how to

Paint Your First Miniatures: Basics That Look Good

· 2 min read miniature paintinghobbyprimertechniques

Good-looking miniatures need technique, not talent. The single biggest jump in results comes from a four-stage workflow: prime, basecoat, wash, highlight. Learn that pipeline on cheap figures and even your first attempts will look presentable at table distance.

What you need

  • Plastic or resin miniatures, handles (a cork or bottle cap with sticky tack works)
  • Spray or brush-on primer, gray or white
  • A detail brush (size 1-2) and a medium brush (size 3-4)
  • Acrylic paints: black, white, skin tone, a few colors matching your figures' clothes
  • A wash shade such as Army Painter Strong Tone or Citadel Nuln Oil
  • Matte varnish for protection

Step by step

  1. Wash mold release off resin models with warm soapy water and scrub plastics gently with an old toothbrush. Paint fails to stick otherwise.
  2. Prime in thin, even coats. Hold spray cans fifteen centimeters away and do two light passes rather than one heavy one. Let dry fully.
  3. Mount the model on a handle so you never touch the figure itself. Rotate the handle, not your wrist.
  4. Basecoat every area with its main color, keeping paint thinned to milk consistency. Two thin coats beat one thick coat that buries sculpt detail.
  5. Apply a wash over the whole model. It flows into recesses and creates instant shadows; wick excess pooling off flat areas with a damp brush.
  6. Highlight by drybrushing raised edges with a lighter shade, or repaint sharp edges with your base color mixed with white. Focus on shoulders, weapon edges, and hair.
  7. Paint eyes last and minimally, or skip them entirely; dark eye sockets painted as shadow read fine at arm's length.
  8. Varnish with matte sealant once fully cured, then finish the base: glue sand, paint it brown, drybrush tan, add a tuft if you like.

Common mistakes

  • Painting straight from the pot. Unthinned acrylic clogs detail and streaks.
  • Using craft-grade synthetic brushes with bad points; a two-dollar brush with a fine tip beats a bad ten-dollar one.
  • Skipping primer and painting bare plastic. The paint beads and rubs off.

Related guides

Miniature-heavy games often run campaigns where painted figures recur; track progress across sessions with [[campaign-game-bookkeeping]]. If painting pushes you toward buying more boxed games, revisit [[build-starter-collection]] first, and protect card components with advice from [[card-sleeves-decision]].

← All guides