How To: Miniature Painting

So this week I had time to paint only two miniatures. The one we’re going to discuss today is Robin Hood.

The last time we discussed painting miniatures, my advice was just a pain miniatures despite how good or not so good You are skills may be. Today we’re going to discuss the tools of the trade.

It seems to go without saying, but you need a few good brushes. There are several types out there, but in reality you could do with five decent brushes. You would need a large brush for painting on shading, a medium brush for doing some larger areas, a small brush for smaller details, and then a very small fine detail brush for doing fine detail work. For me, I have a rather nice and large brush set that my wife purchased for me for Christmas. I use maybe four brushes out of the whole thing. mostly because they’re nice brushes, I use older brushes for things like slathering on shade. Now, I know some of these terms I’m using maybe foreign but will explain those later, at a different date.

In addition to brushes, you obviously need paints. there are several paints from various companies that you can choose from. Vallejo is one commonly trusted name, as are the paints from Games Workshop, typically used for Warhammer games, but work well for any miniature painting. Personally, I have enjoyed using the Army Painter brand. They are the same quality as the other brands, but come in droppers, which make mixing paints and measuring out just the right amount of paint you need much easier than with paint pots from other brands. Again, this is just my humble opinion. There are other brands of acrylic paints, but remember: you get what you pay for. If you buy cheap paints, they won’t likely last very long. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.

Next up, you’re going to need something to use as a palette. I use a specific brand of plant-based breakfast sausage cartons which work very nicely for me. You can, of course, purchase a paint palette from any hobby store. I think that’s a waste of money. You do you.

Having a container of nail polish remover is always helpful. Nail polish remover is great for taking off that dried on paint that you change your mind on which color was going to go on. It’s also helpful for removing paint from other surfaces. Just remember, nail polish remover will take varnish off of wooden furniture and surfaces.

Lastly, you’re going to need some kind of container to hold water so that you can clean your brush in between colors. Acrylic paints are water soluble. As such, you want to be able to clean your brushes off with water. My wife and I like to buy tea from a company that provides loose leaf tea in small half pint jars made of glass with a metal lid. These work perfectly for me. Again, find something that works for you. Keep in mind, plastic will get stained.

Now that you have assembled all your tools and your paints, it’s time to get painting!

Next time we’re going to talk about differing techniques in base coating.

I hope to see you then!