Check out Miniature Market for all your tabletop needs: www.miniaturemarket.com/blackmagiccraft BUY THE MINI I PAINTED IN THIS VIDEO: Reaper Bones Bandit Bully 77508: bit.ly/2jFIoJY BUY THE PAINTS I USED IN THIS VIDEO: FLESH - Fair Shadow 09046: bit.ly/2I5oKln TUNIC - Gory Red 09278: amzn.to/2I1l6sI BOOTS & STRAPS - Leather Brown 09030: bit.ly/2wnxm5i EYE WHITES - Pure White 09039: bit.ly/2jD7ngY EYE BLACK - Pure Black 09037: bit.ly/2I6m72R PLATE ARMOUR - Shadowed Steel 09052: bit.ly/2wlrU31 CHAINMAIL - Polished Silver 09054: bit.ly/2I3jazZ BRONZE ARMOUR - Ancient Bronze 09049: bit.ly/2rqy395 GROUND COVER - Muddy Brown 09028: bit.ly/2wu6rVN GROUND DRYBRUSH - Aged Bone 09059: bit.ly/2jFZyr8 BUY THE WASHES I USED IN THIS VIDEO: CITADEL NULN OIL: bit.ly/2rrzdRQ CITADEL FLESHSHADE: bit.ly/2whOidz Amazon links: (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases) ✂ Other Tools & Supplies I Recommend: goo.gl/Y7KKhY
Black Magic Craft I remember in a previous episode that you used the reaper triad system, do you have links for those or which set to start with of that out of the triad set?
So I had never painted any type of miniatures before but I always wanted to. So after watching your video I decided to give it a try because you made it look pretty easy to get into. So I picked up some Vallejo acrylic paints, washes and some cheap brushes and tried it out on a couple goblin figures from sword and sorcery. For my first attempt, I was thrilled the way they came out and your video really helped. Thank you.
Great try at it for a first time, much like me though I done it as a kid prior but not very detailed. Considering it's your first attempt based on a tips video it's really good! Use your own judgement going forward, I have found going back and back over again to find little ways to boost the visual spark of nuances in my models is brilliant, such as your model in that pic...could do with a little more colour to extenuate the contrasts and such/
I just realized that I never said "thank you" for these Basic Painting videos. They inspired me 7 months ago to take up miniature painting. Thank you so much. Cheers!
I've been watching painting videos for a week and this is BY FAR the best video I've found. You have the perfect balance of difficulty and information... and I'm a middle school teacher so take that as a HUGE compliment!!!!
Black Magic Craft, you are the man! I’ve dreaded painting minis for quite a long time, and you’ve rallied up my courage to attempt it again! Thank you! I’m getting started today!
I painted my first mini for my dad the other day and it is so fun. I wish I had the supplies that was made for painting minis but I made due. This is so helpful, thank you!
When painting a bunch of "Rebels" for our Star Wars RPG (Original West End version) I missed the touch up stage on one of the rebels eyes- leaving huge whites around his eyes. The result was, he perpetually looked "surprised" or angry, depending on the encounter. I didn't even notice it until we played and my player's had a good laugh about him. I left him that way. He became a very popular mini and we nicknamed him "Sergeant Coakley" named after Dallas LB Dexter Coakley whose intimidating gaze would shudder opposing QBs.
great vid! What's nice is that this vid should give anyone the confidence to get their hands dirty and try. Start painting. Use these steps. It will get you to the finish line with a nice result. As you gain experience, you can try new stuff, but don't overthink things and get paralysis by analysis about how you're going to paint the perfect mini. That's how you end up with dozens of boxes of models sitting in the corner collecting dust because you didn't want to screw up the paint job. Lol. I need to get to painting!
On painting the eyes of miniatures, I paint the whites as you indicated but over the years began using a sharp straight point dental instrument to dip the fine tip into black paint and press an indentation into the white eye. You then have a small black circular pupil! For 20mm and 25mm miniatures it looks great, whether plastic or metal. Love your channel!
Great beginners guide. Everything you need right there. This is pretty much all I do with my stuff. Sure this will be invaluable for alot of gamers. Just a side note. The flesh wash is just a brown wash can be used on other areas to give shading like the leather belt straps/bags/brown boots an packs ect. Even over some clothing. Also if your not too sure about highlighting try giving the model a very very gentle dry brushing. Pretty much a frosting (nowhere near as much paint as an over brush) with bleached bone before you add the washes. It's surprisingly effective.
Dear lord! I think this video was a godsend. I have been overthinking painting for so long! To hear someone explain it so simply is so nice! Thank you sir!
I've been painting a while, I love washes and incs. They make minis pop. The flesh shade also makes leather look really cool, the same with bronze, brass and copper. You can use pens as well to color the eyes.
Just getting back into the hobby, so thanks for this. Just ordered Vallejo primer, Vallejo model paints, and an army painter wash. Can’t wait to start!
Glad to see somebody else uses that Krylon for a sealer. I have been using it as my preferred sealer for a long time now. And I still get guys telling me it will never work and that I have to start using this high dollar primer or that one. Stuff that's $15-20 a can. Thank you for this video. And thank you for recommending the Krylon sealer.
