How to Get Started Miniature Painting for Cheap! (DungeonCraft #64)

This video is about getting started in the miniature painting hobby for cheap as possible. Professor Dungeomaster's essential shopping list:
Palette paper, Green hobby lobby brushes,Happy Choice #1 Round Brush,Masters Brush soap, Windsor Newton Series 7 size 0 round brush
Reaper: Brush on primer, brush-on sealer, Black, Linen White, Barbarian flesh, Tanned shadow, Rosy skin, Blonde shadow, Blonde hair, Blonde highlight, Basic dirt, Terrain Khakhi, Faded Khaki,Pine Green, Oliver Drab, Clotted Red, Crimson, Light blue, Sealer
Citadel: Cadian fleshtone, Kislev flesh, Administratum grey, Steel Legion Drab, Straken Green, Caledor Sky, Averland Sunset
Citadel Washes: Nuln oil, agrax earthshade, athonian camoshade, drakenhof violet, druchi violet, reikland fleshshade
Scale color: heavy metal silver, elven gold
Army Painter: strong tone quickshade
Testor’s dull cote
Music:
"Fury of the Dragon's Breath" by Peter Crowley
Bandcamp : petercrowley.ba...

[@BJBoyd]

In 30 years of gaming, this is the most concise and helpful guide on how to start painting miniatures I’ve ever seen. Well done and thank you!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks!

[@spacerx]

I've always cheaped out on paint; I use nothing but craft paint from Michaels, and they all work GREAT! I've never had a problem with any of them, even converting them to glazes and washes with water, or glaze medium. I'm not a great, professional painter, by any means, but I'm pretty good for guerrilla league, normal people who hang out at your standard game store, etc. I think my work is pretty comparable to what I've seen on this channel, and I've got it all done with craft paint like Apple Barrel or FolkArt.

[@SentientSoup]

I started painting a few years ago and watched this, took a hiatus for a while and am back to it. Watching your videos are really inspiring and for that I thank you. 🗡roll under🛡

[@mbohlin01]

Amazing video. Forwarding to quite a few folks. Thanks!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thank you. I appreciate it and am thrilled if this video is an entry point for more painters.

[@Postmann88]

Ohh man if there was ever a time for you to have an affiliate link... Nice work on your list. I like all your choices. Another tip for newer painters out there that want to get into the hobby, but are strapped for cash. Buy your model. Plan out what colors you are going to use on it, then go out and just buy those colors from this list. On your next model do the same. Before you know it, you will have a solid collection, and you will never have to worry about buying paints that you didnt need!

[@CraftsAndMinis]

I'm here for all the tips about minis!! Thanks Prof DM!

[@CraftsAndMinis]

That tip on the 50 One Happy Choice brushes is great

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

You're welcome!

[@tuesdaejade364]

Great episode, got lots of ideas about how to start now

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks!

[@CraftNicks]

This is a great breakdown... i agree brush on primer is a must for cold climate areas but washes are def hands down a must

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks!

[@timmytheimpaler1750]

Thank you so much- This is super helpful information

[@alexmharms]

Well this is what I need! Thanks professor!

[@bretts2356]

You know what the NY studio needs? Some Darth Maul flair. Something like that would really bring the room together.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Lol. Adhesive Tom really loves Darth Maul.

[@ethandavis3762]

If we're talking about painting metal colors, I think I remember Jim Murphy saying he uses Rub n' Buff

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool! I'll check that out.

[@sezrekahneldar4058]

I love Thursdays! Thanks again.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks. I do my best to put up videos on Thursdays but can never promise.

[@DragonFlagonWagon]

Thank you, Professor. As always you put up great content, and after 2 years of consuming nearly every D&D video out there, you are one of the few I can still learn from. To keep costs down I have been getting acrylic paint from Michael's in a box set. They hold their consistency better than Army paints over time and are 1/4th the cost. As long as you seal the mini cheaper paints are fine, but you have to deal it in to save all of that hard work.

[@zephyrstrife4668]

I ended up getting the white, grey and black citadel primers because I was originally grabbing the grey for my Fiance's models... give her something that helps her keep a good balance. But then I started watching more of Squidmar, Midwinter and Black Magic Craft and wanted to give Zenithal highlighting a try myself when I finally got around to doing more painting.

[@darrenp9454]

Very pleased to see you using proper brush soap!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

The Masters is the best.

[@cetiah]

This is a terrific video, thank you!

[@munderpool]

Enjoyed my train ride fix as always. Thursdays rule! That extra sleep and hot breakfast on Saturday is a distant runner-up! :)

[@erikmartin4996]

Thursday is the best day of the week with PDM

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks Erik. I don't want to disappoint you--I can' always do every week. Expect every other week. I'd rather underpromise and overdeliver.

[@erikmartin4996]

I certainly don’t expect weekly. Anything more than once a month is bonus.

[@tomdulski3729]

That reaper brush on primer is quickly becoming an absolutely invaluable necessity. Also great because you can water it down and really preserve the details of the figure.

[@Ryo-sj8wn]

Professor DungeonMaster please post in the discription your list so we can get it. Not sure why your list isn't already there.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Just put it up. Thanks for your patience!

