How to Paint Miniatures: The Complete Beginner's Guide

Warhammer, huh? Nice. Look, I know it can feel a bit overwhelming when you're staring at a box of gray plastic and thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?" But don't worry. I got your back.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'd do if I could go back in time and start this hobby all over again. What steps are actually valuable for a beginner? Because here's the thing. A lot of the techniques taught to new painters aren't meant to grow with you. They're just meant to get you started, and then you have to unlearn or relearn some things later. Seems inefficient, right?

This guide is your roadmap. I'll walk you through every step of painting miniatures, from setting up your workspace to finishing your first model. For each technique, I've got a dedicated deep-dive guide if you want the full breakdown. But start here. This is the overview that puts it all in order.

Setting Up Your Painting Space

Before we touch a single model, let's talk about where you're going to paint. You need three things:

A sturdy, flat surface. Ideally something you're not going to get in trouble for dribbling a little paint on. Make sure it's not too low. The last thing you want is to hunch over while you're painting. You also want to be able to rest your forearms or wrists right on the table. That'll support you and make sure you can actually hit those tiny details.

Any chair with back support. I started with just a cheap folding chair. Sure, my butt hurt after an hour, but it got the job done.

A desk lamp. Not just the lighting in your room. Even a cheap one from IKEA or Amazon works just great. I still use one of my first lights when I go to gaming stores or conventions. It's portable, bright, and does the job.

For the full workspace optimization guide (desk height, paint organization, ventilation for spraying), check out Setting Up Your Miniature Painting Workspace.

What You'll Need

Here's your quick shopping list. Keep it simple. You do not need to spend a fortune to start painting miniatures.

• Sprue clippers and a hobby knife (for assembly)
• Plastic cement (I prefer Tamiya Extra Thin)
• Spray primer (black recommended)
• Miniature paints (any brand your local store carries)
• A natural hair brush, size 1 or 2 (handles 80-90% of your painting)
• A wet palette (you can make one for free, see below)
• A cup of water and paper towel
• A painting handle (wine cork or old pill bottle with poster tack)

For the full gear breakdown with specific product recommendations, budget alternatives, and what's actually worth spending on, read Essential Tools and Supplies for Miniature Painting.

Making Your Own Wet Palette (For Free)

What's a wet palette, you ask? Good question. Gold star for the day.

Acrylic miniature paints are water-based. Water evaporates. On a regular dry palette, your paint starts to gum up and doesn't act like you want it to. A wet palette keeps hydration underneath the surface so your paint stays workable much longer.

You can buy a fancy one (like this one with my logo on it), or you can make one with stuff you already have:

1. Grab a plastic lid (like from a takeout container)
2. Fold a paper towel inside it
3. Soak that paper towel really well with water. Like, almost floating
4. Cut a piece of parchment paper the same size and lay it directly on top
5. Hold it down by the corners for a few seconds so it doesn't curl up

The top stays dry for mixing, but because it's sitting on that wet surface, the hydration stays stable. Your paint will thank you.

Step 1: Assembly

Before you can paint, you need to build. Warhammer models come on plastic frames called sprues, and you'll clip, clean, and glue them together following the instruction booklet. The key things to know: don't clip pieces flush to the sprue (leave a tiny nub and trim it), scrape off mold lines with the side of your hobby blade, and use plastic cement instead of super glue for a chemical bond that won't glue your fingers together.

Assembly is its own skill, and there are tricks that'll save you hours of frustration. I cover everything in the full guide: How to Assemble Miniatures: The Complete Guide.

Step 2: Priming

Primer is the first layer on your model. It protects paint from chipping and gives it something to grip (bare plastic is slippery). I prime black because unpainted hard-to-reach areas just look like natural shadows. Spray cans work best, but brush-on primer is fine if you don't have outdoor space.

There's actually a lot more to priming than most people realize. Black vs white vs grey, zenithal priming, brush-on vs spray vs airbrush. The full breakdown is here: Priming Miniatures: Everything You Need to Know.

Step 3: The Most Important Skill in Miniature Painting

I bet you think we're going to start painting now. Wrong. There's something I need to drill into your brain first, and I promise it'll make everything that follows actually enjoyable instead of frustrating.

Loading your brush and thinning your paint. This is it. This is the skill that separates "I love this hobby" from "I'm throwing these models in the trash."

1. Put a drop of paint on your wet palette
2. Mix in one brush-full of water. Goopy, thick paint is always your enemy
3. Before you touch your model, rinse the brush in your water cup
4. Dry it on your paper towel, twisting to keep a nice sharp tip
5. Load up about halfway up the bristles. Do NOT let paint get up to the metal ferrule
6. Dab the brush on your paper towel to remove excess
7. NOW you can paint

I know. It feels like 40 steps just to put paint on a model. I apologize. But this process gives you maximum control so the paint goes exactly where you want it on these tiny figures. Most frustration from new painters comes from skipping these steps.

But now you know. And you're going to crush it from the get-go.

Step 4: Base Coating

Base coating is where you lay down the core colors on your model. Paint from inside out (skin first, then shirt, then coat, then accessories) so mistakes land on areas you'll paint over anyway. The big rule: always do at least two or three thin coats. Acrylic paint is transparent over dark primer, and it takes multiple layers to get true, vibrant color. If your model looks splotchy after one coat, you are not doing anything wrong. That's how it works.

For the full breakdown on paint consistency, coverage troubleshooting, and metallic paints, read Basecoating Miniatures: The Foundation of Every Paint Job.

Step 5: Washes and Shading

After base coating, your model has color but looks flat. No depth, no three-dimensionality. Washes fix that instantly. A wash is a thin, watery paint formulated to run into recesses, making them darker and creating shadows. The two you'll use most are black and brown. Just push the wash into the low areas, let it settle, and watch your model come to life.

There's a whole world of washes beyond the basics. GW shades, Vallejo washes, oil washes, DIY washes from regular paint. The full guide covers all of them: Washes and Shading: The Easiest Way to Add Depth.

Step 6: Highlighting

If you want to stop after washes, stop. Be done and be proud of your work. Seriously. No pressure. But if you want to push your model further, highlighting the raised areas is what makes it look truly three-dimensional. Mix a bit of yellow and white into your base color, thin it a touch more than your base coat, and touch just the raised edges and surfaces.

There are several highlighting techniques, and they each serve different purposes. The full technique guides cover each one:

• Layering and Highlighting (building up smooth transitions)
• Edge Highlighting (making armor and hard surfaces pop)
• Drybrushing (fast highlights and texture, great for bases)

You Did It

That's the whole process. Assemble, prime, base coat, wash, highlight. Five steps. Everything else in miniature painting is a variation or refinement of these fundamentals.

Congratulations. Take a moment and pat yourself on the back. That model was gray plastic not that long ago, and you turned it into a one-of-a-kind miniature. Not many people can say that.

With each model you build and paint, your skills will improve. The foundational steps we went through today will grow with you. Soon you'll pick up new tips, tricks, and techniques. You'll be shocked at how good your models look. But it all starts with one, and you got through the one today.

Where to Go from Here

This guide is part of the Getting Started series. Here's the full learning path:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my painting desk. But I'll be back with more. Just make sure that sometime between now and then, you find time in your day to slay the gray.

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