I've used Krylon sealers for years, but now I'm finding, either because my taste has changed or because their recipe has changed, that the matte Krylons are not so matte. I still use Krylon for gloss, but now I use the Testor's clear coat for the dull, matte finishes. My usual finishing process now is: • Krylon gloss spray sealant over everything, because it's the most protective... • Testor's dullcote spray over everything, because it is the look I want, • Cheap (liquitex, ceramcoat) brush-on gloss coat applied to metals, 'wet' spots and areas that need shine. That's my 2¢, anyway!
Remember, the only way to get good at something is to continue doing it. Totally agreed with the painting, or non-painting of eyes. When you hold up a 28-32mm figure to look at it and imagine that you are looking at a real person at the proper distance, you will not see the eyes. The eyes would just look like dark recesses at those distances. More figures are ruined by poor eye painting.
Ive been a model painter for a few years and ive always wondered what the difference in composition is between craft paint and model paint. Thank you for the info 😀
Thank you for the comfortable and enthusiastic vid, having only painted three skeletons, this morning, I can say this vid has been enormously helpful and reassuring. Now I can't wait to watch your landscaping vids!!
Very solid intro painting tutorial. The one big thing I usually suggest is that if you're going to paint eyes, paint them before you paint the face. This lets you cut in your skintone to clean up the edges of the eyes before you get to washing and you avoid the line of unshaded flesh that cleaning up the eyes last can give you. Minor point though, as I completely agree that eyes really are optional.
Thanks for this. Been collecting and painting miniatures (badly) for over 30 years. I really needed to unlearn what I had learned, which wasn't much, and start again . I'll be trying these techniques this weekend!
This was excellent video. I've used crappy model paints for years! It was great getting some pointers from someone that is knowledgeable! The cork and sticky tack was genius!
yeah thats exactly what I do.. google the mini to check it out and than use it as a reference for the fine details... your tips are bang on... anyone new to this hobby should be listening to you...
I am coming back to painting minis after about 35 years. I went to my local shop Little Shop of Magic in Vegas and was overwhelmed by the advances in paint (the product). You have not only made me feel comfortable about doing these again, but I can't wait to get to the next step of advanced stuff later on. I am gonna do it! TY TY TY!
There are many things to consider, when painting minis. but BMC is right , it doesn't need that much to get a mini on tabletop standard. but if you wanna know more about mini painting here's a quick rundown of techniques/ helpful tips : - clean your models with dishsoap and a toothbrush before priming - remove moldlines -use rattlecan primers with the colors you wanna have primarly on your mini to get them faster done - zenithal highlighting : prime them black, and then with a white paint sprayed in a 45° angle from above for more realistic lighting - thin down your paints! and use a wet palette - use premade washes from any manufacturer like secret weapon or games-workshop for example - use a color wheel / learn the color theory - use appropriate brushes for the job :D - techniques: drybrushing, layering, glazing, accentuating/highlighting , wet blending - get an airbrush if you're really into the hobby to speed things up - check out other mini painters for inspiration or warhammer tv for tutorials , for me they were really helpful! let us all thank Jeremy for his hard work and his contributions to the community!
Good list, but for the record most of it WAS covered in the previous episodes of this series. I've skipped a few techniques like zenithal priming as I think it's more of an advanced technique.
Side note....the learn colour theory is the most underrated skill for mini painting. So many minis look underwhelming simply because they lack some good contrasting colours. A mediocre paint job with really good colour choices will still look great.
Black Magic Craft you're totally right ! I'm now several years into the hobby and just started a week ago learning the color theory. It helps so much :D keep up the work man , your videos have brought life into our D&D groups and i really look forward to more creations of yours :) but i just wanted to help out a bit by listing everything , because we are a community, a family that share a hobby and a passion !
Dry brushing is done with a more or less worn brush (don't use your best!). My favorite dry brushes are the flat variety. You dip the tip of the brush into a highlight paint of whatever you happen to be painting (light red, for instance, if you're dry brushing dark red). Wipe the end of the brush off onto a kleenex or piece of paper towel until you DON'T SEE PAINT RUBBING OFF ONTO THE PAPER. There's still paint in the bristles, the brush is just trying to fool you. Next, very lightly brush the bristles back and forth across whatever part of the mini you want to highlight. If all is well, you'll start to see the highlight color picking up the high points on your miniature. Once you're satisfied, rinse the dry brush off well, dry it, and stow it away. Or dry brush a different color onto a different part of the miniature. Dry brushing is fairly easy and can really make your miniature 'pop'.
When it comes to painting bases I do two colors around the outside! Lots of games have mechanics where line of sight is in your front 180 degree arc. I usually do the back half of the base in black and then the front half of the base in a navy or a color that matches the model so I have an easy and quick way to determine facing!
For Warmachine and Hordes, I do the arcs by just drawing a line on the edges of the base in line with the shoulders. That way I can still base it how I like. For like WH40K, DND, and the likes, I just paint the edges black.
I'm really glad I found your video I've been trying to find a basic video to get better with painting and I've been freaking out with these pros that have 15 steps to highlight This was exactly what I was looking for!
