Painting miniatures: Everything beginners need to know

Charlie Hall is a journalist, photographer, and miniature painter with 10 years’ experience working at Polygon. After spending time as a writer and reporter, he became Polygon’s tabletop editor in 2021. He’s served as a judge for GAMA’s Origins Awards. In 2023, Games Workshop included his work in a roundup of the hobby’s top painters. Check out his photo essay in the Golden Demon awards.

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The hobby of painting miniatures can be very relaxing. However, it is not easy to acquire the tools and skills necessary to begin.

My goal with this guide is to help beginners painters understand the basics of painting. Below you’ll find my personal recommendations, not just of the paints and other tools you’ll want to buy, but a handful of carefully curated teachers and artists I’ve come to trust over the last seven years of exploring. Let’s dive in.

How do I choose which miniatures to buy?

So many miniatures are available that it can be hard to narrow down the choices. I recommend starting with your favourite game or subject.

Maybe you’re really into dungeon-crawling board games like HeroQuest, Zombicide, GloomhavenOr Legends of the Dark: Descent. Maybe you’re mOdere into strategy games, like Scythe or Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition. Or maybe you’re curious about more freeform miniatures skirmish games, like Star Wars: Legion, Marvel Crisis Protocol, NecromundaOr Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team. No matter what your hobbies are, it doesn’t matter where they may be. Start with something you enjoy. The passion in your gut can help you get your first set of minis painted.

But don’t start off by plopping down hundreds or thousands of dollars on a big army for Warhammer 40,000Or any large-scale mini wargame. It is easy to become discouraged by accumulating too many plastic pieces on your desk without even learning the basics.

Just a handful of minis is enough to get you where you’re going, so start small and build from there.

How to build your miniatures

Assembly not required

While choosing your first small passion project, consider if you’d like to spend any time at all assembling those miniatures before you paint them — because you don’t actually need to.

Plenty of miniatures are sold preassembled these days — especially ones that come with hobby board games. You can also choose from the following options The WitcherThe Cyberpunk Red lines from Monster Fight Club, as well as the huge new range of plastic miniatures for Catalyst Game Labs’ BattleTech. WizKids also offers a huge selection of preassembled miniatures, including a wide variety of miniatures custom-made for D&D. Many miniatures come pre-painted and ready for painting right out of their boxes.

Note that even if you aren’t assembling your miniatures, you’ll still need a simple self-healing cutting mat to protect your work surface.

How to prepare for assembly

You should consider the following when choosing miniatures Do need to put together, I’d recommend avoiding metal and resin miniatures out of the gate. Both of these materials require different tools to assemble, which won’t be covered at all in this guide. For your first attempt at plastic miniatures, stick with them..

Plastic minis will likely come on a sprue — the plastic frame that holds them safely inside the box for shipment. To do that, you’ll need a pair of cutting pliers called sprue nippers. The sprue nippers are a little like scissors but have one side that is flat and one side that is angled. Unlike scissors, the edges of these blades should never overlap — if they do, you’re simply squeezing them too hard.

To use sprue nippers correctly, carefully place the nippers with the flat edge touching the surface of the miniature you’d like to clip from the sprue. Next, pull the halves of the sprue together gently until it comes apart. You can do the same for any other connection points between the model or the sprue. You can seriously damage pieces if you try to remove them from the sprue.

After you’ve trimmed the parts of the sprue to make a particular miniature, it is time to remove them. The goal is to remove whatever remnants of the sprue are still attached, which you can easily do with a hobby knife and a flexible sanding pad — sort of like an emory board, but for plastic models.

You’ll also want to remove something called “mold lines” — which you’ll nearly always find somewhere on a plastic miniature, even if it comes pre-assembled.

Hot plastic is used to create a miniature of the metal mold. The plastic may seep from between the two halves. This can lead to unsightly lines of plastic, called mold lines. There are many ways to fix them.

