The art of painting miniature models has been part of my relaxation routine for a long time now. It’s like a cleanse for me. There’s just me, the models, some music, and the never-ending process of painting them.
During this time, I’ve come to more than one conclusion, more than one do and one don’t, and I’ve gathered a bunch of tips and tricks that I’ll share with you today.
Painting miniature models is a lengthy task for beginners. The natural flow of things comes with time and practice, however, trying new methods and learning new things will make it easier for you to take your painting to the next level.
Before painting
The best advice I can give to someone who’s painting miniature models is to have patience. Seriously, painting miniature models take time, and mastering the art of painting them is an even longer venture.
Have patience. You’ll get better for every single miniature you paint. Remember what you liked and what you didn’t like about the last miniature you painted and focus on improving that feature on the next one.
Get your paints to the right consistency
Make sure you thin your paint properly to get the right viscosity for the job you’re doing. You can thin your paints using water or paint thinner/glaze – I use Lahmian Medium for Citadel Paints.
When the paint is of the right consistency it should flow from your brush like ink from a fountain pen. That’s the perfect consistency when painting miniatures. Using paint that is too thick can obscure the finer details of the miniature.
Learn how to use proper color schemes to make your models look better
Colors should be easy to understand, right? Well, there’s something called color theory, a set of rules that dictate what looks good in combination and what doesn’t. You don’t need to learn color theory, there are several ways around it.
Trial and Error: Paint a couple of miniatures with the colors you have in mind, then evaluate the results to see if you’re happy with them. If you are – commit fully.
Citadel App: Using the Citadel Paint App you can learn about key painting techniques, tips for basing miniatures, and most importantly, pick suitable color schemes for your miniatures. The app is free.
Color wheels: Use color wheels or online color-scheme websites to gather a mix of colors that fit together.
Watch Tutorials online
There are a ton of tutorials on techniques, miniatures, methods, preparations, color mixing, priming, and anything else you can think of. Take your time to watch a couple of tutorials for beginners before you get going – you might learn a couple of tricks that can come in handy later on.
I recommend
- Warhammer TV
- TheApatheticFish
- The War Gamer on Youtube.
- Luke’s APS
Get a proper lamp
While your living room or dining table lights may do the job decently, they are far from the best option and deliver far from the best results. Seriously, getting your workspace and paint set up in order will drastically increase your chances of success.
You’ll want a regular lamp that delivers light in the sunlight range, about 5000 and 6000 Kelvins, and another lamp, preferably a LED lamp – the benefit of using two lamps is that it gives you light from more than one angle, therefore, it eliminates shadows caused by your hand.
This way, you’ll have better vision and fewer unseen mistakes on your miniature.
It’s a rather cheap way to advance your painting. Here’s a lamp that I’ve been using for the past year or so.
File and clean your models
Miniature models are made by putting resin, metal, or plastic in molds. These molds are often covered in release agents to make it easier to remove the miniature without ruining the miniature or the mold. To remove these release agents you need to wash your models.
This is done by bathing the model in a bath of lukewarm water and soap and simultaneously scrubbing it with a toothbrush. Make sure the water isn’t too hot – it can bend or melt smaller parts of the model.
Get an airbrush
An airbrush is a complementary tool when painting miniature models. The airbrush can paint large areas, the basecoat, and prime in no time.
Using an airbrush for miniature models is time-saving, although, it will not replace the brush entirely – the brush is a beast when it comes to small details. With these two in your arsenal, you’ll be unstoppable.
Here’s a little more about airbrushes, if you’re interested.
- Why You Should Airbrush Scale Models
- The Ultimate Guide To Airbrushing Warhammer Models
- How To Airbrush Indoors
- Selecting The Best Iwata Airbrush
If you’re interested in airbrushes, you’re in luck. We have a massive guide on the topic!
Read more: To Airbrush Warhammer And Miniatures: The Ultimate Guide
Make sure you’re in a well-ventilated workspace
Yeah, this is the scale model equivalent of your grandmother telling you to wear a bike helmet. I know. However, I suggest you take the risks of painting in a room with no airflow seriously.
Essential colors first
Don’t get 50 shades of red if you’re going to use two shades. Instead, focus on getting the basic colors and then expand your palette later on.
When I first started, I bought this. It’s available much cheaper than when I bought it.
Perhaps you can focus on finishing your first army using the same color scheme – that way, you’ll only need a couple of shades of each.
If you’re still interested in the hobby after that, you should consider purchasing more colors to give yourself a few more alternatives.
Store and organize your miniatures and tools
I emphasize this a lot in my articles because
- Miniatures are fragile
- Scraping against a newly painted surface will pretty much ruin the paint job
Other than that, keeping an organized workspace is something to consider at all times – it makes it so much easier to keep track of everything, and as you know, miniature painting often includes a plethora of things taking up space. Make sure you store and transport your miniatures safely to avoid breaking, bending, or scraping them.
Go with your gut
Pick your miniature models carefully – make sure you’re enthusiastic about painting them. Otherwise, pick another model.
Starting with a miniature that just sucks the energy and motivation out of you isn’t the right way to go. Start with something you can accomplish and advance from there – it doesn’t matter if the miniature is “too” easy to paint, you’ll still get better over time – challenge yourself slowly.
For your own sake, opt for a miniature that is “too easy” rather than “too hard”.
3D Print your miniatures at home
Hobbyists can craft their own miniatures at home using a 3D printer. With a 3D printer, you pay an initial cost for the machine but then the costs are reduced drastically. Here’s an article that covers everything you need to know to print your miniatures, including which printer to pick.
Printing your miniatures makes gives you the freedom of painting one miniature from each army before settling.