I just stumbled on this particular vid even though I've watched the terrain vids for a few weeks (they're great!), but I'm shocked because this is how I've been painting army tabletop game pieces for a long while... I had no idea others did it this way too, lol. Like... every detail (I always do 2 highlight layers), except the eyes - I'm blessed with the steady hand for the pupils, but your pupil way will be so helpful to my friends, so thank you! I can attest that this works fantastically and if you want some solid tabletop ready pieces, listen to him!
I love using bottlecaps as a handle to paint minis on, you can put them on different size bottles to fit your hands and can clamp the bottle down if needed
Very solid miniature painting advice for beginners. I've been painting minis for several years now for boardgames, and this gets you to what we call "tabletop standard", which is great. I do wish I had this type of tutorial when I started painting. I had to learn about the glory of washes much later lol
Even though I’ve done a lot of traditional modeling, I’m still watching this as i will be painting figures for my brother and don’t want to disappoint him in the slightest
Great video thanks. I ues to paint Warhammer 40,000 miniatures years ago, and I’m getting back into painting minis again. This video has some helpful tips.
Just got me and my friend our first starter packs of minis, got him Lizard men and me the Skaven from Warhammer lol, been assembling them this last week and the painting starts today! Thanks for the helpful video 💚
Quick tip if you don't want to repaint the bottom ring of the base: just use tape (like painters tape or Tamiya edge tape) cut to fit the edge. When you're finished painting the mini just peel the tape off and you're done!
As a quite seasoned figure painter, a couple of things: First of all, eyes. A 28 mm figure on a tabletop is the equivalent of seeing a person about 150 meters away, and your eyesight needs to be damn good to make out any details. If necessary, a very dark brown line across the eye will do just fine. Secondly, I have painted a lot of figures with the base coat and a wash, and then let them be like that, for one simple reason: I want them murky, dark and kind of dirty. It all depends on what kind of figure you are painting, but say demons, undead and the like look fine with just that. Also, since I paint demons deliberately in as disturbing color schemes as possible (purple, green and red for example) with a lot of wet blending, it becomes quite hard to find the correct highlinght color for that exact shade of whatever-that-is-is-that-the-color-of-magic?. But a dark wash in as equally disturbing colors (sepia is fun) over that really helps showing that these things are not the good guys.
I’ve always wondered why miniatures would look so “clean”, when they’re crawling through dungeons killing things all day. At least that’s my excuse for leaving em grimy and dirty.
Wow! Reading over these comments saddened me somewhat! There were far too many condemning the explanations and suggestions given. The stated target of this video was “For Beginners”, and this video addresses so many potentially troublesome aspects of miniature painting as concisely as possible! Thanks for being so thorough and generous with some really helpful tips!
finally moved from craft paint to reaper after much research lol now that i found that you use reaper paint i feel good that I made this choice too now just need to get out of my slump and get painting again
Incredible video, all the other painting tutorial videos i found were way too comprehensive for a beginner like me and I got really confused but this video helped me level up my painting. Thanks!
Great video, liked pretty much everything. The only point I would disagree with is the statement about washes; I know plenty of veteran painters (myself included) who still uses washes all the time because they're so useful. Not only do they help bring out recessed details, they can be used to knock back highlights if you take them to far and tie your layers of highlight colors together. If anyone's looking for a great alternative to Citadel washes (nothing wrong with them, but they tend to be more expensive), I can highly recommend Army Painter Shades; they work as well (in my opinion/experience) as Citadel washes and you'll save a bit of money on them.
I started painting mini's over ten years ago and I have never heard of the wash. Great video. Even a experienced painter like me learned a lot from your video. I prefer the basic painting style unless it's a special character.
Miniature paints and washes used for bases and on easy figures like Ghosts and Skeletons will look great even for very new painters. As well, I made great experiences with metallic inks and models that wear full armor to work great together. Just ink them in 2 or 3 different colors, wait for it to dry and put some dirty wash over it afterwards... it will look great and is easy to dublicate for warbands and armies.
Great video. I would recommend not waiting for last to paint the base. I usually paint the base first, as the base is typically easier to fix if it encounters a stray brush strokes. Also, I tape off the edges of my bases with masking tape so that they retain the shiny black look. (I use GW style black bases) They not only look better, but you never have to worry about paint rubbing off from handling.
Thanks for the video. I'm a beginning hobbyist and I find myself unable to summon the courage to put my models to the brush, but after seeing this video, I think I can start.
Just got into the hobby. Have painted a handful of minis. This video was exactly what I was looking for! Especially painting bases of some of the DnD Adventure Game Minis.
This tutorial did so much for me! I’m used to 40K minis so I’m used to open spaces and so on, I love reapers poses but hate how unfriendly they are to paint. Finished my second mini from them and I already saw a big leap in quality, can’t wait to get to my next ones!
I like that you mentioned that using crafting paint isn’t for beginners! I’ve been using FolkArt paint since high school, and I’m 45 now. So I know how to manipulate my paint like arcane sorcerer. While this is a fairly new hobby for me, I know how to work my tools.
Seriously thanks for this vid. I have just decided to start painting without any artistic background and everything is so intimidating. You just made the whole process really approachable to someone just starting and your results were pretty awesome to the point I would feel amazing if I got my minis to it!
