Elminiaturista is back, and this time he’s showing us how to paint your first miniature ever- check out how to get into the painting game!
Elminiaturista has some unique hobby content, and if you need some sweet painting tips, you should follow him to get up on all your painting and conversion techniques! He also has a great Patreon where you can get one-on-one coaching to improve!
This time, he shows how to paint your first mini with easy-to-follow steps. He’s using an Imperial Guard mini for this, but the strategy can be used for any models out there.
How to Paint Your First Miniature: Elminiaturista Tutorial
The first thing you want is good lighting! He recommends getting some lamps that can give you good light and get two of them so they don’t cast bad shadows on your models. These lamps are pretty good for $20, and won’t break the bank.
Then, he starts with a fully assembled model. The first thing you need to do is prime the miniature, there are a few ways to go about it, but he’s going to paint on the primer. He uses Black from Vallejo and waters it down a little bit; then, he simply paints the entire miniature black.
Now that you have the mini primed, we can get into the actual painting.
Before we do, though, here are the colors he will be using. When you start, it’s better to follow a scheme instead of making your own so he will follow the Games Workshop style using AK Acrylics.
Step 1:
We’re going to start with the metal. So, put some of your Gun Metal on a palette and prepare your drybrush.
He takes the brush, loads a little on, and takes most of the color off. Then does random strokes all over the metal until you have the desired color. Now, you want to switch to a size 02 brush for your base coats. Water down the blue a little with water; this will allow the paint to flow better, but it won’t cover as well. So do two coats on the cloak, trying your best not to touch the armor or the weapons.
Step 2:
Now, he takes black and paints over all his mistakes (such as getting blue on the armor). Next up, take your gray and paint the pants and the gloves. The following base color is your brown, so just hit all the areas you see on your reference photo and paint those in.
You don’t have to hit the deepest areas; they should be black, and it will look okay. Lastly, he takes the light brown and paints the mask, the top of the boots, and the chronometer with turquoise. Take your time on the base coating; it takes a little while but needs cleaning if you mess up.
Step 3:
Then Elminiaturista highlights each color he just painted by adding a little gray to each color (add white to the gray for this). This gives your model more depth, and you can use a light point for this, but this will usually be the most raised area.
You don’t have to do anything fancy; cover less area than the first step. You don’t have to worry about perfect blending; that is for down the road!
Step 4:
Now, you need to wash the model. This will make the model blend together and give you a more detailed look. For this, he just uses a brown wash; you simply put the wash into the deeper areas, not all over. You want to go into the recesses, as this will give them more depth.
Finally, he paints a little white in the middle and then red for the eyes.
Step 5:
The miniature is finished here, but now you need to base it! He takes the model off the base and starts using a texture paint from Citadel (a texture paint has more body to it, so it looks like real dirt).
Once dry, he paints the whole thing with a dark brown and then drybrushes it with a lighter brown. He puts on some basing grass to make it a little more interesting.
Many companies sell grass pieces like this for your bases, so pick your favorite and put it on your base!
Finished Model
There you have it, your first mini without much hassle! Be sure to watch the full video for all the details!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
