Painting Miniatures for Beginners: Getting Started with Warhammer and Beyond
Miniature painting sits at the intersection of modelling, craftsmanship, and painting — you're working at a scale where detail is measured in millimetres, which demands patience and precision but produces results that are genuinely impressive. The Warhammer and tabletop RPG communities drive most of the beginner interest, but the hobby has its own competitive painting culture entirely separate from gaming.
- Thin your paints — this is the most-repeated advice in miniature painting for good reason; thick paint destroys detail
- The base coat → wash → drybrush sequence produces good-looking results very quickly and is the right starting system
- Citadel paints (Games Workshop) are excellent quality but expensive; Vallejo Model Color is a superb alternative at lower cost
- Start with a simple plastic model, not a resin display piece — plastic is forgiving, cheap to replace, and doesn't need priming prep
- Good light and magnification transform the experience; a daylight lamp and magnifying glass are worth buying early
Getting started
The miniature painting hobby typically enters through Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar ecosystems, but extends to historical miniatures, board game pieces, and solo display painting entirely separate from gaming.
Choose a starting kit:
- Warhammer: Starter Set or the standalone Paints Set from GW includes a small selection of miniatures, paints, and a brush (~$40–60)
- Contrast Paint Starter Set — GW's Contrast range of one-coat paints that do base coat and shading simultaneously are genuinely excellent for beginners
- Any plastic miniature kit from Warlord Games, Mantic, or GW
Start with plastic, not resin. Plastic is forgiving, cuts cleanly, and doesn't require the same surface prep that resin needs.
Paints and supplies
Paint range — Citadel (Games Workshop) is the industry standard for miniature painting: excellent coverage, wide range including specialist washes and drybrushing formulas. Expensive at $5–7 per pot. Vallejo Model Color is an excellent alternative at lower cost in dropper bottles (easier to dispense and thin). Both work well; many painters use a mix.
Essential paint types:
- Base paints — thick, high coverage for the initial coat
- Shade (wash) paints — thin, flow into recesses, create shadow automatically
- Layer paints — thinner, for highlights and layered colour
- Dry paints — chalky consistency for drybrushing
Brushes — a small set of Citadel or Artis Opus brushes including a standard layer brush (size 1) and a small detail brush (size 0 or 00) covers most needs. Maintain brushes well — thin paints, clean frequently with brush cleaner or water, and never let paint dry in the ferrule.
Primer/undercoat — always prime before painting. Citadel's spray undercoat in grey (a neutral base for any colour scheme) or an equivalent from Army Painter. Primer helps paint adhere and reveals surface detail.
Other supplies: a wet palette (~$15, or DIY with a sponge and baking paper), a small pot of water for thinning, a lamp (daylight LED desk lamp ~$30), and a magnifying glass or magnifying headband.
The base coat, wash, and highlight system
This three-stage system produces good results quickly:
1. Base coat — apply your main flat colour over the primed miniature. Thin the paint slightly with water (about 1:1 ratio for base paints). You may need two coats for even coverage. This establishes the overall colour.
2. Wash/shade — apply a wash (thinned dark paint) over the entire miniature. It flows into recesses — panel lines, joint gaps, deep folds — and creates shadow automatically, giving the miniature instant depth. Nuln Oil (dark grey-black, for metal and dark surfaces) and Agrax Earthshade (brown, for organic surfaces) are the two most-used washes.
3. Highlight/drybrush — once the wash dries, pick out raised surfaces. Drybrushing (loading a brush with paint then removing most of it on paper before applying — catches only the highest points) adds quick highlights to textured surfaces like fur, chainmail, or rough stone. For smooth surfaces, apply a slightly lighter version of your base colour to edges and raised areas.
Three steps, and you have a presentable miniature. Everything else (blending, object source lighting, non-metallic metal) is refinement of this foundation.
Thin your paints. Every experienced miniature painter will tell you this. Thick paint fills and obscures the detail that makes miniatures look good. The right consistency: paint should flow off your brush like liquid but still maintain colour — roughly semi-skimmed milk consistency. Add water a drop at a time and test on a piece of paper.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to play Warhammer to paint miniatures?
- No. Many painters buy and paint miniatures purely as an art form, never playing the game. The competitive display painting community (Golden Daemon, Crystal Brush) is entirely separate from gaming. You can buy miniatures from many manufacturers to paint as display pieces.
- How long does it take to paint a miniature?
- A tabletop-quality infantry model (painted to a good standard for gaming) takes 1–3 hours for a beginner using the base/wash/highlight system. A display-quality single model can take 10–50+ hours for experienced painters. There's no right answer — "good enough to play with" and "competition-level" are very different standards.
- What's the best miniature to start with?
- A single, relatively simple plastic space marine or human warrior — something with flat armour panels (easy to paint cleanly) and minimal fine detail (easier to shade and highlight). Avoid vehicles, cavalry, or highly detailed resin models for your first few pieces.
- Citadel paints vs. Vallejo — which should I start with?
- Both are excellent. Citadel is more widely referenced in GW-focused tutorials and hobby content; its pots are less convenient to use than dropper bottles but the paint quality is excellent. Vallejo Model Color in dropper bottles is better value and easier to dispense. Many painters use Citadel washes and drybrushing paints alongside Vallejo base colours.
The HobbyStack editorial team researches each guide using practitioner communities, published resources, and direct input from active hobbyists. Every guide is reviewed for accuracy before publication and updated when practices change.
About our editorial process →