Credibility
Roll the dice on the tabletop, not on a commission
Written this 29th daye of September in the yere of Our Lord 2026
Commissioning a miniature painter can sometimes feel a little bit like rolling a dice. And while it’s true we all bloody love a good dice roll, in this context, not so much. You’ve found an artist, their portfolio is gorgeous, their prices seem reasonable, they’ve got a decent following, but then comes the question: “Are they any good to work with?”
And here’s the thing, painting like a boss and successfully completing a £600 commission aren’t necessarily the same thing. We want Hobby Hires to provide a bit more certainty. Not a guarantee, no website can promise that every commission will be perfect, but a stamp of credibility tells clients this artist has delivered in the past.
Reviews are a big part of that.
Every completed commission will form part of the artist’s history on the platform, with clients able to leave a five-star rating and written review. Future clients can then see not just what an artist paints, but what previous clients thought of their experience working with them. Was the communication good? Was the work delivered as promised? How were they to deal with?
And then of course there’s our Guild Heraldry, which we’re exceptionally proud of by the way.
As discussed below, artists will be able to earn achievements and titles for completing various milestones. A hundred commissions – Prolific Artisan, for example. These achievements signal the artist’s experience and history.
Put these together with the artist’s portfolio and suddenly clients have a much fuller picture.
Artists’ portfolios show how they paint or sculpt.
Their reviews show what they are like to work with.
Their titles and achievements show what they’ve done.
That’s the credibility stamp.
Harry – CEO
Guild Membership
If You’re Worried About the ‘race to the bottom,’ this One’s for You
Written this 22nd daye of September in the yere of Our Lord 2026
Hobby Hires isn’t intended to be a free-for-all directory where anyone can create an account, chuck three photographs of a Space Marine onto a profile, and immediately start taking commissions. When applying to the guild, artists will submit a form and their portfolio for review before being invited to join.
It’s not about gatekeeping the hobby or demanding competition-level masterpieces, but we want to make sure, at a minimum, our artists can consistently produce a solid tabletop standard. Our clients need to feel confident that they’re commissioning someone who can deliver.
The aim is also to manage the growth of the guild carefully. In the early days, successful applicants may be placed on a waiting list, with membership opening up in batches. This might sound like we’re being needlessly precious about who gets through the door, but there’s method in the madness. Too many artists competing for too few commissions isn’t good for anyone, least of all artists. By carefully balancing the number of artists with the number of clients on the platform, we can protect opportunities for our guild members and help maintain fair, sustainable prices rather than flooding the market with supply and leaving everyone racing to the bottom for the most competitive price. Artist’s offers will of course be protected from public view, but we’re committed to doing all we can in fostering the growth of a healthy on-platform marketplace.
We’re here for the community and the long-term, not a quick cash grab.
Harry – CEO
Guild Heraldry
How Hobby Hires is Really Going in on the Guild Thing
Written this 8th daye of September in the yere of Our Lord 2026
One of the ideas we’ve been particularly excited about for Hobby Hires is a system of achievements and titles for artists. I say idea because, depending on the ancient and unknowable whims of web development, this may not make it into the first version of the platform. But make no mistake, if it doesn’t make it in first time round, you can bet your last penny we’re putting it in later.
The thinking’s simple. As artists complete commissions and build their reputations, they’ll complete certain milestones and unlock achievements, which in turn grant titles they can display alongside their name and profile. 100 commissions: Prolific Artisan, par example.
We’re essentially putting video game achievements on miniature painters. Bloody cool huh? The hobby already shares a lot of common ground with games, fantasy, and the traditions of guilds and artisans. Why not celebrate artists’ progression in the same way?
Aside from being cool AF, there’s a functional layer here too in that these achievements are another way of building trust. A growing collection of completed commissions, reviews, achievements, and titles gives clients a clearer picture of an artist’s experience, artistic personality, and history.
We want artists to be able to look at their profiles with a growing sense of pride and accomplishment, while clients can see more than just a collection of pretty photographs.
Your portfolio shows what you can paint.
Your reviews show what you’re like to work with.
Your heraldry shows what you’ve done.
