Don\'t quit the dayjob?

[Queequeg]

I\'m just very curious (even envious) about the work I see here on CMoN. Many sculptors and painters have created their own \'studio\' names and seem to work minis all the time, either on commission or to auction off on eBay. Of course, this is just my observation of what I see on the surface, perhaps there is much more to it than that.

So this is where the envy comes in - I like many people have succumbed to the quagmire of \'the day job\'. It severely limits my time and energy. I\'ll pass by my hobby on the way to something pressing and look longingly at models unfinished, like neglected puppies. Sometimes I think I can actually hear them wimper at me.

And then the curiosity hits: How do people make money doing this?

Do they live with their parents still? Independently wealthy? Can they possibly churn out enough models/year to sustain not only themselves with the occasional top ramen meal but also painting/sculpting supplies? Marry a sugar-momma/daddy?

I see so many models on eBay with no bids whatsoever, and wonder, \"How do they survive?\"

 

[misterjustin]

Chances are good the bulk of them have day jobs. Even Scibor - and he seems to sell the bulk of his work at rather exceptional prices.

 

[supervike]

I don\'t know about many of them, but it does seem the \'pro\' painters really crank out a ton of work in a short period of time.

If I could be luckily enough to sell what I painted, I\'d have to sell them for for $3000 dollars, since it takes me about three months to finish one....

any takers?

 

[Kendaric]

If you take a look at the galleries of Bragon, Banshee, Freeman, Jacques-Alexandre, Thomasdavid.tm, they are professional and have no other job. And they don\'t live with their parents either... Well, they really do have a huge output (Bragon or Jacques-Alexandre will need three days to fully sculpt a miniature, half as many to paint it. And it\'ll be a slayer sword winner at the next GD).
Yet if you think about it. With training comes dexterity. For those of you who\'ve made scientific studies, I guess you\'ll know that the more maths and physics exercices you do, the faster you do them...
I suppose it\'s the same for painting. No actually I don\'t suppose. I\'m sure of it. And besides, they work for studios (Andrea and Ilyad for those quoted above) so they\'re sure to get paid at the end of the month.

 

[hakoMike]

Yeah, I make more in a day at my day job than I will get paid for my latest commission, which will take approx. 4 weeks to complete (1-4 hours per night for probably 20 nights.)

I have no idea how people could make a business out of this, but being able to get paid to do something I do for fun anyway is awfully nice.
EDIT: It\'s not even the painting that\'s the problem; it\'s the time consuming nature of cleaning the model, putting the basing together, waiting for glue to dry, etc.

 

[raptaparat 2]

For some painters/sculptors it\'s the money value hat counts. In Poland or Russia for example with a 1200$ a month u can have a good living. Now if someone makes from painting/sculpting a full day job (let\'s say 8h a day) there\'s no problem with making money (ofcourse if you\'re not lazy as i am ). Oh and you don\'t have to be a superb pro like those Kendaric mentioned.

 

[Queequeg]

Yeah, I make more in a day at my day job than I will get paid for my latest commission, which will take approx. 4 weeks to complete (1-4 hours per night for probably 20 nights.)

That\'s me in a nutshell, hakoMike. My problem is that I commited myself to finishing a tabletop army. I promised myself that I would finish a 3000 pt Orc army before I did any conversions or sculpting. Hopefully in the process improve my painting enough that when I work on Characters in the army they would stand out (looking back at the first unit of Arrer Boyz one can definitely see improvement). Still, it takes me quite some time if I concentrate on one model. Take into account running my business, managing employees, fathering 2 kids age 3 and 11, and making sure that my wife doesn\'t leave bitch-bites up and down my back...

Perhaps its just my own circumstance - I took up this hobby late in life after making all of the above commitments first. I love it as a hobby, and it will never be much more than that.

Hats off to those that can do it, love it, and survive on it!
:beer:

 

[matty1001]

I make a living from the hobby....i just dont eat much lol

 

[raptaparat 2]

Ok Queequeg making money out of this hobby while having to take care about our family is shure not an easy task. i know people that have families like u and don\'t have time to paint their own minis or go to a tournament so hats off for you that you can still find some time, realy :beer:

 

[Ogrebane]

If I had to do this as ajob I bet I wouldnt like it anymore. Imagine doing this for 8 hours then coming home to finish painting your own stuff. Wheres the fun in that. I\'ll keep it as a hobby thanx.

