Painting Service Needed

[surgical111]

So I'm wanting to make sure my next round of play-testing is ultra polished to give the players the closest possible approximation of actual gameplay and part of that is having fully painted models ready for them. I've painted a few models in the past reasonably well but really don't have the time. Can anyone direct me or recommend a reliable painting service or a miniature painter for hire that can handle a mid-high quality project. Also just for clarity the project is small 6-12 models. Thanx in advance folks.

 

[gohkm]

Best thing to do is probably to trawl through the galleries of painters who catch your eye.

I have worked with a few professionals, and I would recommend James Wappel, Jillian Walker, Shoshie Bauer, Francesco Farabi, Rusto, Jamie Downward, and Joshua van Z.

Who you pick also depends on your geographic location, as postage can be a real killer (for example, it cost 80 euros to get from Italy to Australia).

 

[surgical111]

I appreciate the response I will definitely look into these artists, my fear though is these guys do showcase class work which will probably be expensive and I'm really just looking for a proficient painter that won't do substandard work. Sucks that I can't really find many reliable painting services, I'm in communications with Chest of Colors hope that works out.

 

[MAXXxxx]

I could suggest golem-painting in the uk. I used them for a few minis and I found the price-quality-speed triad really good.
No idea if the location is ok for you or not.

 

[oistene]

Lots of commission painters frequent these pages - I do commissions, Demihuman does, and Gandalf and many others.

 

[surgical111]

I was hoping for one at least in the US to make it a little cheaper, but I will definitely check them out. Thanks for the reply you rock!

 

[surgical111]

Lots of commission painters frequent these pages - I do commissions, Demihuman does, and Gandalf and many others.

Cool and I'll definitely follow Gohkm's advice and check some galleries out here including yours Oistene. Thanks for the reply

 

[Webmonkey]

Depends on the style you are looking for. Painters' styles range from cartoony to realistic and anywhere in-between. I sometimes do commission work. But you may not like my style.

 

[BloodASmedium]

Take a look through my gallery ,and my awards..if you like what you see there than you can feel free to get in touch..PM me any questions or thoughts regarding your project.
sincerley B A M BTW I live in north New Jersey USA

 

[surgical111]

I've taken a look at a number of galleries and their is definitely some talented folks here, BloodASmedium wow!!!. I'll PM a couple of people to see what we can do, but full disclosure I'm still feeling out Chest of Color and Den of Imagination. I've looked at some reviews and have been in contact with them, anyone have any experience with either of these companies?

 

[gohkm]

Den of Imagination did a single model for me way back. The communication was professional and civil, but the work was substandard. I was highly not impressed. They appear to specialize in big, airbrushed armies.

I also contacted Chest of Colours before, but the deal didn't go through due to pricing alone. Again, they were professional and very fast in replies, but IMHO, they are a tad expensive depending on which painter you get.

The most recent communication I have had is with Awaken Realms. The deal was successfully finalized, and they were more than happy to tweak this-and-that to my specific requirements, so hats off to them. I will only get this army back in Aug/Sep, as their work queue is chockers, so we will see about quality then.

 

[surgical111]

Den of Imagination did a single model for me way back. The communication was professional and civil, but the work was substandard. I was highly not impressed. They appear to specialize in big, airbrushed armies.

I also contacted Chest of Colours before, but the deal didn't go through due to pricing alone. Again, they were professional and very fast in replies, but IMHO, they are a tad expensive depending on which painter you get.

Yeah I just got pricing back from Chest of Colors and it was ridiculous; mind you I'm only looking for a decent paint job no showcase quality stuff, its just not in my budget. But check this for that job on about 8 models they quoted me 30-40 buck, eesh!!! On the low end that's $240 not counting shipping or any other fees that might pop up. I think I may go with Den of Imagination and hope for the best, or bite the bullet and break out my paints .

 

[MAXXxxx]

no idea on quality as I have never used them, but 30-40$ is a good quote for TTQ+.

Look at it this way: $30-40 is about 4 hours of minimal-wage in the Eu (Afaik they are based here). So in essence you pay for something as specialised as miniature-painting as much as the local trash-collector gets for his/her work.
And then you didn't count for paint spent, brushes getting trashed, basing materials... And believe me with assembly, basecoat and whatnot it'll take 3 hours at least, 5-6 on average to paint up a decent TTQ+ figure.

Decent DISPLAY quality starts at $20-30/HOUR with 20+ hours as an estimate depending on size, freehand, details, etc.

