Painter Profession

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Painter Profession

The Painter may very well be the oldest of the non-traditional Slacker-based careers, since it has existed from the start and, for whatever reason it seems to naturally be the non-traditional career of choice for most Simmers.  There is a certain romantic connection to the life of the painter -- a solitary existence in which everything around you has the potential to be your muse -- and it is not uncommon for Sim Painters to paint pretty much anything and everything they see, and especially other Sims!

The process of becoming a Painter is a simple one, though there are a few paths that can be taken.  When you are ready to take up the brush you can do it in several ways:

(1) Take a class in painting;

(2) Buy an easel and simply start painting;

The true beauty of this profession is its simplicity - even the challenges are practically automatic, as all that your Sim needs do is keep painting!  In fact the odds are good that they will complete all of the challenges before they reach Level 10 of the self-employed career!

Helpful Traits:  Ambitious, Charismatic, Friendly

The Painter's Lifetime Wish: Master of the Arts

The Professional Artist adds beauty to the Sim World

-- Career Levels/Titles and Details --

There are ten Levels for this non-traditional career, and listed below are the levels and their titles along with the amount in sales that are required to unlock each level.  Painting is easy to earn in since you can sell your paintings right from the easel -- though you should bare in mind that selling them through the Consignment Shop often earns a bit more than selling them from the easel -- and if you are not pressed for money at the moment that your painting is complete, you may want to seriously consider hanging it on your own walls for a while, because like good Nectar, your paintings will appreciate in value as you become better known, and can double and even triple in value in a relatively short period of time!

Level 01: Paint Splasher
Level 02: Canvas Cretin ($50)
Level 03: Finger Painter ($75)
Level 04: Paintbrush Patsy ($250)
Level 05: Avante Garde Poseur ($750)
Level 06: Art Gallery Rookie ($1000)
Level 07: Illustrious Illustrator ($2500)
Level 08: Prestigious Painter ($5000)
Level 09: Acrylic Ace ($10000)
Level 10: Master of the Brush ($25000)

Getting to Level 10 in the profession in my own experience takes around $47,000 and, once you reach that level you will have to sell an additional $47,700 or so in paintings to gain the step up that doubles the value of your work right off of the easel.

-- The Secret to Success --

Mood.  Specifically Good Mood.  The better your Sim's mood is, the faster they will paint, better they will gain, and overall the better they will do at this profession.  That means that anything that you can do for your Sim to improve their mood you should do. 

Another must-do is to buy the Lifetime Happiness Point Reward Item "Extra Creative" (30,000 Points) because that has a massive impact on both the quality of your Sim's art and the value.

Finally you should always remember that having ANY sort of negative moodlet is incredibly a bad thing for an Artist Sim!  This includes the Stir Crazy one -- so if you see any red moodlets at all in their status window, do whatever you have to do to get rid of it as quickly as you can!

Avoid opportunities!  Yeah, that seems contrary to good sense, and with almost all of the other careers accepting and completing opportunities makes sense, but most of the opportunities that you will get as  a Painter actually interfere with your art!  Sure, it is great that some guy in France, or in China wants one of your paintings, but that is what galleries are for -- you should not be dropping everything to deliver one to him no matter how much he is willing to pay.  The sad fact is that almost all of the opportunities -- except for the one in which the Mayor wants you to paint a dozen paintings to be purchased by the city and hung in municipal buildings -- interfere to significantly with your art and your life, and so should be avoided.

-- In the End --

Once you master the skill of Painting, and then complete the career to Level 10, you will have reached a point where you can expect to command prices right off of the easel of between $3000 and $4000 per Large Painting.  After you get the professional step up that is the hidden second stage of the self-employed phase you can earn as much as $10K per painting!  So money, as you can surely see, will not be a problem for you!

Even if you do not register as a self-employed Painter the potential income once you have fully mastered the skill is such that you can easily support a large family and own a nice home, packed with all of the best stuff.  Oh, and then you die and your paintings REALLY get valuable...  I am just saying.