Step by Step

Want simple to follow tutorials with step-by-step photo instruction on how to paint your first or latest miniature or scale model figure?

If you’re new to the world of painting miniatures, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. There are so many different ways to paint, and so many different products available. But, don’t worry!

Here, you’ll find articles that walk you through stepwise in different painting projects. From choosing the right paints and brushes, to understanding the different techniques, these articles will cover everything you need to get started (and keep going!). More content added regularly, so check back often!

Oil Painting “Barnascus” (Judgement Miniature): How to Paint Tips

Leave a Comment / Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Step by Step
Oil Painting "Barnascus" (Judgement Miniatures) - How to Paint Tips - Why paint miniatures with oil paint – Barnascus Judgement Miniature – Miniature painting with oil colors – tips for painting miniatures with oil paint – oil painting miniature tutorial – metallic oil paints - banner image

The vast majority of tabletop gaming miniatures are in the 28-35mm scale. This includes games like Warhammer 40k, Infinity the Game, Bolt Action, and many more. Of course, for a truly fun miniature painting experience, larger scales allow you to experiment more easily with other techniques. Painting techniques like airbrushing and wet-blending are easier to …

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How to Make a Wet Palette for Miniature Painting (Tutorial)

Leave a Comment / Hobby Articles, Lessons & Tips, Step by Step, Tools and Organizers
How to Make a Wet Palette for Acrylic Miniature Painting (Tutorial) - How to Make a Wet Palette for Acrylic Paints: Cheap, Easy - wet palette for miniatures - how to make a miniature wet palette - banner header image

A wet palette is a device that keeps your acrylic model paint “wet” for a near-indefinite amount of time. Just add water to the sponge material in a wet palette, and your paints won’t dry out, ever. A potential limitation with using a wet palette over a long period of time is mold and bacterial …

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How to Apply Warhammer Space Marine Decals (Tips)

Leave a Comment / Hobby Articles, Lessons & Tips, Step by Step, Warhammer
How-to Apply Warhammer Space Marine Decals (Tips) - How to use wet slide decals on models and miniatures - easy water transfer decals - banner title

Do you want to apply decals to your miniatures or scale models? Decals add extra details to your wargaming miniatures. If you’re looking for realism, or a more immersive look for your Warhammer 40k vehicles, space marines, or historical wargaming pieces, learning how to use transfers can help. Many model kits come with water transfer …

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How to Paint Board Game Miniatures: Cthulhu Wars

1 Comment / Board Games, Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Step by Step

Do you play board games with miniatures? Tabletop games with miniatures are especially fun because they add an extra level of tactile immersion. Even better, of course, are board games with painted miniatures. Of all the games that you can enhance with painted miniatures, Cthulhu Wars (Peterson Games) is a particular stand-out! In this article, …

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How-To Paint a 3D Printed Miniature with OSL

4 Comments / 3D Printing, Lessons & Tips, Special Effects, Step by Step

So, you’re looking to paint your 3D printed miniature. Painting 3D printed miniatures and figures is similar to painting other types of kit-type miniatures and models. This is especially true if you’re using model acrylic paints, such as Citadel or Army Painter model paints. In this article, I show you how I painted a 3D …

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Watercolor Washes: How to Paint a Warmachine Warjack (10 Steps! )

1 Comment / Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Painting Techniques, Step by Step, Warmachine and Hordes
Watercolor Washes: How to Paint a Warmachine Warjack (10 Steps!) - Painting miniatures and models with watercolor and acrylics

Are you painting miniatures and looking for new techniques to try? Miniature painting tutorials are everywhere. But, the use of watercolor for washing miniatures is a fairly unique way to paint models. In this article, I show you how to paint a warjack from the Retribution of Scyrah faction of Privateer Press’ Warmachine tabletop strategy …

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Painting a 3D Printed Hydralisk Model for Display: 11 Fun Steps!

3 Comments / 3D Printing, Lessons & Tips, Step by Step
3D print and paint a starcraft hydralisk - 40k proxy for tyranid and other wargames

Are you wondering how to paint your 3D printed models? 3D printed miniatures look a lot better with a good paint job to bring out all those details. Painting 3D printed minis is the same process as painting other kit models and miniatures. But, there are a few places that require a little more thought …

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3D Print and Paint a Forgeworld Warhammer 40k Tank (13 Easy Steps!)

2 Comments / 3D Printing, Lessons & Tips, Painting Techniques, Step by Step, Warhammer
3d print games workshop forgeworld 40k tank - how to print and paint in 13 steps forgeworld 40k

Are you wondering about the possibility of 3D printing your own miniatures? There are free 3D files for almost anything now. Even your favorite wargame miniatures are coming to an open source database near you. Out of simple curiosity, I did an online search for free 3D printable files for Warhammer 40k and Forgeworld models. …

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8 Simple Steps for Painting a Hero Forge Miniature: 3D Printed Painting

Leave a Comment / 3D Printing, Lessons & Tips, Sponsored, Step by Step
How to paint heroforge - premium plastic - 3d printed miniature

3D printing is now commonplace. If you do a search online, you’ll find a lot of painted 3D printed miniatures. As a miniature hobbyist, you probably already know about the endless possibilities of 3D printing. I’ve fully embraced 3D printing in the miniature and modeling hobby. But, there’s still a lot to learn! If you’re …

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Painting a HeroForge 3D Printed Miniature: A Gun Mage (Review)

Leave a Comment / 3D Printing, Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Reviews, Sponsored, Step by Step

Simply amazing! 3D printing has come a long way. The technology has invaded the hobby space, bolstering independent designers and makers, and has even raised ethical controversy in gaming communities (see here). 3D printing has changed how we perceive and craft unique pieces of work. Quite simply, 3D printing has begun to change the fundamental …

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How To “Focus-Stack”: Improve Your Miniature Photos

6 Comments / Lessons & Tips, Photography, Step by Step
Focus Stack for Better Miniatures Photos - Improve your miniature photography with focus stacking

For miniature painters who want to share their work, or gamers that want to record their battle reports, capturing sharp and clear images is pretty important. The best way to take miniature photos is to keep your entire model sharp. You can also use a technique called “Focus-Stacking” to help you post-process your images to …

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How to Paint an Imperial Knight (8 Easy Steps)

2 Comments / Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Step by Step, Warhammer
Painting Showcase - Imperial Knight: Dullcote Your Models

Painting a large model like a Warhammer 40k Imperial Knight has a number of unique challenges. Unlike the smaller tabletop miniatures of the 40k Universe, like Space Marines, Imperial Knights have much more surface area and details. In this article, I highlight several techniques I used to paint this Imperial Knight. For the sake of …

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Grymkin: Skin & Moans Warbeast (How to Paint)

Leave a Comment / Lessons & Tips, Painting Articles, Step by Step, Warmachine and Hordes

I never expected to pick up the Grymkin faction (Warmachine/Hordes tabletop game). But, when I saw the models and the night-marish style….Taking control of monsters of bad-dreams couldn’t be boring, right? I now own a large collection of Grymkin models. They are fun to paint! In this article, I quickly detail how I painted the Skin …

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