I'm loving your videos on mini painting, BMC! I just started the hobby myself and can't get enough of it. Your simple tip of using a wine cork as a grip was a game changer. No joke. So simple yet so crucial for me, haha. Thanks for all your hard work! Can't wait to go through all of your videos on minis!
Nice vid, a tip for doing eyes is to use a tip of a stick pin with just a slight dab of black paint and let it run or flow off the tip of the needle...works great!!!
“Don’t use the cheap terrain wash I use” Hahaha, that’s good advice. I remember seeing your video and using it on my dragon. Had to repaint the dragon afterwards! #LearningExperience
Want to know why I subscribed after watching this, my first video experience from this creator? The content was easy to follow and the comment section was void of irritation.
Jeremy. I love your videos. This was another great addition to the hobby and community. I have been trying to find more good info on basic mini painting and this hit the nail on the head. I have completed two mins at this point and hope to do more very soon. Thank you!!!
The consistency, size, and amount of pigment in the craft stuff is mainly why it is the "cheap" craft stuff. I'm thinking of trying with some of the more expensive acrylic paints. It has been my experience that as you move up the price points, in general the amount of pigment increases and it's consistency and granularity also increases. That and I have a pretty good selection of mid tier acrylics that cost as much or more than comparable mini paints. Granted I don't think I have ever thinned out my paints that far but it's a good chance to try out the new wet pallet.
I love this series and I have been painting for about six months and feel that this would have saved me some time. I only use a Mat coat with varnish but will start doing a gloss then mat
Excellent excellent excellent video. Not sure if you’d qualify this as an “advanced” technique, but might want to suggest applying a gloss coat before adding a wash. It will flow way better. I enjoyed this and your most recent video with miniac!
My first ever mini, I painted it with paint markers. It was insanely difficult, and it looked pretty bad. But it was mine and it was good. I am really happy someone is helping beginners learn to paint minis.😁
I've been using straight Mod Podge as a sealer on cetain types of mini, although the "matte" version still leaves a VERY slight sheen. Works great, and I have lots of it!
Just a quick point... The yellowing of the protective/varnish coat on the minis is usually caused by the acrylic or polyurethane being degraded by UV light. The coating stays clearer if you find protective coatings that contain UV inhibitors. Krylon and Plasticote do, I think and others may as well. It should be mentioned on the back of the tin/ can somewhere.
I'm big into miniature painting for D&D and board games. I've watched about a hundred videos and this basic video really is all a beginner needs for great gaming minis:) You touched on all the important issues. Lately, I'm using Army Painter Quickshade (lightest colored one) to wash and protect my minis (1 step) without doing a highlight layer whenever I want to do a lot of quick minis fast. However, they are really glossy and will need a dull coat if glossy bothers you:) MINIATURE MARKET is great, be sure to look into their "Customer Hold" option that lets you spread your game purchases out and do combined free shipping.
Yea, the goal here was a you know nothing about painting minis? This is a one stop shop to get you going.....you can build on the skills and techniques later.
Check out Miniature Market for all your tabletop needs:
www.miniaturemarket.com/blackmagiccraft
BUY THE MINI I PAINTED IN THIS VIDEO:
Reaper Bones Bandit Bully 77508: bit.ly/2jFIoJY
BUY THE PAINTS I USED IN THIS VIDEO:
FLESH - Fair Shadow 09046: bit.ly/2I5oKln
TUNIC - Gory Red 09278: amzn.to/2I1l6sI
BOOTS & STRAPS - Leather Brown 09030: bit.ly/2wnxm5i
EYE WHITES - Pure White 09039: bit.ly/2jD7ngY
EYE BLACK - Pure Black 09037: bit.ly/2I6m72R
PLATE ARMOUR - Shadowed Steel 09052: bit.ly/2wlrU31
CHAINMAIL - Polished Silver 09054: bit.ly/2I3jazZ
BRONZE ARMOUR - Ancient Bronze 09049: bit.ly/2rqy395
GROUND COVER - Muddy Brown 09028: bit.ly/2wu6rVN
GROUND DRYBRUSH - Aged Bone 09059: bit.ly/2jFZyr8
BUY THE WASHES I USED IN THIS VIDEO:
CITADEL NULN OIL: bit.ly/2rrzdRQ
CITADEL FLESHSHADE: bit.ly/2whOidz
Amazon links: (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)
✂ Other Tools & Supplies I Recommend: goo.gl/Y7KKhY
Black Magic Craft I remember in a previous episode that you used the reaper triad system, do you have links for those or which set to start with of that out of the triad set?
Havent washs been baned?
Talk about a shopping list
So I had never painted any type of miniatures before but I always wanted to. So after watching your video I decided to give it a try because you made it look pretty easy to get into. So I picked up some Vallejo acrylic paints, washes and some cheap brushes and tried it out on a couple goblin figures from sword and sorcery. For my first attempt, I was thrilled the way they came out and your video really helped. Thank you.
I'm so glad you gave it a try!
Great try at it for a first time, much like me though I done it as a kid prior but not very detailed. Considering it's your first attempt based on a tips video it's really good! Use your own judgement going forward, I have found going back and back over again to find little ways to boost the visual spark of nuances in my models is brilliant, such as your model in that pic...could do with a little more colour to extenuate the contrasts and such/
@@withteethfilmssp7794 Thank you for sharing the pictures!