Because they’re so sharp, a hobby knife is probably the best tool to use for removing mold lines. However, they could cause serious damage to miniatures. Citadel Mouldline Remover, a great tool for beginners, is better. The Citadel Mouldline Remover is a great tool for beginners. It has sharp edges that can be used to scrape away the mold lines instead of cutting them. You’ll also want a small, soft brush — like a toothbrush — to clean those areas when you’re done.

Assembly

Now that you’ve got all the bits of your miniature trimmed out and cleaned, it’s time to glue them together. Always check with the manufacturer of your plastic models to be sure, but more often than not you won’t be using super glue — you’ll be using plastic cement.

Plastic cement, which is basically a solvent, melts the plastic your miniaturist is made from and creates a permanent glue that will join its pieces. You will need to apply plastic cement with precision and care. Tamiya’s Extra Thin Cement I highly recommend. You can use the brush to apply the glue easily. The low-viscosity formula makes it easier to flow glue in gaps, and to then gently sand off or remove any excess glue when it dries.

Assembly shopping list

Tools required for the assembly of miniatures

You will need basic tools to assemble miniatures

Miniature assembly using advanced tools

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How to Prime Your Miniatures

Paint won’t stick to bare plastic, so before you start painting, you’ll need to prepare your miniatures with a special kind of paint called a primer. A primer WillYou can paint over bare plastic if you stick with it.

Spray or rattle-can primers

Canister spray paint is the best way to prime miniatures. Just about anything that you can find at the local hardware store will do, but be sure to read the label to make sure it’s safe to apply on plastic. Avoid enamel or other oil-based primers, as they are difficult to clean up.

I’ve personally had the most experience with Citadel and The Army Painter primers, and both will do a decent job. The color you choose for your primer coat is something to think about later in your painting journey. The other paints you’ll be using aren’t perfectly opaque, so some of that primer will ultimately show through and impact the overall color and tone of your miniature. Stick with black your first time around — unless you’re using Citadel Contrast or The Army Painter Speedpaints (discussed below) — as that will give you an even base layer to work from.

You’ll also want to invest in some gloves, to keep your hands free of paint while spraying.

Most cans of spray paint don’t work upside down, and will work poorly if you even tilt them on their side, so to help you get into every nook and cranny on your miniature you’ll want something on which to mount your miniature. You can’t go wrong with a paint mixing stick (free at most hardware stores) covered in masking tape, unrolled sticky side out. Simply stick the minis and you’re good to go. Just be sure you’re painting in an open, well-ventilated area and apply thin, even coats of paint. For drippy or runny sprays, you need to depress the trigger and let go of the can. It is notPointed at the model.

Alternatively, a painting handle — like the Citadel Painting Handle — can make cleanup much easier, and help conserve paint.

The ultimate shopping guide

Spray paint can be purchased in bulk and is usually cheaper than buying locally.

The best primer paints

Priming tools that are advanced

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Choose a suitable paint to use for your miniatures

The next big decision you’ll need to make is which line of paints to begin purchasing. Acrylic hobby paints can be found in most stores. They are easy to clean with water. You’ll most likely collect many different brands and styles of acrylic hobby paint, but here are the four types you should be aware of.

Before you go any further, you’ll also need to understand that whatever paint you buy is not going to be ready to go onto your model straight out of the pot. Instead, you’ll need to thin your paints. Duncan Rhodes, creator of the Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy and the Two Thin Coats line of hobby paints, does a great job of explaining why — and how.

Apply layer paint

Layer paint is the most common kind of acrylic paint, and likely the one you’ll use the most of. It’s a general-purpose paint that can be used straight out of the pot, or thinned with water and other mediums for different effects. It’s simple to understand: Each color of layer paint must cover the other colors within the same range. Using layer paints, therefore, allows you to clean up your mistakes as you go by grabbing the colors you’ve used previously to neaten up the edges of the last color you put down.

The most widely used layer paints include those made by Vallejo, The Army Painter, Citadel and The Games Workshop.

Washes

A wash is a thin type of paint that can be used to fill in the spaces on miniatures. They will add depth to the models and enhance shadow and texture areas. After the layers of paint have dried, wash can be applied to top. Washes tend to pool up, and you’ll use your brush to position these pools where you want them on your model.

