OSL Painting Tool for Miniatures

Published September 5, 2026. Last updated September 5, 2026. By Andrew M. Tan.

Try Angular knight to see how the light changes across flat faces and bevels. Simple pawn gives you broad curves to study. Switch Forms block the light off and on to compare how one part shields another. Grayscale removes the hue from the painted forms; Paint map groups the reflected light into broad zones. Save reference downloads the current view as a PNG with tangibleday.com along the bottom.

The study runs in your browser using built-in shapes. It requires no photograph or STL file. These are simplified matte forms with direct-light blocking and distance falloff. The tool does not reconstruct a particular miniature, calculate bounced light, or predict a paint mixture. Use it to choose a starting arrangement, then check that arrangement against the sculpt on your desk.

Try it with paint

A fireball, glowing eye, or energy blade can supply the source. The surrounding paint shows where that light travels. These examples from my tutorials offer a few ways to carry the study onto a real model.

A blue fireball lights the nearby clothing

On this Hero Forge miniature, I used thin blue glazes to place the spill on the clothing. Mixing blue with the underlying brown helped soften the transition into the coat. The blue-fireball painting tutorial shows the layers and adjustments. Try placing the tool’s source beside a hand, then look for the nearest surfaces facing it.

Glowing eyes pick out stone edges

The stone ruin base tutorial shows how I narrowed the brighter paint toward the eyes and added white at the source. Use Angular knight to study a similar problem: which plane faces the light, and which edge falls behind an obstruction?

A simple sword teaches the bright core

In my glowing lightning practice drill, Tesla Blue, white, and a mixed middle tone establish the effect before the transitions are fully blended. This exercise concentrates on painting the luminous object itself. The lab helps you explore where its light might land on surrounding forms.

Keep the glow readable at tabletop distance

Set the miniature at arm’s length and check where your eye goes first. A small bright source needs enough surrounding darkness to remain distinct. The illuminated planes also need separation from the shadow-facing parts. Those larger light and dark groups help the body keep its apparent volume when the tiny details become harder to see.

Take a photograph after painting and use the miniature painting grayscale checker to examine that separation. If the source disappears among equally bright surfaces, reduce a nearby highlight or strengthen the core. Make one change and look again.

A few minutes spent following the light gives the next glaze a purpose. Save a study, choose one surface on your miniature, and paint the transition you can explain. That habit of looking carefully is worth bringing back to the desk.

I hope this helps! I’d welcome any feedback on this tool and what you think. Please leave a comment below.

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