Yeah good video.
Wow... looks great... I just ordered my Vallejo paints and washes... can't wait to get started!
I just realized that I never said "thank you" for these Basic Painting videos. They inspired me 7 months ago to take up miniature painting. Thank you so much. Cheers!
And this comment was 7 months ago! Lol
Here we go again 7 months later!
@@pimc172 another 10 months!
I've been watching painting videos for a week and this is BY FAR the best video I've found. You have the perfect balance of difficulty and information... and I'm a middle school teacher so take that as a HUGE compliment!!!!
I like your style man. No BS, just results.
Intro ends at 3:28 for those that wanna skip right to the action
thanks sooo much. to much blah blah
Thanks 👍
Actually, the "blah blah blah" was informative because i would be using crafting paint and not Mini paint. Saves me a headache.
What action? He does do anything lol. He holds a finished mini and talks...
Thanks
was hoping to see more of the actual paint being applied. the info is great, just wanted more example during the descriptions.
Me too
Saved me a watch! Thanks
Black Magic Craft, you are the man! I’ve dreaded painting minis for quite a long time, and you’ve rallied up my courage to attempt it again! Thank you! I’m getting started today!
Grabing my brush, gathering my miniatures, sweat pearling on my forehead.
"So it Begins.."
I painted my first mini for my dad the other day and it is so fun. I wish I had the supplies that was made for painting minis but I made due. This is so helpful, thank you!
When painting a bunch of "Rebels" for our Star Wars RPG (Original West End version) I missed the touch up stage on one of the rebels eyes- leaving huge whites around his eyes. The result was, he perpetually looked "surprised" or angry, depending on the encounter. I didn't even notice it until we played and my player's had a good laugh about him. I left him that way. He became a very popular mini and we nicknamed him "Sergeant Coakley" named after Dallas LB Dexter Coakley whose intimidating gaze would shudder opposing QBs.
I love this story. xD That’s great!
This is a fantastic video for a new mini painter. It has given me way more confidence to get started after buying all the gear and then stalling.
Such a great series, I have watched them all multiple times
great vid! What's nice is that this vid should give anyone the confidence to get their hands dirty and try. Start painting. Use these steps. It will get you to the finish line with a nice result. As you gain experience, you can try new stuff, but don't overthink things and get paralysis by analysis about how you're going to paint the perfect mini. That's how you end up with dozens of boxes of models sitting in the corner collecting dust because you didn't want to screw up the paint job. Lol. I need to get to painting!
On painting the eyes of miniatures, I paint the whites as you indicated but over the years began using a sharp straight point dental instrument to dip the fine tip into black paint and press an indentation into the white eye. You then have a small black circular pupil! For 20mm and 25mm miniatures it looks great, whether plastic or metal. Love your channel!
Great beginners guide. Everything you need right there. This is pretty much all I do with my stuff. Sure this will be invaluable for alot of gamers.
Just a side note. The flesh wash is just a brown wash can be used on other areas to give shading like the leather belt straps/bags/brown boots an packs ect. Even over some clothing.
Also if your not too sure about highlighting try giving the model a very very gentle dry brushing. Pretty much a frosting (nowhere near as much paint as an over brush) with bleached bone before you add the washes. It's surprisingly effective.
Dear lord! I think this video was a godsend. I have been overthinking painting for so long! To hear someone explain it so simply is so nice! Thank you sir!
I've been painting a while, I love washes and incs. They make minis pop. The flesh shade also makes leather look really cool, the same with bronze, brass and copper. You can use pens as well to color the eyes.
I'm not a beginner, but I've been away for a few years... OK, several years. A refresher is going to be nice
Wow, a beginner video from a pro with actually has very real world beginner tips and explanations - excellent, thank you, you have another sub.
Just getting back into the hobby, so thanks for this. Just ordered Vallejo primer, Vallejo model paints, and an army painter wash. Can’t wait to start!
Glad to see somebody else uses that Krylon for a sealer. I have been using it as my preferred sealer for a long time now. And I still get guys telling me it will never work and that I have to start using this high dollar primer or that one. Stuff that's $15-20 a can. Thank you for this video. And thank you for recommending the Krylon sealer.
I've used Krylon sealers for years, but now I'm finding, either because my taste has changed or because their recipe has changed, that the matte Krylons are not so matte. I still use Krylon for gloss, but now I use the Testor's clear coat for the dull, matte finishes. My usual finishing process now is:
• Krylon gloss spray sealant over everything, because it's the most protective...
• Testor's dullcote spray over everything, because it is the look I want,
• Cheap (liquitex, ceramcoat) brush-on gloss coat applied to metals, 'wet' spots and areas that need shine.
That's my 2¢, anyway!
I've just started painting and this has to the best video I've watched so far and I've watched a lot of them!!
Remember, the only way to get good at something is to continue doing it. Totally agreed with the painting, or non-painting of eyes. When you hold up a 28-32mm figure to look at it and imagine that you are looking at a real person at the proper distance, you will not see the eyes. The eyes would just look like dark recesses at those distances. More figures are ruined by poor eye painting.
