Become a DRYBRUSH MASTER! The complete guide to drybrushing minis

[@alonghallway]

I've been painting minis off and on for years and this is the first time I've ever seen drybrushing thoroughly explained. Tutorials always assume you know the very basics, like how paint should be on a brush, how much to wipe off, what part of the brush to get the paint on, etc, but if you've never done it you need a guide like this. Perfect video! Thank you so much for covering this!

[@MidwinterMinis]

That was the idea! No assumed knowledge, very beginner friendly. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@CapitalExpression]

This is my one issue with Artis Opus videos. He's undeniably talented and clearly interested in helping people start out (heck he got me into drybrushing which saved my hobby experience) but I think in his videos he tends to gloss over some things.

[@sneakybeak4032]

I second this!

[@glitchloading]

This. Thanks for assuming I know nothing, because I don't lol

[@genzillennial]

Non a miniature painter, but I work in interior design and this video helped me so much with creating an antique/aged, gilded finish on modern mirrors & picture frames!

[@MagpieOz]

I've been painting minis for 50 years (Truly) - Dry brushing is coming into vouge again ... for the third time ! LOL

[@cidrain]

A friend of mine is just starting out and was nervous about dry brushing their first figure. Then BAM! New vid drops. ❤

[@MidwinterMinis]

Perfect timing :)

[@cataclysmuswind78]

And drybrushing is SO much quicker than line highlighting. And looks more accurate to how light actually plays across a surface. Also, been watching since the first Titan video came out. Those videos have helped with my Imperial Knights.

[@samcooke4795]

I've watched a lot of dry brushing videos and none of them go into cleaning the brushes after use. Thank you for doing that.

[@stujm84]

I forget where I learnt it from (probably Byron on Artist Opus) , but i remember hearing that for drybrushing you shouldn't move your wrist to paint but move your arm with your wrist locked in position to brush. Also, holding the brush closer to the ferrule will have a heavier brush stroke, and holding it further back enables a lighter "feathery" stroke.

[@maceofbass9295]

I don't do any mini painting, but I've started doing a ton of Gunpla recently and the amount of drybrushing I use for metallic details and weathering is nuts. It's super easy to do, but incredibly effective in making those highlights pop. Great video!

[@JivasCH]

The most complete dry brush tutorial i have ever seen. Thank you very much!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Wow, thank you!

[@totschieck]

Great guide, respect for showing the same effect and mistakes on various models. Really drives the point home!

[@Korricat]

I've struggled with painting my minis a lot, I'm a novice. This gave me a great course on proper drybrushing, now I want to redo all my minis!

[@cleverpork]

Drybrush and Stippling has become my favourite parts of the painting hobby. Thanks for the guide Guy ❤

[@itsSevro]

This was stunningly well done. I’ve looked at so many to figure this out and everybody seems to assume so much. Magnificent work, lad.

[@michaelrajeff9438]

Thank you for the guide for dry brushing

[@MidwinterMinis]

My pleasure 😊

[@curtismakerman]

I’ve been drybrushing for years but still found this video very beneficial. I’m glad the KZbin algorithm finally worked in my favor. Instant subscribe.

[@alternate3787]

Good time to notice that drybrushing looks smoother the less white pigments are in your color, but mind the overall transparency of the color you want to use

[@Micsma]

Bleeeeh I can feel the texture when you use the tea towel as a drybrush pallette and it gives me horrible goosebumps like nails on a chalkboard.

[@kiltacular280]

I really appreciate you not using an airbrush, every tutorial I run into always uses one and I don’t have the money to buy a whole setup 😂

[@GabrieleCastelli]

Hello! Great guide! Also, I'm Italian and you are the only mini-painting KZbinr I can fully understand without subs :)

[@julesboyle9089]

I’ve only been painting for a few months and this is by far the best video on this topic I’ve seen. Answered all my questions and made it so simple. Absolute game-changer for me. Thank you. ✊🏻💚

[@henrytrimble4929]

Who up drying they brush

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yes

[@Bread_Baron]

Absolutely drying my shii man, I’m a hobby painter man I got paint on them bristles man…

[@wheels_0N_fire]

Me

[@low-resghul8306]

At the desk, straight up “brushing it”. and by “it”, haha, well. lets justr say. My minis.

