely make your money back on miniatures if you find the need/reason to sell them on. 

[grant]

I've worked on commission several times. My rate works out to be $25-35 an hour. I can say that the loss of my own painting time makes it hard to do it.

I'm currently on hold for all commissions so I can do my own stuff.

[FramFramson]

I tried to work commissions to pick up some additional money, but it seems my work was perceived as not adding enough value (though even now I think my prices were fair based on the results). Never had so much as a single order.

[Oldben1]

I do not paint my own models, as I lack the skill or time.  .  For me they definitely add value.  I think you are all great painters!  I have used a few different painters over the years, although lately I've gone with more of a tabletop standard as I have too many projects on the go.  I think it depends on who you are selling to.  There as so many good LAF painters that I think sometimes miniatures go overlooked.  For me, I just can't afford / justifying spending tons of money on one miniature.  I always appreciate the artistry though!