Ive been a model painter for a few years and ive always wondered what the difference in composition is between craft paint and model paint. Thank you for the info 😀
Thank you for the comfortable and enthusiastic vid, having only painted three skeletons, this morning, I can say this vid has been enormously helpful and reassuring. Now I can't wait to watch your landscaping vids!!
Between you and Brent at Goobertown i have a good feeling as a beginner mini painter thanks so much
Very solid intro painting tutorial.
The one big thing I usually suggest is that if you're going to paint eyes, paint them before you paint the face. This lets you cut in your skintone to clean up the edges of the eyes before you get to washing and you avoid the line of unshaded flesh that cleaning up the eyes last can give you. Minor point though, as I completely agree that eyes really are optional.
Thanks for this. Been collecting and painting miniatures (badly) for over 30 years. I really needed to unlearn what I had learned, which wasn't much, and start again . I'll be trying these techniques this weekend!
This was excellent video. I've used crappy model paints for years! It was great getting some pointers from someone that is knowledgeable! The cork and sticky tack was genius!
yeah thats exactly what I do.. google the mini to check it out and than use it as a reference for the fine details... your tips are bang on... anyone new to this hobby should be listening to you...
I am coming back to painting minis after about 35 years. I went to my local shop Little Shop of Magic in Vegas and was overwhelmed by the advances in paint (the product). You have not only made me feel comfortable about doing these again, but I can't wait to get to the next step of advanced stuff later on. I am gonna do it! TY TY TY!
Buckeyes baby!
My dude.
Even as someone who’s been painting for a bit, this “painting basics” series is great to watch
There are many things to consider, when painting minis. but BMC is right , it doesn't need that much to get a mini on tabletop standard.
but if you wanna know more about mini painting here's a quick rundown of techniques/ helpful tips :
- clean your models with dishsoap and a toothbrush before priming
- remove moldlines
-use rattlecan primers with the colors you wanna have primarly on your mini to get them faster done
- zenithal highlighting : prime them black, and then with a white paint sprayed in a 45° angle from above for more realistic lighting
- thin down your paints! and use a wet palette
- use premade washes from any manufacturer like secret weapon or games-workshop for example
- use a color wheel / learn the color theory
- use appropriate brushes for the job :D
- techniques: drybrushing, layering, glazing, accentuating/highlighting , wet blending
- get an airbrush if you're really into the hobby to speed things up
- check out other mini painters for inspiration or warhammer tv for tutorials , for me they were really helpful!
let us all thank Jeremy for his hard work and his contributions to the community!
Good list, but for the record most of it WAS covered in the previous episodes of this series. I've skipped a few techniques like zenithal priming as I think it's more of an advanced technique.
Side note....the learn colour theory is the most underrated skill for mini painting. So many minis look underwhelming simply because they lack some good contrasting colours. A mediocre paint job with really good colour choices will still look great.
Black Magic Craft you're totally right ! I'm now several years into the hobby and just started a week ago learning the color theory. It helps so much :D keep up the work man , your videos have brought life into our D&D groups and i really look forward to more creations of yours :) but i just wanted to help out a bit by listing everything , because we are a community, a family that share a hobby and a passion !
Please explain dry brushing
Dry brushing is done with a more or less worn brush (don't use your best!). My favorite dry brushes are the flat variety. You dip the tip of the brush into a highlight paint of whatever you happen to be painting (light red, for instance, if you're dry brushing dark red). Wipe the end of the brush off onto a kleenex or piece of paper towel until you DON'T SEE PAINT RUBBING OFF ONTO THE PAPER. There's still paint in the bristles, the brush is just trying to fool you. Next, very lightly brush the bristles back and forth across whatever part of the mini you want to highlight. If all is well, you'll start to see the highlight color picking up the high points on your miniature. Once you're satisfied, rinse the dry brush off well, dry it, and stow it away. Or dry brush a different color onto a different part of the miniature. Dry brushing is fairly easy and can really make your miniature 'pop'.
When it comes to painting bases I do two colors around the outside! Lots of games have mechanics where line of sight is in your front 180 degree arc. I usually do the back half of the base in black and then the front half of the base in a navy or a color that matches the model so I have an easy and quick way to determine facing!
For Warmachine and Hordes, I do the arcs by just drawing a line on the edges of the base in line with the shoulders. That way I can still base it how I like. For like WH40K, DND, and the likes, I just paint the edges black.
This is how I found this channel. I was curious about getting into mini painting, and found one of my favorite channels.
So excited to bring my character to life with your help! Thank you!
I'm really glad I found your video
I've been trying to find a basic video to get better with painting and I've been freaking out with these pros that have 15 steps to highlight
This was exactly what I was looking for!
You're right about Miniature Market having lots of good stuff - if it's in stock!!
I just stumbled on this particular vid even though I've watched the terrain vids for a few weeks (they're great!), but I'm shocked because this is how I've been painting army tabletop game pieces for a long while... I had no idea others did it this way too, lol. Like... every detail (I always do 2 highlight layers), except the eyes - I'm blessed with the steady hand for the pupils, but your pupil way will be so helpful to my friends, so thank you! I can attest that this works fantastically and if you want some solid tabletop ready pieces, listen to him!
I appreciate the disclaimer of "don't use the terrain wash", I absolutely was about to do that when I watched this for the first time a few years ago.