And frankly, who doesn’t want a lofty title next to their name? Hell, I’ve been swanning around calling myself ‘Guildmaster’ for six months.
Harry – CEO
The Hobby Hires Artist Directory
The Hobby Hires Commission Process II
Written this 3rd daye of August in the yere of Our Lord 2026
The Jobs Feed may be the beating heart of Hobby Hires, but it isn’t the only way to commission an artist.
What if you’ve worked with an artist before and wish to do so again? What if you stumble across a painter outside the platform and find yourself whispering, “Mein Gott! Ein Meisterwerk, Ich muss es haben!”? Or what if, peradventure, you simply have a particular style in mind and fancy browsing before committing?
Well, we have the Artist Directory.
Think of it as the guild register. Every full guild member has a public profile showcasing who they are and what they do best. Rather than an endless scroll, each profile is designed around the information clients actually need: a gallery of previous work, an artist biography, their hard-earned guild title, client reviews, achievements, and, of course, their average rating.
If an artist catches your eye, you can message them directly or send them a private commission brief without posting publicly to the Jobs Feed. That makes the directory perfect for returning clients, bespoke projects, or anyone who already knows the painter they’d like to work with.
The important thing is that choice rests with you.
Want artists to come to you? Post a job on the Jobs Feed.
Already found your perfect painter? Knock on their door … figuratively speaking.
Different journeys. Same destination.
A beautifully painted army and, with any luck, a lasting relationship between artist and client.
Harry – CEO
The Hobby Hires Commission Processs
Written this 27th daye of July in the yere of Our Lord 2026
If you’re keeping up with these, I’ve told you what we want to do, here’s how we plan to do it.
The process begins with a brief. A client tells us what they’re looking for: the miniatures, the painting style, faction, colour scheme, build, clean, basing, their budget (if they wish to include one), deadlines, relevant imagery, and all that jazz. Once submitted, that brief is posted to a scrollable Jobs Feed for guild members to browse.
From there, the balance shifts from the current mode in a rather refreshing way.
Instead of clients spending hours trawling Instagram, sending dozens of messages, and wondering whether anyone is even accepting commissions, artists are free to browse available projects in their own time. If a job catches their eye, they can either strike up a conversation with the client or send a formal offer, including their fee and estimated completion date. Rather like eBay, except artists’ offers and prices are hidden, so no ‘race to the bottom.’ We’re all about providing quality leads, and active bidding wars between artists for the lowest price impedes us in that duty.
The client is then free to compare offers, ask questions, negotiate if they wish, and ultimately choose the artist that best fits their project. Once an offer is accepted, the job leaves the feed and moves into both users’ dashboards, where progress updates, photographs, and messaging keep everyone informed until the project is complete. Payment and shipping is negotiated between client and artist without our oversight, but we will provide best practice guidance informed by veterans of the profession for both artist and client.
‘But what if I want to query an artist directly on account of their dope-ass profile?’ It’s all good, you can do that too – it’s just I’m on the Jobs Feed this week.
Our goal is to create a commission process that feels transparent and efficient.
Chase less.
Work more.
Play painted.
Harry – CEO
One Guild, A World of Miniature Painters
Written this 13th daye of July in the yere of Our Lord 2026
If you’re reading this, you don’t need me to tell you tabletop gaming and miniature painting has become a thriving global hobby. Our team of Legacy Artists (artists who will be on the platform at launch) draws from the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, the USA, Sweden, Russia, and Belgium. Indeed, our fledgeling guild reflects a microcosm of an international industry that already exists, it’s simply scattered.
Our ambition is to bring those communities together beneath one banner.
Hobby Hires isn’t being built for one country, one game system, or one local scene. It’s being built as a single gathering place where artists and clients from around the world can find one another. Whether you’re looking for a painter in your own city or someone whose style perfectly matches your vision on the other side of the globe, the guild will make that discovery far easier.
Perhaps best of all, we don’t need to reinvent international shipping. Artists and clients remain free to arrange postage however they choose, selecting whichever courier, speed, insurance, or customs options suit them best. Hobby Hires simply helps the right people meet.
The internet has already made miniature painting a global community. Our hope is simply to give that community a home.
One guild. Thousands of artists. Clients from every corner of the hobby.