[@ronanjohnson9718]

Bro is drying his brush

[@andrewmcquary6995]

Thanks for adding that last bit about drybrushing as a 'beginner' technique. It makes my blood boil when i see others denigrate the technique so im very happy to see skilled painters shoot down the elitist myth.

[@aggonzalezdc]

Dry brushing is like most any technique, if it's the only one you know, or you don't know when, and when not to apply it, you may not get great results.

[@CoreReaper1]

Dry brushing is a beginner technique, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. Most beginners use dry brushing as a crutch. And that’s okay. Eventually you will get away from it entirely, then magically come back to it. Painting is a journey, and every tool is useful. Also: If your “blood is boiling” over people’s opinions on painting models, maybe this hobby isn’t for you… Go punch a wall or something. 😆 Then you can fix that wall , and paint it. Just keep punching, patching, and painting, and you can even dry brush the patch!

[@ninolind4608]

@@CoreReaper1 But it would be a beginner's mistake to drybrush the said part of the wall ;)

[@MrSJPowell]

I know a tutorial is excellent when I go to add to my playlist of Mini Painting advice and find I'd already added it to that playlist earlier the same viewing. I did that twice in this video. Seriously, excellent work Guy. I used drybrushing all throughout a recent skirmish force paint job of classic silver Stormcast. Zenithal drybrush from a dark color up to my main steel color, gloss varnish, oil wash to darken the recesses, matte varnish, zenithal drybrush up to the second highest highlight (silver) and pick out the final details with a regular brush for the highest highlight (chrome). Boom, all of the metal was done super easily, to a really high level, with plenty of contrast and shine.

[@kaji_sensei]

Just got back into painting a little over a year ago (after a break of 25 years), and drybrushing is my go-to for almost any project. I've discovered that there's virtually nothing that an silver drybrush can't help if you're stuck on what to do-it exposes all manner of detail you sometimes can't spot until you start painting the model, it's sympathetic to most any color you want to put on afterward, and as you note in the video, it's even beneficial for metal pieces on the model. Just discovered the channel about two weeks ago and have been really enjoying the tutorials!

[@nodin9439]

Amazing timing, just when I started to investigate drybrushing a little more. Thanks Guy!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Nice! Perfect timing :) Good luck

[@NewWarhammerNerd8881]

Was literally about to get me some brushes for drybrushing, this is perfect!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Awesome! These are the cheap makeup brushes I showed in the video, they're pretty decent for the price considering how many you get! geni.us/makeupdrybrush

[@NewWarhammerNerd8881]

@@MidwinterMinis Awesome! Thanks so much!

[@ZeroStako]

One of the few actually useful tutorials I've seen. Thank you for sharing, the way you explained things just made them click. I can't wait to put this into practice!

[@TheSonoris]

Thank you, this is excellent 20:17 DAWN dish soap, cleaning jar with spring and quickly remove the paint without using towels. Well almost without still gotta dry it ☺️

[@loganicles]

Great video! I started using dry brushing with my Kimera Kolors paint to help with highlights and I'm loving the results! The range has some great mixing guides to help give me highlights on a mid tone.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Nice! I've never tried them actually. I should give them a go!

[@jturunen82]

Thanks for the tutorial. Learned a lot, and I feel especially on the stuff I knew (or thought I knew). Will be putting this into practice with my 40k Necrons and Imperial Agents :)

[@MidwinterMinis]

Thank you so much!

[@B4MBI72]

The tip about a thin wash over the top to blend in the dry brushing is a winner.

[@JSN-he9ox]

I was never really good at drybrushing, this has helped loads thank you!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Hopefully this helps you GIT GUD! :)

[@osmanpasha_diy]

Amazing video! This is the only tutorial that mentions what brushes you'd want to use! Thanks for the tip of cheap makeup brushes!

[@davidbyourplanb]

I just tried drybrushing for the first time with your advice and it worked perfectly!! Thanks

[@CaimanAlphaFoxtrotMike]

honestly in modern day YT and goldfish attention span, the 1 min vid part was well executed!

[@terrywright884]

Fantastic video, thank you. I feel like a lot of tutorials just *brush* over simpler techniques. I've been painting for less than a year and found this really helpful!

[@SgtStudder1]

I really liked that you put stuff about "over brushing" which i figured out on my own its better in a lot of situations. Everyone only says. "Rub most of it off until almost all paint is off." Which i thought was cheeky at the start of the video. Because thats literally every other dry brush video ive seen in 5 years painting.