I love using bottlecaps as a handle to paint minis on, you can put them on different size bottles to fit your hands and can clamp the bottle down if needed
Fill the bottle with water or gravel.
Very solid miniature painting advice for beginners. I've been painting minis for several years now for boardgames, and this gets you to what we call "tabletop standard", which is great. I do wish I had this type of tutorial when I started painting. I had to learn about the glory of washes much later lol
Even though I’ve done a lot of traditional modeling, I’m still watching this as i will be painting figures for my brother and don’t want to disappoint him in the slightest
Great video thanks. I ues to paint Warhammer 40,000 miniatures years ago, and I’m getting back into painting minis again. This video has some helpful tips.
This was a great and very helpful video. Thanks.
I've used craft paints on my minis since the late '60's. I was a commission painter for a while. I've NEVER had any trouble with them
I don’t care what any one says! I enjoy your painting minis vids. Keep up the awesome work!
Really good basic approach for a beginner like me. Thank you! Really clear. Not a lot of fluff. Great video. I just subscribed after watching this.
I have fallen into the world of Dnd and have brought my first lot of minis to paint. Your video was very informative for a noob like me. Thank you!
This was super helpful. I am about to start my big trouble in little china miniatures and I watched this again for some basic reminders.
I love miniature market. Will definitely be picking up paint from them
I got some minis and paints for my birthday and have been scared to start! Now I’m a bit more confident in getting some done before D&D!
This video has given me the confidence to finally start painting minis
Love the vids, keep up the great work.
You, sir, are truly very kind for sharing your invaluable knowledge and craftiness. Liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the video. I've just started printing terrain and minis and am about ready to start painting. So much to learn!
Just got me and my friend our first starter packs of minis, got him Lizard men and me the Skaven from Warhammer lol, been assembling them this last week and the painting starts today! Thanks for the helpful video 💚
Thank you so much for the video. I had no idea where to start before this, but I feel pretty confident now.
Quick tip if you don't want to repaint the bottom ring of the base: just use tape (like painters tape or Tamiya edge tape) cut to fit the edge. When you're finished painting the mini just peel the tape off and you're done!
As a quite seasoned figure painter, a couple of things:
First of all, eyes. A 28 mm figure on a tabletop is the equivalent of seeing a person about 150 meters away, and your eyesight needs to be damn good to make out any details. If necessary, a very dark brown line across the eye will do just fine.
Secondly, I have painted a lot of figures with the base coat and a wash, and then let them be like that, for one simple reason: I want them murky, dark and kind of dirty. It all depends on what kind of figure you are painting, but say demons, undead and the like look fine with just that. Also, since I paint demons deliberately in as disturbing color schemes as possible (purple, green and red for example) with a lot of wet blending, it becomes quite hard to find the correct highlinght color for that exact shade of whatever-that-is-is-that-the-color-of-magic?. But a dark wash in as equally disturbing colors (sepia is fun) over that really helps showing that these things are not the good guys.
I’ve always wondered why miniatures would look so “clean”, when they’re crawling through dungeons killing things all day. At least that’s my excuse for leaving em grimy and dirty.
Wow! Reading over these comments saddened me somewhat! There were far too many condemning the explanations and suggestions given. The stated target of this video was “For Beginners”, and this video addresses so many potentially troublesome aspects of miniature painting as concisely as possible! Thanks for being so thorough and generous with some really helpful tips!
finally moved from craft paint to reaper after much research lol now that i found that you use reaper paint i feel good that I made this choice too now just need to get out of my slump and get painting again
Incredible video, all the other painting tutorial videos i found were way too comprehensive for a beginner like me and I got really confused but this video helped me level up my painting. Thanks!
Great video, liked pretty much everything. The only point I would disagree with is the statement about washes; I know plenty of veteran painters (myself included) who still uses washes all the time because they're so useful. Not only do they help bring out recessed details, they can be used to knock back highlights if you take them to far and tie your layers of highlight colors together. If anyone's looking for a great alternative to Citadel washes (nothing wrong with them, but they tend to be more expensive), I can highly recommend Army Painter Shades; they work as well (in my opinion/experience) as Citadel washes and you'll save a bit of money on them.
Great vid! Im recently got hooked on D&D and have some vampires and werewolves to paint
I started painting mini's over ten years ago and I have never heard of the wash. Great video. Even a experienced painter like me learned a lot from your video. I prefer the basic painting style unless it's a special character.
Miniature paints and washes used for bases and on easy figures like Ghosts and Skeletons will look great even for very new painters. As well, I made great experiences with metallic inks and models that wear full armor to work great together. Just ink them in 2 or 3 different colors, wait for it to dry and put some dirty wash over it afterwards... it will look great and is easy to dublicate for warbands and armies.
I’ve been searching for a simple tutorial and you made this complex hobby easy. Thank you.
Great video. I would recommend not waiting for last to paint the base. I usually paint the base first, as the base is typically easier to fix if it encounters a stray brush strokes.
Also, I tape off the edges of my bases with masking tape so that they retain the shiny black look. (I use GW style black bases) They not only look better, but you never have to worry about paint rubbing off from handling.