Harry – CEO
Am I Good Enough to Paint for Commission? Honestly? Probably
Written this 7th daye of July in the yere of Our Lord 2026
One of the most common questions we hear in conversation with aspiring commission painters is, “Am I actually good enough?” The answer is probably more than you think.
There’s a common misconception that every commission painter needs to produce competition-winning masterpieces worthy of a Golden Demon cabinet. Thankfully, market demand is much broader than that. Clients come to the hobby with different expectations, different budgets, and different priorities. Some are searching for display-quality centrepieces while others simply want an army painted neatly and consistently so they can get it on the table.
Naturally therefore, freelance commission standards and prices vary enormously.
In fact, “tabletop standard” painting has become increasingly popular in recent years. Indeed, one might even go as far as to call it a commission painting phenomenon! For many players, it strikes the perfect balance between quality and affordability. They’re not looking for flawless blending on every purity seal – they want an army that looks cohesive, thematic, and impressive from across the table.
This of course is great news for talented hobbyists who might have assumed commission work was beyond them. If you can paint cleanly, reliably, communicate well with clients, and deliver on time, you’re already developing the qualities that make a successful commission artist. Technique can always improve. Professionalism is much harder to teach.
So if you’ve been wondering whether you’re good enough to join the guild, make sure to stay in the loop and drop us an application at launch. That paint-for-a-living dream might be closer than you think.
Harry – CEO
In Reviews we Trust
Written this 29th daye of June in the yere of Our Lord 2026
“How do I know the artist I choose will actually be any good?” It’s a question potentially all prospective miniature commission clients ask. Indeed, not to do so would raise significant questions about that person’s compos mentis.
Commission painting is built on trust. You’re handing over your treasured miniatures, paying the artist’s fee, and hoping they return looking … well … sick AF. So how will we be helping that smooth transition from grey to ‘goodness … goodness gracious me?’
It’s pretty simple really: reviews.
Review systems have quietly become one of the most effective quality assurance tools on the internet. Whether booking a holiday, choosing a restaurant, or finding a plumber who stands a reasonable chance of not flooding your kitchen, chances are you’ll check the reviews beforehand.
Every completed commission on Hobby Hires will give clients the opportunity to review their experience, on a job-by-job basis, helping future customers make informed decisions and rewarding artists who consistently deliver exceptional work and operate professionally. Great painters build great reputations, and those reputations become one of their most valuable assets.
Now, we’re under no illusion that a review system is a silver bullet. No free market platform can guarantee that every single commission will be perfect. But transparent feedback creates accountability, encourages professionalism, and allows quality to rise naturally to the top.
Perhaps most importantly, it aligns with what Hobby Hires is trying to build. Ours isn’t simply a marketplace, it’s a guild. Guilds have always relied on reputation. The master craftsman who consistently produced excellent work became known for it and the same principle applies here.
Trust isn’t something a platform can simply declare. It’s earned, one review at a time.
Harry – CEO
Instagnation
Written this 22nd daye of June in the yere of Our Lord 2026
Why not just use Instagram? It’s a fair question. After all, Instagram is where most commission painters build their audience, showcase their work, and connect with potential clients. Many very successful artists have built thriving businesses there. So why would anyone need a platform like the one we’re proposing?
The short answer is that social media was never designed to be a commission marketplace.
On Instagram, commission opportunities are scattered across countless profiles, groups, stories, and messages. Finding work often means waiting for the algorithm to smile upon you or hoping the right client stumbles across your page. In other words, it’s largely reactive.
Hobby Hires is different.
We’ll centralise commission opportunities in one place. Instead of waiting for enquiries to arrive in your inbox, you’ll be able to actively browse a dedicated jobs feed filled with commission queries from hobbyists who are specifically looking to hire an artist. Rather than hoping to be found, you can go hunting.
Trust and visibility matter too. Reviews and ratings help artists build credibility that isn’t tied to follower counts or social media popularity. A talented painter with 500 followers can demonstrate their skill and professionalism just as effectively as someone with 50,000.
We’re also developing a highly serviceable offers system. Rather than relying solely on inbound messages, artists can respond directly to suitable projects and quotes, and put themselves forward for work that matches their interests, skills, and availability.