[@phostetlerart]

Really helpful video! Note that if you clean your brushes with shampoo, make sure it doesn’t have hair conditioner. Conditioner will coat the bristles with a synthetic oil, and I have no idea what that will do to their effectiveness.

[@dominicscreativefilms]

I've been using dry brushing for a while (especially after I started slap chopping) and I love how it gives you great details within a short time. This video was really helpful in how I can improve my dry brushing technique.

[@SauceBoss98]

Dry brushing turned painting vehicles from a chore into my favorite thing, thank you for showing people the truth!

[@Kolyamatic]

Thank you KZbin, I definitely needed yet ANOTHER craft hobby

[@mitchelsmith7782]

the nightgaunt section was very informative !!

[@matzpfadfinder]

thank you for showing all sides of mini-painting. accessible methods leading to great results, as well as how it looks when too much/not enough paint and soon. love it. you can only learn from mistakes. thank you for educating like you do. I learn somethig every time :)

[@mr.e1944]

I have been painting miniatures for years and I discovered dry brushing on my own and use it all the time. I did slap-chop before i ever heard people painting like this. I think dry brushing is what makes painting fun!

[@NLGedonis]

The example models really help with the explanation of all the different techniques. Thanks for adding those!

[@TheEalaa]

Just started the hobby. Thank you so much for this very in depth guide !

[@justinkotrba2197]

Excellent overview of many ways to use drybrushing. Really appreciated the transition blending use of it too, gave me some ideas of where to use it.

[@Mr_Waffle.]

This was absolutely fantastic, well done. Will probably be sharing this on a near daily basis on reddit to new painters freaked out about painting vehicles

[@jonmorgan7621]

How long have I needed this channel!!! Thank you what an incredible channel I have been doing everything backwards and twice as hard!!!

[@jollyjollyme]

In Guy we trust! Thanks for this bristling video 🎨 🖌

[@MauroDiogoM]

Something I've learnt and works well is that if you'd like a less chalky look to the drybrushing finish, dip the brush into the paint as usual but do NOT wipe it off on a kitchen towel or cloth afterwards. These are very absorbant, which means that it'll absorb all the moisture very quickly leaving you with dry pigment.That's the point of drybrushing, but if you instead wipe it off on a textured palette or whatever tester surface you've picked until you have the amount of paint you want, it'll get rid of any excess paint, while keeping just the right amount of moisture for a much smoother drybrushing finish!

[@CronosVids]

This was an amazing overview video of all the types and steps of drybrushing. My non-hobby initiated girlfriend said: “Even I can paint that way.”

[@dnawolf8789]

thanks for the tutorial will defenetly try to drybrush correct now ... watched some other toturials but never in so much detail and i think this will improve the quality of my minis

[@ronnyalvarado8116]

Just started and this is easily the best video I've seen. Thanks so much!

[@MagosMirka]

3:47 tapping the mini in sync with the music was sooo satisfying in a weird way lol

[@todd_theremaxrealtor]

This is truly the best dry brushing video I have ever seen! Bravo sir!!!!

[@joshuatheillustrator3672]

I am so happy you made this video. I always worried that I was doing this wrong some how. Glad to see if I’m doing it right and seeing the other skills I can do.

[@MidwinterMinis]

I mean, there's no "right" really, just do whatever works for you matey :)

[@joshuatheillustrator3672]

@@MidwinterMinis fair point. I forget about that lol ^_^’

[@aloysiusryan5239]

Thanks! Been dry brushing for 37 years only real way to go

[@taylorcooper9845]

As someone who's been following you for a while (but only just started painting) this is super helpful, and perfectly timed! Super helpful and well explained. And as a Battletech fan more then 40k, the Atlas may be my favorite piece you've done. Can't wait to see your painted Lances!

[@Stormtrooper990]

Im only 1 year in with my dedicated painting. And I have learned SO much from drybrushing. All your videos with finding out where the sun or shadow falls, and figure out which part i should or shouldn't highlight was so difficult for me to understand. But drybrushing showed me, by my own hand where to look and what makes most sense. I have become a generally better painter because it gave me such a good understanding on highlights in general. So I can only recommend drybrushing for new painters :)

[@frankyboi1819]

i honestly appreciate these kind of videos, taking a relatively well known technique and both explaining it in a general sense as well as expand on it. It adds a lot of value to the video I think and makes them useful to both old and new painters, which I'm sure was your intention. TlDr great video, keep up the good work!