Just about any company making layer paints can make wash, such as Vallejo, The Army Painter and Citadel.

Paints in contrast

The newest kind of paints available on the market are called contrast paints, named after the progenitors of the type — Citadel Contrast Paints.

While they behave as washes and are applied like layer paints in contrast, the paints work like that of layer paints. You’ll need a bigger, fatter brush to use contrast paints in most settings. It is best to apply the contrast paint in thin, even coats. Multiple coats increase the color’s transparency, which can be used to deepen its tone. However, you can use contrast paints as a wash if thinned.

While layer paints are flexible in terms of how they can thin, mix, and apply to models, contrast colors vary greatly in terms of their consistency. Most notably, they often don’t look anything like they do in the bottle once they’ve dried on your model. So while contrast paints can be an expedient way to paint — especially if you’re using the “slapchop” method mentioned below — they also take a little bit of practice to get comfortable with.

Vallejo and Citadel (Games Workshop) offer contrast-style paints.

Shopping list for paint

We suggest buying individual paint pots to use with your model kits. These can be purchased at your local gaming store, or online. The colors that you need will determine the size of your initial batch. If you’d like to purchase a paint set to instantly jump-start your collection, however, these are the most versatile starting options that we’ve found.

Paint sets that are best for beginning painters

Advanced painters: Best Paint Sets

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How to choose a miniature brush — and a painting style

A variety of techniques can be used to paint your miniatures. They also require different brushes. Here we’ll discuss layer painting in detail, touch on drybrushing, and discuss the newest style — a hybrid known as “slapchop.” You’ll find links below to starter brushes that will be compatible with each.

Layer painting

To build detail, the traditional way of painting miniatures is to use highlight layers with base layers. These surfaces are usually painted starting at the bottom. This means that the painters start with the most detailed layers on the miniature, and work their way up to the highest layers. You will see more variations and gradations between the layers of finer work.

To illustrate, in order to paint a knight wearing armor, you would start with his padding and finish by painting his chainmail jacket. Then, add the polished steel plates on top. Blocking out areas that I must separate from other layers would help me start every layer. Then I’d smoothen edges by using different colors.

When I am working on a new layer of paper, I use one or two different paints. Or I could be using several techniques such as drybrushing and glazing. Different techniques — like stippling, glazing, and non-metallic metal shading (discussed below) — can even be used to simulate different materials.

This style is most often seen in Kickstarter campaigns to fund high-end games, as well as in lavish miniature wargames made by Games Workshop. It’s also one of the most commonly taught methods of painting, since the same skills apply regardless of how many layers there are or how detailed those layers might be.

Layer painting tutorials can be found easily online, as it’s so widespread. Games Workshop tutorials were my best friend for the first couple of years. Just about every model that the British company makes has its own tutorial — multiples, in fact, to include the color schemes for each of its different factions. They’re currently divided into two levels of difficulty: Battle Ready and Parade Ready. These videos can all be found online and on the Citadel Colour mobile application.

Edge highlighting

There are many techniques for layer painting. Edge highlighting is one of them. It involves using a large brush to create thin lines around the edges of models. A miniature’s geometry will have more volume and definition if it has a bright, thin line. Multiplying lines can be used to add depth, flash and dimension. You should paint each line thinner than the others, with progressively sharper, brighter colors. It’s a subtle, versatile technique that applies just as well to military models and mechs as it does to faces and flesh.

A lot of tutorials are available that will help you learn more about edge-highlighting. These are just some of the tutorials that can help you get started.

Miniac Edge Highlighting

Squidmar miniatures: Edge Highlighting

The best tools to help beginners with layer painting

The best tools to paint layers with advanced techniques

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Drybrushing

Drybrushing is a common technique used in layer painting alongside edge highlighting, and in that context it’s not much of a big deal. You just need a brush to apply paint and then you can wipe off most of the paint. The paint will flow easily if you hold the dry brush to the finer details of your miniature. It’s like edge highlighting, but a bit softer and over a larger area.