Instagram remains a fantastic tool, and we encourage artists to keep using it. We simply believe that a platform built specifically for commission painting can offer something social media can’t: a focused marketplace where opportunities, credibility, and proactive growth live under the same roof.
Harry – CEO
The Captivity of Exclusivity
Written this 15th daye of June in the yere of Our Lord 2026
A not insignificant concern pro mini painters have when joining a studio or painting team is whether they’ll be required to work exclusively through it. We’re not a studio, but exclusivity clauses are something that come up a lot when speaking with prospective members. For us the answer is simple: absolutely bloody not!
We want to build a marketplace that respects individuality and professional freedom – gates open, not ‘kept.’ Hobby Hires membership will not require exclusivity agreements, lock-in contracts, or restrictions on where you can find clients. If you’re already taking commissions through social media, your own website, Discord communities, local clubs, or any other platform, crack on!
Our goal isn’t to replace the channels that already work for you. Instead, we aim to provide an additional (and eventually vastly superior – god willing) source of visibility, credibility, respectability … and leads. That one doesn’t rhyme. I know, annoying. Profitability! An additional and vastly superior source of profitability. How’s that for a claim? In any case, the best marketplaces are built on trust, not restrictions. Artists should be free to decide how they operate, who they work with, and where they advertise their services, our job is simply to make sure we’re the best place to do it!
Harry – CEO
Tournament Players – The Commission Painter’s Bread & Butter
Written this 8th daye of June in the yere of Our Lord 2026
For competitive players, 40k, AoS, and whatever the hell else you kids are playing these days, performance rests on optimising strategy, tactics, and game knowledge. Whatever the game, your time is usually best spent refining lists, testing matchups, and keeping up with balance changes, not necessarily painting.
Unsurprisingly then, commission painting services have become very popular among tournament players. Far from being an indulgent, spaffy luxury, they offer a practical way to stay competitive while still fielding a fully painted and thematically cohesive army.
A painted army can take dozens, sometimes hundreds, of hours to complete – I should know, I’m yet to field one. Fie! For shame! From an optimisation standpoint, I think it’s perfectly valid to suggest that time is better spent preparing for the next tournament. I know – take his tongue! Lest it utter again such unspeakable heresy. That sentiment notwithstanding, it can’t be denied more and more tournament players are turning to commission painters because outsourcing allows them to focus on the part of the hobby that aligns with their goals most.
‘What’s the problem with rocking up with an army in factory grey?’ Well, apart from being ugly as sin, in many cases your army isn’t legal. Most organised events expect armies to meet a minimum painting standard and frantic evenings spent throwing paint at the latest shift in the meta is not, it’s fair to assume, what keeps these players in the hobby.
A professional miniature commission ensures armies are finished, legal, thematic, and most importantly, pretty. So very pretty. And what’s more, many tournaments include awards or overall rankings that consider both gameplay and aesthetic. A beautifully painted army won’t improve your dice rolling, but it might just shift things in your favour when standings are tight.
GW’s output is always evolving, an ever-shifting fluxstorm of models, rules changes, points tweaks, and alas – leaks galore. Commission painting allows competitive players to adapt quickly and keep up with the hurlybury of meta strategy without months of hobby backlog standing in the way.
At the end of the day, we think using a commission painter is no less valid an expense than investing in better tools, coaching, or additional practice. If your thang is spanking the competition with GTO perfection, it removes a constraint, and best of all, you look damn good doing it … or at least your army does. I can’t speak to your dress sense.
Harry – CEO
Lead Me to Mine Next Commission
Written this 2nd daye of June in the yere of Our Lord 2026
It’s true, dear reader, you’re not wrong. Hobby Hires does indeed feel like a fresh, novel, even genius solution, here to provide much-needed succour to an industry staring into an abyss that just doesn’t want to stare back. But our business is actually a well-established one. Every successful marketplace, freelance platform, and service business revolves around a single function: lead generation.