[@simonandresbonilla]

Very useful video. I'm basecoating my Yaegir Kill Team to make "slap-chop", and without know it is called "overpainting", I made that with the first darker base colour. The resoult is very smouth, fast, and has grest coverage. I've used Zandri Dust for this step. Tomorrow I'm going to drybrush a 50/50 mix of Zandri and White Scar for the first lights, and for the last drybrush layer will use pure White Scar with my smoller brush. I'm using 3 make-up brush for this process, the biger has the size of a fingertip, another is like a half of it, and the smaller is like a half of the medium. And, because I love to build my own stuff, Sunday I made a texture palette with a few almost free material I had in my house. And I'm loving to unload my brush in it and see exactly the load and coverage I'm going to have over my model.

[@T_3rR4h]

Those mould lines break my heart. Thanks for the tips!

[@SilimSavertin]

I'm still pretty new to drybrushing, but the metal highlights that its given my Ballistus Dread to simulate damaged and worn armor makes it one of my best looking minis. Wonderful technique.

[@iain.sm.c]

I have a pretty bad hand tremor. It makes mini painting extremely frustrating sometimes, especially when trying edge highlight and get fine details. Dry brushing is pretty much a lifesaver, and even though I've been doing it for a while now this video has taught me a lot more. Thanks Guy!

[@Knightcat18095]

26 Minutes of drybrushing! Thx this actually helps alot

[@MidwinterMinis]

You're right, it should have been 26 hours, haha

[@gearbot1001]

Finaly a true dry-brushing video that has helped me under stand, Hope your doing well Guy and thanks!!

[@rDunfee]

I've been drybrushing a good chunk of my terrain lately. Has saved me a ton of time and using AK paints it has been super smooth too

[@Gorkymorky656]

Thanks I didn’t even know this was a thing, helps with painting my vehicles!

[@MidwinterMinis]

Happy I could introduce it to you!

[@Gorkymorky656]

Oh and I see you were painting a blood bowl model, do you play?

[@KateHolden]

Perfectly timed for everyone getting the Skaventide box at the weekend. Drybrushing is great for painting all the feathery gryph-creatures the Stormcast love!

[@timothyyoung2962]

Great guide to dry brushing. Got turned on to cheap makeup brushes for dry brushing from Sonic Sledgehammer and Tabletop Minions. Use them along with my beat-up brushes for my core dry brush tools.

[@GeneralRasp]

Great video Guy! Saved to my painting tutorial play list!

[@seanizaakse2664]

Jut getting into Mini Painting and cant wait to try these techniques on my new minis. Thanks for the fantastic and informative video.

[@mudawott]

Drybrushing is so good i barely do miniature painting anymore because gunpla hAs taken over my life but it works so well for getting nice raised metallic details looking gorgeous for no effort

[@blackfalcon53]

Great video! Dry brushing is my favourite techniques. I find it can replace airbrushing a lot of the time - especially for someone who doesn’t have time to setup and clean an airbrush in my short nightly painting session. The idea dry brushing is for beginners has always been funny to me - if painting competitions were about pure technical skill with a brush they would ban airbrushes which give you insanely smooth blends relatively easily - but aren’t they are about the skill using any technique to achieve the ‘best’ paint job.

[@mariusgaige3324]

Finally an actual drybrushing video! I've been trying to encourage this to new players but there's literally no videos on the power of drybrushing/overbrushing.

[@xenomethean9304]

Saving this one in my model building Playlist to refer to

[@gravey_official]

The one time I tried drybrushing for monsters made them look the best I ever managed. It looks so "natural", better than anything ive done before

[@razielmasta]

I've literally wondered about drybrushing about 15 mins before the upload

[@MidwinterMinis]

My psychic link is still working, I see

[@traylor2502]

Great advice on not to let the isopropyl alcohol seep up into the glue part of the brush! Now I know why my brushes fall apart so early...

[@brisou.wargame]

Next sponsor : Head & Shoulders 😂 More seriously, this is the most complete video I've seen on this technique ! Thanks 🙏

[@The_Drewid]

Great work as usual, Guy. Have you thought about doing an in depth video on airbrushing? A friend got me one and I'm a bit intimidated to start using it.