Thanks for the video. I'm a beginning hobbyist and I find myself unable to summon the courage to put my models to the brush, but after seeing this video, I think I can start.
Just got into the hobby. Have painted a handful of minis. This video was exactly what I was looking for! Especially painting bases of some of the DnD Adventure Game Minis.
This tutorial did so much for me! I’m used to 40K minis so I’m used to open spaces and so on, I love reapers poses but hate how unfriendly they are to paint. Finished my second mini from them and I already saw a big leap in quality, can’t wait to get to my next ones!
I've seriously been considering getting into the mini painting thing. Thanks for your inspiration. I'll be watching more of your vids.
I've just used acrylic paint and watered down paint as wash and things have turned out great. I just started last November.
I like that you mentioned that using crafting paint isn’t for beginners! I’ve been using FolkArt paint since high school, and I’m 45 now. So I know how to manipulate my paint like arcane sorcerer. While this is a fairly new hobby for me, I know how to work my tools.
I know this video is over a year old, but this is a great beginner guide! Gonna use these techniques to help my 9yo niece paint her dnd mini!
I'll be teaching my 10yo daughter to play d&d this weekend. Did your niece pick it up fast?
Amazingly informative and explained in such a relaxing way.
Seriously thanks for this vid. I have just decided to start painting without any artistic background and everything is so intimidating. You just made the whole process really approachable to someone just starting and your results were pretty awesome to the point I would feel amazing if I got my minis to it!
Great! That was the goal :)
Thank you. This is my first try and you were very educational for a beginner,
I'm loving your videos on mini painting, BMC! I just started the hobby myself and can't get enough of it. Your simple tip of using a wine cork as a grip was a game changer. No joke. So simple yet so crucial for me, haha. Thanks for all your hard work! Can't wait to go through all of your videos on minis!
Nice vid, a tip for doing eyes is to use a tip of a stick pin with just a slight dab of black paint and let it run or flow off the tip of the needle...works great!!!
Been excitedly waiting for this video to round out the Minis series. Great advice, can't wait to see more
Enjoy!
“Don’t use the cheap terrain wash I use” Hahaha, that’s good advice. I remember seeing your video and using it on my dragon. Had to repaint the dragon afterwards! #LearningExperience
Want to know why I subscribed after watching this, my first video experience from this creator? The content was easy to follow and the comment section was void of irritation.
Jeremy. I love your videos. This was another great addition to the hobby and community. I have been trying to find more good info on basic mini painting and this hit the nail on the head. I have completed two mins at this point and hope to do more very soon. Thank you!!!
Man, needs to be more basic painting video like this. Thanks heaps man
Awesome video mate! I just started and feel a lot more confident after watching this!
I use craft paint and get results I love and fills in details nicely
The consistency, size, and amount of pigment in the craft stuff is mainly why it is the "cheap" craft stuff. I'm thinking of trying with some of the more expensive acrylic paints. It has been my experience that as you move up the price points, in general the amount of pigment increases and it's consistency and granularity also increases. That and I have a pretty good selection of mid tier acrylics that cost as much or more than comparable mini paints. Granted I don't think I have ever thinned out my paints that far but it's a good chance to try out the new wet pallet.
I love this series and I have been painting for about six months and feel that this would have saved me some time. I only use a Mat coat with varnish but will start doing a gloss then mat
Excellent excellent excellent video. Not sure if you’d qualify this as an “advanced” technique, but might want to suggest applying a gloss coat before adding a wash. It will flow way better. I enjoyed this and your most recent video with miniac!
My man! Thanks for your content!
This is a great video for beginners. Wish I would have watched this when I started before I bought too much paint
took your advice on some Orcs I ordered from Drunk'n Dragon. Really came out nice. Thanks!
Really well done and enjoyable video! And I can second the fact that miniature market is a great company to deal with!
My first ever mini, I painted it with paint markers. It was insanely difficult, and it looked pretty bad. But it was mine and it was good. I am really happy someone is helping beginners learn to paint minis.😁
I've been using straight Mod Podge as a sealer on cetain types of mini, although the "matte" version still leaves a VERY slight sheen. Works great, and I have lots of it!
try army painter anti shine. it removes the gloss somehow. I have taken a gloss coat back down to flat coat with it.
Thanks for the awesome video! This helped start painting minis for the first time!
Just a quick point... The yellowing of the protective/varnish coat on the minis is usually caused by the acrylic or polyurethane being degraded by UV light. The coating stays clearer if you find protective coatings that contain UV inhibitors. Krylon and Plasticote do, I think and others may as well. It should be mentioned on the back of the tin/ can somewhere.
I'm big into miniature painting for D&D and board games. I've watched about a hundred videos and this basic video really is all a beginner needs for great gaming minis:) You touched on all the important issues. Lately, I'm using Army Painter Quickshade (lightest colored one) to wash and protect my minis (1 step) without doing a highlight layer whenever I want to do a lot of quick minis fast. However, they are really glossy and will need a dull coat if glossy bothers you:) MINIATURE MARKET is great, be sure to look into their "Customer Hold" option that lets you spread your game purchases out and do combined free shipping.
Yea, the goal here was a you know nothing about painting minis? This is a one stop shop to get you going.....you can build on the skills and techniques later.