Painting Miniatures

Bring tiny figures to life with a fine brush and a steady hand.

Painting Miniatures

Bring tiny figures to life with a fine brush and a steady hand.

Essentials~$78

DifficultyModerate

Time / session1–3 hr

WhereAt home

SpaceSmall corner

Full cost breakdown →

It's oddly meditative once you're settled under a lamp, building a face one thinned layer at a time. The frustration is in your own hands: a shaky line ruins an eye, a single thick coat drowns the detail you bought the model for.

Progress is measured in hours per figure, and you'll repaint the same cloak three times before it looks like anything.

When the highlights finally click, the tiny thing genuinely seems alive.

Fit

Is this for you?

Honest tradeoffs before you spend money or clear space.

You'll enjoy this if

Building a face one thinned layer at a time feels meditative under a lamp.
You'd happily put hours into a single figure to get it right.
The moment the highlights click and the mini looks alive is the draw.

Not for you if

A shaky line ruining an eye would frustrate you past the point of fun.
Want big, quick results, not progress measured in hours per figure.
Repainting the same cloak three times would test your patience badly.

Tends to suitThe MakerThe Artist

Gear

The full kit

The essentials run about $78 — you don't need it all to start. Each project lists only what it uses, and the first is often free. Links open Amazon (affiliate tag).

Wet Palette

Everlasting Wet Palette Painter V2

~$35Buy

Miniature Paint Brushes

Wargamer Most Wanted Brush Set

Buy

Miniature Paint Set

The Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Starter Set

~$43Buy

Primer Spray

The Army Painter Colour Primer Ash Grey

Buy

Guides

Buying guide

Not sure which to get? These break down the choices, with tested picks from budget to premium.

Best Miniature Paint Set for Beginners (2026): 3 Picks That Actually Work

The paint set is the heart of miniature painting, and the beginner trap is buying random craft acrylics that go on thick and hide all the detail. A proper miniature paint set is finely pigmented, flows off the brush, and is built to layer. Here are three good ones, from a loaded all-in-one kit to a pro-grade range.

Start here

How to start Painting Miniatures

A step-by-step path from your first attempt to work you're proud of. Tick as you go, saved on this device.

Paint your first mini

0 of 4 done

your next step

Get a mini, a few brushes and paints

One plastic miniature, a couple of good brushes and a handful of acrylics. The whole hobby starts on a desk.

Get a starter mini and paints

Getting started? Get a mini, brushes and paints

0 of 15 steps · saved on this device

nudge me when i'm ready

Paint your first mini

Get a mini, a few brushes and paints — One plastic miniature, a couple of good brushes and a handful of acrylics. The whole hobby starts on a desk.
Prime the mini — A thin coat of primer so paint grips and details stay crisp. Skip it and everything rubs off.
Base-coat the main areas — Block in each part in flat colour: armour, skin, cloth. The foundation everything else sits on.
Wash it to bring out the detail — A dark, runny wash settles into the recesses and instantly makes a flat mini look three-dimensional. The magic first trick.

Make it pop

Dry-brush the raised detail — Almost-dry paint catches only the edges and high points. Two minutes that make chainmail and fur look real.
Layer a highlight onto one surface — Build a lighter tone up in thin coats to mimic light hitting the top. The core skill of good mini painting.
Paint the eyes and face — The hardest few millimetres on the model, and the ones that give it life. Nail the eyes and the whole mini looks alive.
Finish a mini to tabletop standard — Base-coated, washed, highlighted and based, good enough to be proud of on the table. Your first real one.

Level up

Base the mini with flock and rocks — Texture, static grass and a rim colour turn the bare disc into a scene. The finishing touch that frames the model.
Edge-highlight armour and hard edges — A fine light line along every edge makes metal and plate read as sharp. Fiddly, and a huge step up in crispness.
Blend two colours smoothly on a cloak — A gradient from shadow to light with no visible steps. Blending is where painting minis becomes really satisfying.
Paint a whole squad to a matching standard — Five or ten minis that look like a unit, not a mismatched crowd. Consistency at speed is its own skill.

Showcase

Paint one mini to your display best — Take a single model as far as you can, no time limit. A display piece shows you what you're really capable of.
Post a finished mini to a painting community — Share it where other painters gather and soak up the feedback. The hobby's community is generous and pushes you fast.
Photograph and share a mini you're proud of — Good light, plain background, in focus. A clean photo of a finished model is the trophy for all those hours.

Read

Painting Miniatures guides

How to Thin Your Paints for Miniatures Without Losing the Detail

If you have painted a mini and it came out gloopy, streaky, or somehow blurry in the fine detail, the culprit is almost always paint that went on too thick, straight from the pot. Thinning your paint is the single most repeated piece of advice in this hobby, and for good reason. Here is what it actually means, how to get the consistency right, and the mistakes that quietly ruin an otherwise good paint job.

Gear guides