[@jamfjord]

Have you tried just practicing on pieces of paper or cardboard? Also just junk that's about to go into recycling for a variety of textures and shapes, if you created a dry brush palette from bits like Guy suggests maybe practice picking out details on that with the airbrush. A useful exercise can be making lines and dots, I started airbrushing 30 years ago and I still do this whenever I've had a break from using the airbrush. I get why you might be feeling apprehensive but any kind of practice will help, just maybe not on minis at first 😊 Also don't worry too much about breaking anything, airbrushes are more resilient than people make out. Most problems can be fixed with a good clean. Good luck, enjoy and welcome to the club 🙂

[@itilin]

thank you for the video. Very useful and thanks for having Mamikon's cameo

[@halciber]

This video was fantastic. Thank you very much for showing us this painting technique.

[@johnkelley9877]

This had a lot of great information in it and I picked up some new techniques watching this tutorial.

[@apathtrampledbydeer8446]

This is the best drybrush tutorial I've seen so far!

[@OmegaLittleBob]

Great video. There are other great videos on dry brushing but I think this one will be a bit easier for newer people to understand.

[@robodadnerd1]

Best dry brush video on the internet.

[@MikChaos]

great video Guy, many thanks. Those Ravaged Star models look super cool - would be good to see them side by side with their nearest GW comparison.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Yeah! That's a great idea. Maybe one day :)

[@thomashutchinson1]

Straight into my warhammer playlist so I can reference this video when I'm next drybrushing

[@Withered416]

One of my favorite dry brushing techniques for a quick and good looking gold (over a zenithal primed miniature) is to do a base coat of Nazdreg Yellow contrast paint and then dry brushing retributor armor over the top

[@TheBoomshaker10]

All these amazing hobby products on display, all I can focus on is the giant shampoo with the pump! I need it! 😂

[@GlutzahnLP]

I saved this video for a time I had the right project for this (drybrushing was really a thing I struggled with). Now my dad got me a beautiful airship model in Essen, so I think I will try a drybrush undercoat on it (if I fail I can always reapply the basecoat so its no preassure)

[@weaselrampant]

I use a drybrush technique that I don't hear a lot of people talk about - I don't wipe as much paint off the brush, and brush more with the "flat" of the brush. It smothly paints the raised surfaces and look less scratchy than drybrushing. I would say its different than the "overbrushing" mentioned.

[@Vox_Rhododendron]

MWM really is the Bob Ross of the minipainting world.

[@MidwinterMinis]

Just some happy li'l Orks...

[@carlstanford7607]

Lol

[@aaronjames3833]

Really is! Find all the videos relaxing, entertaining and informative!

[@mr.potato2223]

​@@MidwinterMinis"he looks like a rascal, but I think he's just misunderstood"

[@GeneralJerrard101]

Not to disparage MWM, but my money's on Bill Making Stuff as the Bob Ross for minis.

[@Ben_Tren]

Tried dry brushing for the first time yesterday and thought i did okay then I've seen this video today all i can say is that this has been a massive help for me when i go and paint again! and if anyone is struggling trust me i'm only on my third model it gets easier! 😃

[@Grimangell135]

I really needed a video like this. I am currently dry brushing Votann models and I couldn't figure out a good way to transition with the chosen color. Thank you for reminding me of meshing colors together to create the shade Im looking for.

[@Sandmann1193]

I use Make up brushes specifically for drybrushing really large surfaces. For example the first few colors on bases. Or my Chaos knight skeletons that I drybrushed with a dark silver for the metallic look. Usually the make up brushes are relatively big and it basically takes not even a minute laying the groundpainting with it. For everything that needs more "fine tuning" i use those flat drybrushes You showed here. Also thanks, as always really helpful even for people that paint for a longer time

[@PixelSlayer247]

I kind of discovered this myself with no real knowledge of techniques before I started painting my tyranids. I started by loading my brush up and painting the back of the tyranids, where the chitin is and I wanted a thick, consistent coat of paint. Then I brushed down the tail, and along the top of the legs, and by the time I got to the limbs where I wanted to more just highlight the bits that stick out, there was so little paint left on the brush that I could dry brush the rest for a better effect.

[@chellybub]

Inspiring! I love the thorough job you always do Guy and Hattie 💜