Howdy!
There are loads of people out there that make minis in the 28mm-32mm scale.
Most people are friendly to discuss stuff via PM, bounce a few ideas around. Everyone loves a PM in their inbox: even moreso when you send some links to reference photos or attach some mudmap sketches to go with it - a character name and some concepts to bounce help tremendously at both ends. That way, you start how you intend to finish, and wind up with something that you'll enjoy and see a lot of play on the tabletop. You'll get something with a better likeness than you might otherwise.
Around these parts, I've found many people extremely easy to communicate with when it comes to 'random conversations about custom minis projects'
In no particular order Biggsy, LordBall, DarthBane, LilyWan, IronLightsaber (if you can track him down) are just a few customisers from around these parts, though I suspect there are more that lurk...
DakkaDakka, Heroclix realms, Lead-Adventure.de... theres a few folks there that can also be tracked down for reasonable rates and a variety of materials.
These are most often repins from offtheshelf components + greenstuff, rarely with greenstuff scratchbuilt enhancements --- and if you're lucky, awesome paintjobs all in one - it results in awesome figures that are durable and quick-turn-around time to the tabletop.
This is my favorite way to get figures made - it's PenFriendsPlus, its awesome, and you get blown away by the skills people have.
If you want to take things 'to the next level' (of 'seriousness', though not always quality
)
, you can find all sorts of local sculptors to team-up with. At this level, sometimes its a case of 'think local, act global' - you might be able to find better value internationally or be able to achieve certain effects that perhaps aren't locally available. I've had a lot of good experience with wood figurines from South America (Peru, Argentina, El Salvidor), or ceramics from Spain/Italy for example. They do things you can't get locally, and in a way that lets you get best possible value.
I've been lucky to have teamed up with ExManus in the past for example, or Trident Game Studios, and they've helped me to bring stuff from concept sketches to life on the game table (for things that I can't take a stab at customising on my own heh).
You get something; a sketch or a bunch of photo-ref turned into more sketches and a 3D interpretation of them.
This is an avenue to explore where you want stuff to look a certain way - for those situations where off-the-shelf can't quite capture that look that you'll know 'you'll know when you see it'. This is an avenue to try conceptual stuff - a translucent mini molded and cloned 400 times? this'd be that level.
It is a middle road between the repin method and contracting a named artist - that's what makes this space exciting; the variety.
It is also a middle road in terms of costs at each step in your process
The final option would be, were it possible,
contracting the same people that actually worked on the original project, such as your favorite figure style. (say hypothetically, you wanted clone wars set but made in the style of Rebel Storm)
If it were possible, this would be the 'premium' thing,
they would require lead time and half upfront;
high quality input sketches fully dimensioned with finish annotations,
be prepared for this to set you back the cost of upto 1/4 of a mold: and they'll want their percentage of that mold, because this is the 'serious' level. (you can probably tell yours truly might have tried having discussions about exploring these sort of options).
There is... another way.
very shortantly, loads of stuff will be available as 3D printing. You'll be able to commission a 3D sketch translator and they'll make you a mesh you can print in scintilated 3D - shapeways-level quality, as if it had rolled straight off yester-years factory line and you'd pulled it from a booster pack.
In the meantime, you've got Shapeways, Vizzy, and RepStrap machines to try and have fun with.
All that's the long-winded way of saying (excitedly):
who are you looking at having made?
(which custom figures did you have in mind?)
I hope they're roboty heh.
if they're original characters, did you have art to share too?
Looking forward to seeing your customs on here,
and you'll have to let us know how you get along
Kobayashimaru