However, you could also paint the models directly from scratch using the same technique. Artis Opus is a popular company that has made this technique extremely easy. The company Artis Opus is the one that popularized this style. They use large makeup brushes in a poofy and special palette. Although it is easier to paint larger models (including terrain), beginners can still use this technique. Layer painting works well for smaller models.

Artis Opus’ video tutorials are tremendous, and include everything from painting large pieces of terrain to smaller figures to caring for these large, unique brushes.

These are the best drybrushing tools for beginners

Advanced drybrushing: The top tools

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What’s slapchop?

The last style of painting that we’ll deal with in this guide is called “slapchop,” named after a mostly satirical video by The Honest Wargamer that helped to popularize the style in 2022. They clearly wanted to make fun of YouTube hobbyists and over-serious artists, but they made an accidental tutorial. Here’s how it works.

Slapchop blends drybrushing with layer painting. The process begins with a primer of black, then the drybrushing of thick white paint on top. This is how the white paint should be applied In directionWith the goal of conserving areas that are shaded by natural light sources,

Picture a black baseball hat. To prepare that black baseball cap for slapchop, you’d hit it hard with a white drybrush from the top. You would imagine the sun hitting the top (the white paint), while the shadow (the black) hides under the brim.

Once you’ve established a monochromatic, fully shaded model, slapchop uses the transparency of contrast paints (Citadel Contrast, Army Painter Speedpaints, and others) to its advantage. The intensity of a single coat applied to a specific area is greater than that of white or black. Simply apply your base color and blend the paint. You can leave it there, or glam it up with washes, glazing, stippling — or even more drybrushing.

How to Protect Your Miniatures

Once you’ve finished a miniature, you need to protect it from damage using a clear varnish. As a thin coat, you can use a brush for varnish application. You can also buy them in spray cans. For most applications, you will need two coats. Your miniature’s appearance will be affected by whether you choose a matte or gloss varnish. Make sure to plan ahead.

Varnishes are also useful in the interim stages of painting. They can be applied to protect your work before you start moving on. Clear varnishes can also be used with oil-based and enamel paints.

It’s also important to consider how and where you want to store your miniatures. Plastic inserts may cause damage to your paintwork so make sure you are careful before putting minis back in the box.

You can display your miniatures in clear glass or plastic boxes.

Protect your miniatures by using the best methods

Painting techniques that are not included in the above list

To complement your selected style, there are many additional methods you could use. These are my top picks, as they were provided by reliable sources. They’re also free to download on YouTube. My other guide to basic airbrushing can be found here.

Caring for your brushes

Your model needs to be filled in

Zenithal highlights

Stippling

Glazing

Metals that are not metallic

Applying decals

Winterdyne Commission Modeling Guide to Waterslide Decals

Shopping list for painting accessories

The things in this shopping list aren’t essential, but they can improve your experience painting miniatures. I’ve annotated each of them to define why I feel they’re important.

Mixing balls in stainless steel

LabGenius Mini –Vortex Mixer

Paint Puck

Milliput

Appendix

We’ve mentioned several times that contrast-style paints can be deceptive in how they’ll actually look on your model. Below you’ll find the official color guides for Citadel Contrast paints, as well as those same paints applied on top of various surfaces — including metallic paints.

Citadel Contrast official paint swatches

Citadel Contrast colors applied to white paint

Citadel Contrast paints on top of various undercoats — including metallics

Sometimes you can’t quite find the right color at the local shop, and you can’t wait for it to ship from an online retailer. That’s when you need to consider using a different brand of paint. This chart can be used to help you identify compatible colors from multiple ranges.

Dakka Dakka’s paint compatibility chart allows you to swap colors across brands

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Of course, this is far from an exhaustive list and leaves out many other common techniques — including airbrushing. Nevertheless, it’s a good place to start and should keep you busy for months, if not years.

Comment below to share your favorite tutorials, painting tricks, or tutors.