When painting
Using new tools and techniques will change the results you’re getting right now. By using more efficient methods you can speed up the basic parts of the process and spend more time on the things you’re having trouble with.
It doesn’t really matter if you’re painting miniature models from GamesWorkshop, Tabletop RPG figurines, or your own 3D printed models, these tips should be helpful to anyone who paints miniature models.
Get comfortable with highlighting and shading
First off – the importance of these two techniques is grand for miniature painters who want to take it to the next level. The ultimate goal is to create a paint job that can fool the viewer. Well, adding highlights and shades gives the miniature a lot of depth and as a result, the paint job looks more vivid to the eye.
I recommend learning these two methods and applying them to every job you do in order to get better at them because they are quite tricky to get right.
Use proper tools
Wet palette: Keeps the color from drying on the palette and the brush when painting. For such a low cost (10 bucks) this little tool saves you so much time and effort.
Xacto knife: Makes it easy to remove mold lines on miniatures after removing them from the sprue and prior to painting.
Hobby drill: To drill out bores in miniature model guns.
Clippers & Files: To remove the miniature components from the sprue and to smooth the surface of the miniature after clipping. Make sure you’re using a sprue nipper (clipper) and not a nail clipper, the sprue nipper is flat on one side which allows you to get closer to the miniature when clipping.
Mistakes are reversible (sometimes)
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes when you are just starting out. You’ll probably make a couple of mistakes right off the bat and it doesn’t really matter because bad paint jobs can be removed. Instead, you should focus on improving and practicing.
Basecoat miniatures
The first layer of color that you apply to a miniature is called “basecoat” and it is applied onto the object to cover minor imperfections, create a better surface for the next layer to stick to, and enhance the color and visual results of the last layer called the top coat.
Initially, you should pick your color scheme and then add a base coat of color to your miniature. When base-coating you’ll want to use the largest brush that allows you to control the paint on the model you’re painting.
Going with a smaller brush makes it easier to stay out of areas of the miniature that have already been painted, but it will take much longer to finish the paint job – as you can see, there’s a balance between too big and too small.
When painting big areas of a miniature or terrain/landscape you’ll want to use a big brush or an airbrush while finer details require a much finer brush. Pick your brushes accordingly.
If you plan on “washing” (read down below for more information about washing) the miniatures, the base coat should be a little bit lighter than the shade you want to end up with because the procedure often darkens the color.
Get familiar with methods like dry brushing and washing
Washing is a technique that involves highlighting shadows on the miniature by painting the model with a thin mixture of colors that is darker than the base color and
When the miniature has dried up and you’re done base coating and washing it, you can start dry brushing, a technique that highlights the raised surfaces of the miniature, as opposed to washing, where the focus is to highlight the cracks.
Drybrushing is done by applying a shy amount of paint to your brush. The paint should be a lighter color than the base of the surface you’re painting.
With the paint applied to the brush, you drag the brush across the surface. Because you loaded the brush with such a small amount of paint, the strokes will only leave the raised surfaces painted – simulating how light would make those surfaces lighter.
Get a set of good brushes
Your brush is your number one tool when painting miniatures. Therefore, it is important that you pick the right one. When you’re just starting out you’ll be fine with a brush set from your local craft store.
Just remember to avoid thick-bristled brushes. Once you feel like you’re ready to advance you should focus on getting a set of good brushes. They will make quite a difference.
I’m using the Princeton Velvetouch Series 3950 and I’m very pleased with the results and the quality of the brushes. For detail work, I use the Mini round 20/0, combined with three additional brushes, S 1, 2, and 3 for all-around work.
- Princeton Velvetouch
After painting
Once you’re done painting, the first thing you should do, for the sake of your wallet, is clean your brush. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a regular brush or an airbrush. Taking care of your tools is important, they can easily clog and take damage if you forget to wash them after a session.
Take care of your brush
High-quality brushes will last years and perform to their full potential if you take care of them properly – but lose form quickly if you don’t. You will save time and money by giving your brushes a little bit of love.
- Wash your brush after every session
- If the brush has been used with water-based colors, use a lint-free rag to wipe the brush clean and rinse it under running water then apply mild soap and cool water and stroke the soap-dipped brush against your palm, rinse and repeat until the water comes from your brush runs clear.
- If the brush has been used with acrylic colors, the same process applies, however, if the acrylic paint has dried you might need to soak the brush overnight in a bath of Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner
- Remove leftover water from the brushes, reshape the brush heads and store them with the bristles facing upwards.
What Warhammer army is easy for a beginner to paint?
The thought of painting an entire army can be quite daunting when you realize how difficult it can be to achieve the look you want. Painting miniature models
In order for you to keep that motivation going, I would recommend painting miniatures that you can finish, miniatures that are considered easy for beginners. Continue down below for my recommendations.
Age Of Sigmar
- Stormcast Eternals
- You only have to do a couple of eyes and faces,
otherwise, it’s mostly helmets. - The models are a little bit bigger which makes it easier to paint them
- Because the models are wearing so much armor, you’ll be working with the same colors for the most part of the miniature.
- You only have to do a couple of eyes and faces,
Seraphon - Brighter colors are easier for beginners
- Simple color schemes are suitable for this army
- Very beginner-friendly set
Read more: The Best Warhammer Armies For New Painters
Conclusion
Start by doing what you can and advance from there. Initially, skip details if they are too frustrating – you’ll get better at detailing work later on. Remember to enjoy yourself when you paint miniatures.
The process can be extremely relaxing when you get drawn into it but, on the other hand, it can be terribly frustrating when you don’t get it right.
Thank you for reading, I hope you learned something new.