 

[war0827]

ogrebane, so very true. I worked for GW for about a year and after working 8 hours a day for 5 days of the week (granted that I didn\'t just paint all day), I was too tired to do my own stuff at home. I just wanted to have life away from the hobby. But now that I\'m not working for GW, my interest in sculpting and painting is just as strong as before. Plus the addition of CMON and seeing the other wonderful mini\'s on here really sparked the interest more....

I can see someone making this for a living...either they have to paint superfast and just paint tabletop quality armies and sell in mass, or paint atleast 2 showcase pieces a week that sell for around $200 a piece.

 

[darkartminiatures]

I paint fulltime and I make enough to cover my bills, morgage and have a little spending money. All i can say is that i feel very lucky to have returning customers that are willing to pay for my hard work. Oh and a very understanding wife that lets me paint little soldiers all day

 

[demonherald]

@War 087......Snap I left GW and refound my interest.. It wasn\'t that I was painting all day it\'s just that I was dealing with the hobby all day..It\'s amazing how unsweet the latest new release becomes when you have a million of them to paint and count and clean...Damn cabinets....

@ Darkartminiatures...Snap I make a living from this and am very luckywith my customers..

Ebay started me off but it is just too damn unpredictable something basic can bring a shitload and something more complicated bugger all. That is the problem with painting it\'s unpredictable...

Nothing beats a steady predictable income allows you to budget.....
luckily our lasses wage sorts that ..

My lucky thing is I could buy a boxed regiment tomorrow and have it painted by the evening to a high standard.Came with all the practise painting armies for Gw Cabinets as well as my own gaming armies. This helps a lot when it comes to making money..

 

[darkartminiatures]

One thing i do have to say though is that painting fulltime I don\'t have the time to further my painting skills unless someone wants a display piece. I think those that do this as a hobby would advance much faster in level than someone like me. On the up side my speed is improving whilst still retaining above tabletop standard minis i do for customers. I might get even more work done if i stopped browsing Cmon in the morning

 

[war0827]

@ demonherald....I totally understand what you mean. I hated having to paint new release models. Especially since they weren\'t mine....And I hated when we had to paint a huge load of minis that were going to GamesDay and we would never see them again. Or if we did, they were all busted up. Really brought my interest down seeing that happen. On the other hand, knowing what new releases were coming up while no one else knew was cool.

 

[demonherald]

Yeah but it was also frustrating...especially now after seeing some of the stuff for the next year or so just want it to come out.....

:cussing::cussing:

 

[war0827]

lol....I feel you on that one....I was waiting so long for the eldar to come out, then of course they come out when I\'m not there anymore....:cussing:

Anyway, back to topic, I don\'t ever see myself painting mini\'s for full time, but I do see myself painting part-time for an income. And I\'m not talking about a few figs up on ebay either. I\'m talking about consistent income from buyers, but only part-time.

Anybody else see this possible or themselves doing this?

 

[MPJ]

Originally posted by war0827
Anyway, back to topic, I don\'t ever see myself painting mini\'s for full time, but I do see myself painting part-time for an income. And I\'m not talking about a few figs up on ebay either. I\'m talking about consistent income from buyers, but only part-time.

Anybody else see this possible or themselves doing this?

I\'m working on it nowish. Figureing out web site and such. It would be nice to make enough to keep me in minis and some extra \'fun money\'.

 

[EPStudios]

I attend school full time and paint on commission part time. That\'s the way I want it to stay too. I\'d prefer not paint figures full time. Even if I were to become a full time artist I\'d rather expand my working field to more than just miniature figurines.

I sat down and figured out how much I could potentially make if I were to really get cracking at a full time version of commission painting and figured 30-50,000 USD per year. This is of course assuming I always had work.

 

[darkartminiatures]

Originally posted by EPStudios
Even if I were to become a full time artist I\'d rather expand my working field to more than just miniature figurines.

Yep, i have other projects ongoing aswell. These aren\'t bringing in any money yet but painting minis from home allows me to this.