With this article I will discuss the 3 step painting process so you can begin painting great looking miniatures.

Before you paint

Once you have found that perfect miniature and opened the package you will need to prep your figure. Using a rat tail file and craft knife, clean up any flash and lines left from the molding process. Pay special attention to the areas between the arms and legs.

Once your figure is cleaned up; base your figure if desired (if doing stands of figures you will skip this.) At this stage many people mount the figure to a roofing nail to make it easier hold while painting.

At this time, prime your miniature. I have found that white paint applied with a flat or shortened old brush works best. I have also found that using a separate primer is not necessary. Using white paint works well; seeing the gray of the metal through the paint is the effect you want to get.

Once the white primer has dried, use black ink to paint all metal parts - weapons, armor, etc... Paint line areas such as where parts meet like belts, sleeves, pouches, ctc....

Painting

When painting miniatures, start with the flesh and finish the figure as if it was dressing. Pants, shirt, belts, coat. Leave the armor and hair for last.

Step 1: Base Coat

Throughout the steps, I will use painting flesh as my example. The steps are the same no matter what part you are painting. Apply the base coat. Keep the paint inside the area you are painting, do not paint to the edges. This leaves a black line around the edges. If you do get the base color over an edge; don't worry this will be fixed at step 3.

Step 2: Ink Wash

Once your basc coat is dry (flesh color); place in your pallet a drop of brown ink and dilute as desired. Generally a mix of one part ink to three parts water looks best. Wash this mix over the flesh areas. Let the ink flow into the creases and flow into the black lined areas. At this point the base color is a different shade and the miniature is looking pretty rough; don't despair it's supposed to!

Step 3: Highlighting

When the ink wash has dried you are ready to highlight. Using a flat or old larger brush, pick a lighter shade of the base coat. Before applying color to the figure wipe the brush on a cloth or your finger, removing most of the color. Lightly brush over the raised surfaces snd the high points will pick up the color.

Painting metal is the same highlighting process. Start with the metal part painted black and highlight with your metallic color. Repeat the process for shiny metal or fewer times for darker tones.

Finishing

Repeat the three steps for the rest of the figure. (Bases and fine detail will be another article topic.) When finished, paint or spray your miniature with a protective coating. I have found that Krylon matte finish to be the best on the market. This clear spray finish can bc found at a professional art supply store. I have pieces that I have been gaming with for ten years that still look just painted.

Conclusion

Using the three step process is an easy way to produce great looking miniatures. In the future, I will discuss another popular painting style, the Layering Technique.

(John Jay Wirth is the owner of Renaissance Ink, a company that specializes in painting miniatures. John Wirth has over 16 years painting experience. Questions may be sent to Painting Questions, c/o Renaissance Ink, 335 Torrance Ave, Vestal NY 13850)

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