A ‘lead’ is simply a potential customer or client. Companies that thrive in this business are those that become exceptionally good at putting customers in front of people who can solve a problem or provide a service. Uber finds passengers for drivers, Airbnb finds guests for hosts, and Checkatrade finds tradespeople for homeowners. We’re here to find miniature commissions for artists. In each of these cases, including our own, the platform’s value comes from reducing the time, effort, and uncertainty involved in finding work.
The freelance miniature painting industry has traditionally lacked this infrastructure. Artists spend countless hours posting on social media, maintaining portfolios, networking in communities, and competing for visibility. Many are extraordinary artists, but finding consistent commission work remains one of the industry’s greatest challenges.
Enter Hobby Hires, stage left.
Our role is not simply to host artist profiles, it’s to become the lead generation platform for miniature painters. We want collectors, gamers, hobbyists, and businesses seeking miniature commission work to know exactly where to go when they need an artist.
Every client enquiry delivered to an artist, and every successful commission, is proof that the system works. The better we become at generating quality leads, the more valuable Hobby Hires becomes for every artist who joins us – and we’re hell-bent on doing just that.
Harry – CEO
The 0% Commission Mission
Written this 26th daye of Maye in the yere of Our Lord 2026
The Hobby Hires business model was built around a simple idea, that miniature painters deserve to keep what they earn.
That may sound facile, obvious, and maybe a tad sensationalist, but within the world of freelance platforms it’s far from the norm. Most marketplaces take a percentage from every completed job, quietly (or in some cases not so quietly) skimming from the top of each commission. The larger the job, the more the artist pays for the privilege of using the platform. We ain’t into that. We feel that model doesn’t properly respect creative work, or the people producing it.
Instead, we’ll operate through subscription memberships. Artists pay a clear, predictable fee to be part of the guild and keep 100% of their commission earnings. Beautifully simple, if I do say so myself. No hidden percentage cuts, no offensively large slices from the bigger cakes (that was a metaphor, I know we’re not baking here), and no treating artists like the product, and not the professional.
Miniature painting is skilled artistic labour. It takes years to develop the techniques, patience, and creative identity required to produce exceptional work. We believe painters should own the value of that labour.
The role of Hobby Hires isn’t to stand between artist and client demanding tolls like some Byzantine tax collector, we’re here to provide the tools, visibility, and community needed for independent painters to build sustainable creative businesses of their own. If that doesn’t draw from you an elated cry so loud you scare the dog, well I don’t know what will.
Harry – CEO
A ‘Guild’ of Mini Painters?
Written this 19th daye of Maye in the yere of Our Lord 2026
The idea of a ‘guild’ of hobbyists came early. The theme lends itself to the settings and genres enjoyed by nerdy folk such as ourselves, and I’m afraid you, dear reader, but it’s more than just whimsical branding. It’s a mission statement. A pledge to bring together under a common banner a shared community of independent artists.
My personal enjoyment of games such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the dominant MMOs of my teen years played a role too. Whether it was joining the Thieves Guild in Oblivion or raiding in WoW, Age of Conan, or SWTOR, there was always something compelling about groups of individuals uniting around a shared cause. Different people, different talents, different ambitions, all contributing toward something larger than themselves. The best guilds were not simply functional, they created identity, friendship, reputation, and opportunity for the people within them.
That idea is not unique to fantasy either. During the Renaissance, guilds existed throughout Europe as organisations of craftsmen and artisans. They protected trades, upheld standards of quality, trained apprentices, and connected skilled workers with those seeking their services. In many ways, they transformed individual craft into sustainable livelihoods and thriving professional communities.
Hobby Hires follows a similar philosophy. At its core, it is a gathering place for freelancers: independent miniature artists, each with their own style, strengths, and creative identity. The platform exists to serve and respect miniature commission painting as a profession, helping guild members find work, build reputations, and become part of a wider creative community in much the same way as the guilds of old.
For clients, the benefit of a guild is trust. In centuries past, a guild mark represented a certain standard of craftsmanship and professionalism. Patrons knew that by seeking out a guild artisan, they were more likely to receive quality work from someone dedicated to their trade. Hobby Hires aims to offer that same reassurance. Rather than searching blindly across social media and forums, clients can come to a single gathering place of proven and passionate artists, united beneath standards of practice, creativity, reliability, and respect for the hobby.
Harry – CEO