(Editor 's Note: Reprinted with the kind permission of Jay Wirth of RENAISSANCE INK, 335 Torrance Ave., Vestal, NY 13850; 607-748-4665, which is a painting service.)

Needed Materials: The following is a list of basic materials needed to begin the hobby of painting miniatures.

Paint/Ink: There is a wide variety of paints and inks on the market. Acrylic is the most popular for painting miniatures. Acrylics are relatively inexpensive and easy to clean. The basic colors to start with are: Paint - white, yellow, red, green, brown, dark blue. Ink - black, dark brown, green, blue. Make sure your inks are opaque.

Brushes: As with paints, there are many different types of brushes on the market. I recommend using two sizes, 1 and 0, to start. Purchase the best that you can afford as a good quality brush will outlast many brushes of poorer quality. NOTE: White nylon brushes are the best for painting miniatures. The synthetic bristles hold up to the "poking" motion when painting, better than the red sable.

Files: Jewelers files come in many shapes. If you are not abie to purchase a complete set, start with a rat tail file, as with most tools, get the best you can afford (I still use my original set and it's over 17 years old).

Craft Knife: The craft knife is mainly used along with your files when preparing your miniature. You will also find the craft knife a handy tool when doing conversions and sculpting.

Glue: There are many different glues to choose from. To start with you will need a good quick drying super glue.

Pallet: Used to mix colors, this tool is often over-looked. A nonporous material is needed. I have found that an old white dinner plate or floor tile works best. Being nonporous you can easily clean the plate in dish water.

Art Box: Something big enough to keep all of your paints and tools in order. You can go to a local sporting good store and purchase a cheap tackle box.

Area/Light: Last on the list of basic materials is the painting area and light source. It is best to have an area out of the way that is permanently set up. Direct sunlight is best but in an imperfect world artificial light is needed. Get a lamp that you will be comfortable with, florescent or incandescent. I find that using one of each (combined) gives the best and truest light.

Preparing the Figure: This process will always be the same no matter what your paint or painting style is. Start by cleaning flash and mold lines using your craft knife and files. Take care as these tools are sharp. Pay extra attention under arms and between legs for flash. Base and prime your miniature. I did not mention primer in the paint needed, as white paint applied thinly with a flat or shortened brush will work perfectly. For ease of handling, you may mount your miniature to a roofing nail before priming. When painting large groups of miniatures, I mount four to eight miniatures to a craft stick mounted to a roofing nail.

Painting the Figure: There are many techniques used in painting miniatures. Some are dictated by the type of paint you use. For this guide I will describe the most popular style, The 3 Step Technique. When painting a miniature it is best to paint in the order it would have dressed. Start with the flesh, pants, shirts, etc. Leave metal, fur, hair and details to last.

The 3 Step Technique starts with painting a base color, adding a shade of wash, and finishing by highlighting the raised areas. I will use painting a face as my example. Note that these steps apply to all areas. Begin by painting a flesh color (base) on the face area. Once dry, use a diluted brown paint or ink wash to give it depth. Don't be afraid to apply wash generously covering all of the flesh area and letting the color flow into the creases. Let this dry complete. Finishing the steps use a little white mixed with the flesh base color to highlight. Before applying the paint, wipe the color onto a rag so your brush is dry. Lightly drag the brush across the raised areas leaving the lightened color only on the high points. This type of highlighting is also called drybrushing. See shade and highlight chart for other colors.

Metal, Fur and Hair: Saving these areas for last, they will be painted in the same manner. Paint the area black (ink straight from the bottle works great). Be sure to paint along the edges, for example, around the face where the hair touches. Once dry, drybrush with desired color. Repeat and highlight as desired. Lighten your touch with each pass.

Finishing: The final touch is to finish fine detail and blackline. Blacklining is painting a thin line along the areas where two things meet separating and defining the detail on a miniature. Small parts such as belts and buttons may be painted black before you add color so you will not need to blackline. One your miniature is completely dry you may want to use a clear protective coating. You have many choices, brush or spray, matte or gloss. By far the best on the market is Krylon Matte Finish #1311. This can be found at professional art stores.

In Conclusion: The 3 Step Technique is a style that is easy for a beginner to learn. With practice using this style, you can produce award winning figures.

Shade & Highlight Chart
BASE	SHADE		HIGHLIGHT
	Paint Wash	Ink Wash
White	Grey or Lt Blue	Deluted Dk Blue	White
Black	None	None	Dark Grey
Red	Red/Brown	Dk Brown	Red/Yellow
Yellow	Yellow/Brown	Dk Brown	Yellow/white
Blue	Blue/Black	Dk Blue	Blue/White
Orange	Orange/Brown	DkBrown	Orange/Yellow
Green	Green/Black	Dk Green	Green/Yellow
Purple	Purple/Black	Purple	Purple /White
Grey	Black	Black	Grey/White
METAL
Silver	None	Deluted Black*	Drybrush & Lighten
Gold	None	Deluted Black*	Drybrush & Lighten
*If desired

Rule of Thumb: Paint wash is four parts water to one part paint. Ink wash is three parts water to one part ink. This may be altered to achieve different affects.

GOOD PAINTING!

Response: Letter to Editor (#9)