 

[gohkm]

Sticker shock is very real when you first look at commission painting. I remember my first time receiving a quote well.

Honestly, $40 for standard quality is pretty good. You will pay easily $150+ for a single display quality model, more if the painter is an award-winner.

 

[surgical111]

no idea on quality as I have never used them, but 30-40$ is a good quote for TTQ+.

Look at it this way: $30-40 is about 4 hours of minimal-wage in the Eu (Afaik they are based here). So in essence you pay for something as specialised as miniature-painting as much as the local trash-collector gets for his/her work.
And then you didn't count for paint spent, brushes getting trashed, basing materials... And believe me with assembly, basecoat and whatnot it'll take 3 hours at least, 5-6 on average to paint up a decent TTQ+ figure.

Decent DISPLAY quality starts at $20-30/HOUR with 20+ hours as an estimate depending on size, freehand, details, etc.

First sorry for being ignorant but what is TTQ+? And regarding prices I've been in conversation with multiple artists and companies and I've come to the realization that if you look at it from a wage prospective these prices are fair. I don't want to paint them myself and there are reasons for that; time required, skill required, and laziness on my part. I definitely have a new respect for the craft and the active community here. Since my project has increased to 16 models and I can't afford to commission their paint I'm going to knock it out myself. Thx for the response MAXXxxx!

 

[surgical111]

Sticker shock is very real when you first look at commission painting. I remember my first time receiving a quote well.

Honestly, $40 for standard quality is pretty good. You will pay easily $150+ for a single display quality model, more if the painter is an award-winner.

Definitely I spoke to a publisher the other day and he said he shelled out $230 for one showcase quality miniature Wowsers! I'm just not there yet maybe by years end. Thx Gohkm.

 

[MAXXxxx]

First sorry for being ignorant but what is TTQ+?

paintjobs nicer than simple gaming minis. Usually skirmish 'armies' are painted to this level as it's 'affordable' because you don't have to have 100+ mini painted, but just 5-20. On CMON they would be those that score in the 5(maybe 6)-7 range.

- You could go cheaper with painting companies from India/Malaysia/China, but they are dodgy at best. And it can happen, that you not only pay around 50% in advance, but you also don't get the minis back.
- A bit similar with BlueTablePainting in the US. They do (did?) paint cheaply, but for that they were slow and the quality was bad. Actually from the few reviews on the net I'd rather give my minis to a 4 year old to paint them, then to them.
- Or you could go for east-european ones. They are cheaper than then the West-EU ones (can be as low as half or third the price), but the quality and speed can be a hit or miss. (
these were painted in Hungary
for about 20$/mini: https://goo.gl/photos/q6sXUmbJ1k4NM3Bc8 (bad photo is from me) or https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...Ykl91MI9wnP0z4NACCo/s1280/20151202_192117.jpg
for about 10$/mini: https://goo.gl/photos/7zjuYdhR46ne1Xxf8 (different painter)

)

and you can have luck too: http://www.coolminiornot.com/346702 ($20 from HU), http://www.coolminiornot.com/338540 ($10/mini from HU)


Imho what's worth 1 try: here/ on WAMP / on Dakka / etc show what you want painted (which figures) with a reference to what level. Maybe someone will like the project idea and do it for cheap/free.

 

[KruleBear]

First sorry for being ignorant but what is TTQ+?

Table Top Quality plus.

 

[BloodASmedium]

As for what your looking for I feel den of imagination is a good way to entice players a get a nice experience for a painted army. Price is good and as for the "sub quality" I do not agree I feel they are good enough to wow new gamers. It's a good go of it. If you ever need a display quality general or just some models looking really good to keep in your collection and or show off the higher paintjobs which can also entice players getting more adept. PM ME ANY TIME AND ILL WORK With YOU ON THAT MATE.

 

[surgical111]

As for what your looking for I feel den of imagination is a good way to entice players a get a nice experience for a painted army. Price is good and as for the "sub quality" I do not agree I feel they are good enough to wow new gamers. It's a good go of it. If you ever need a display quality general or just some models looking really good to keep in your collection and or show off the higher paintjobs which can also entice players getting more adept. PM ME ANY TIME AND ILL WORK With YOU ON THAT MATE.

Awesome maybe someday soon I'll take you up on that offer. But regarding Den of Imagination they are my last look, I'm in communication with them now, was skeptical about services in general after reading Blue Table reviews and such.