Hi all!

This is something I've been wanting to implement in my gameplay for a while now because I enjoy creating art and I'd love to have a sim who makes and sells paintings for a living, and selling them through an OFB system sounds a lot more fun than just selling them off of the easel, but I've never been able to figure out a system that quite works for me.

I'm wondering how would you guys go about this? Would you paint for a few days, then sell the paintings when you have a bunch? Would you cave and use build/buy paintings to be able to run the business consistently? Maybe using a faster painting hack to be able to keep up with demand? (though that might be too cheaty).

I'd love to hear others' opinions.

What I always used to do was to have some paintings from buy mode for sale too, alongside one or two of the paintings the sim made. The buy mode paintings would be set at average price, the sim-painted art was set at expensive. That way, I could build up my sim's salesman skills and get the business level a bit higher whilst earning some money, and paint in between customers. The expensive paintings wouldn't sell fast at first, but if you show them to loyal customers and use the selling techniques on them, you can earn some nice money. When you are earning enough to have an employee, you can paint whilst they restock or man the tills.

Same as simsample.

I'd make it a family business, have a sim paint and a second sim sell. If they have kids, maybe they want to start painting as well? As long as there is an easel around, most of my Sims seem to enjoy painting without me directing them.
And I agree, I'd also sell some catalogue art, just to have a bit more variety.

I do the same as simsample as well and that would be for any of the crafting businesses. It's impossible to keep up with demand once your business gains ratings even if you have a designated sim churning out product. Make the sim made stuff really pricey and have some average priced catalog items on offer.

Thanks everyone. You've all been very helpful.

Haven't tried this yet, but you could also add a ticket machine for a comfortable room with an easel, so you could paint someone's portrait. Then gift it to them once it's finished, with the ticket machine income counting as the fee for the portrait.

One of my sims is a painter who owns an art gallery. One area has the art on display while another had the art for sale. I set the paintings for sale at the highest price possible and then "gently guide" customers there and finish the deal with the gold sales badge interaction. The ticket machine brings passive income while I'm trying to sell.

Another thing, for extra realism if you want: make sure the "restockable" art for sale is all prints, prints are easy to replicate, unique paintings not so much.

I'm another one for the art gallery!

I like them to paint a bunch of paintings first before they open the space. From there, I usually have them sell whatever amount of them they can, while painting others to restock with. Usually I make the gallery a home business so that the artists don't have to go far to work, and I might also have it be a 'co-op' space, where you get a few different artists all living in the same building to paint and show their work.

This makes me want to put an art district in San Tolino...

There is a mod that enables a business of painting portraits.
For the life of me I can't remember where I found it. I think it was either GOS or PBK.

It enables the artist to charge for people to get portraits.
Ah, I found it!
It was at PBK, and it's by CindySims:

Paint me like one of your Renaissance girls - Business Easel