[@trouqe]

Thanks for the video Prof DM. With my birthday coming up, I decided (long ago) that I'd be officially starting this endeavor. Lots to think about and where to begin. This video helped with this. I'm starting my first campaign with my daughters and getting some actual minis for the adventure is a great beginning for their adventure. I'll post a finished product of their PC's once I get everything together. Might give me an excuse to start my youtube channel again.

[@tomdulski3729]

You know you've come a long way when you are using 3 different colors for blonde hair. I remember painting figures back in 8th grade and just slapping yellow on top of a figures head.

[@fum716]

Tom Dulski brother I still will look at a model when it comes time for hair and just go ahead and slap some Reaper Dragon Black on it and call it good

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I wondered for YEARS how to do it until a pro painter from Reaper showed me how at a con.

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

Not painting yet... appreciate all the tips.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool.

[@genesnyder2798]

Great video Professor DM! I haven't painted a mini in about 20 years, but I'm an oil and acrylic painter. A possible cheaper substitute for palette paper is freezer paper from the grocery store. It comes in wide rolls and will last for a long time. I use it as a palette for my paintings. I can't take credit for the idea as it's from a post by James Gurney, the author and illustrator of Dinotopia, of his studio easel and palette. Keep the fantastic and informative videos coming! Thank you!

[@Diego_Winterborg]

An important point with regard to color variety is that you can buy fewer colors and just mix them, but if you do not mix enough or if you have to paint you minies in more than one siting, you will have a hard time remixing the exact same color nuance. If you buy more different tones, you can vary the color on your minies and always get the exact color you want. But it is a good idea to start with a few must have colors, and later work your way op to the larger variety.

[@kendo5862]

Great vid ... best one on YT. Many thanks!

[@mtodd4723]

Thank you , I have found that I use A lot of WWII German paint sets from Vallejho (sp).for my greys & greens . Like any Hobby they can get very expensive , Thanks for trying to save us a few bucks .

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

You're welcome!

[@nextlevel8241]

The Master's Brush Cleaner didn't make you final list but is highly recommended. It's the raise dead spell for old & misused brushes. What do you use to clean the Army Painter Strong Tone brushes? Isn't it not acrylic? Great video - Thanks!

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I should have you edit my videos. It didn't, because it was a long video and I screwed up. It's a must have.

[@nextlevel8241]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 No worries- My girlfriend's 12 year-old is just starting painting mini's. This vid was super helpful. Thank you again.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

You are welcome. I love when kids get into painting. It keeps them away from TV and video games and I think it's very calming for the mind. But that kid paints!

[@charlieturk8141]

Make yourself a wet palette. They aren't really so that you save paint, but so that you can keep the proper thin consistency while your painting. You can make it with a sandwich box, a piece of parchment paper, and a paper towel.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Absolutely! Thanks for the comment and for watching DungeonCraft!

[@charlieturk8141]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 you bet. Thank you for the videos. They are great. You'll find that using the wet palette will up your painting game. I resisted one for years, but now I won't go back.

[@andrewtate4897]

I use very few citadel I don't think much of them. They have those terrible pots which after awhile don't close very well and the times I've knocked the bloody things over with my arm as I reach for something. So apart from the dry paints range of which I have a few, I decant the citadel paints into dropper bottles. I much prefer army painter washes ( I use Vallejo and Army painter paints reaper too) over citadel. But strong tone I agree is wonderful stuff, one of the best accidental discoveries I've ever made. I started off using Citadel products and found myself gradually moving away from them as I was not really keen on them for many reasons. ( price quality availability where I live being just a few but price being the biggest consideration) I've been planning to buy a scale colour metal paint set as I have heard good things about them. I was using cheap paint brushes from a hobby store but I found some brushes called artisan which are not bad they've lasted me quite some time. I recently bought a big Army painter set after trying a few of their paints (OK you have to put a ball bearing inside the bottle to shake em up a bit but I now do that with all my paints) and they had some free brushes inside I've yet to try them if I like them I will buy them as a new independent games store has just opened where I live so they are handy to get

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Lol! We're taping an episode now on how to paint 75 models in 6 hours, and I spilled a Citadel pot all over my pants!

[@andrewtate4897]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 exactly why I try to avoid using them or decant them. Citadel ought to get with the programme and release their paints and washes in dropper bottles. I actually think they are engineered this way the lids after awhile wont close on them this also causes the paint to dry out rather quickly. I think they are more than aware of the problem judging by what many of their Franchise owners say in regards to the paints and washes etc. but they never seem to do anything about it, because every time a pot dries out or one is knocked over that's more paint they sell. So I have about for or five citadel paints which I use. And to be honest I have discovered a few War painter and Vallejo and Reaper alternatives which are just as good ( in some cases better) but I am trying to phase out Citadel altogether

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

@@andrewtate4897 I've thought the same thing about Citadel. A bit conspiratorial, but you may be right!

[@andrewtate4897]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 I haven't much time for conspiracy theories I'm just going on what several shop owners have been telling me plus the bottles have been this way for years and I'm pretty sure Citadel have received numerous complaints about it and yet they have done nothing at all ( and it is as simple as putting paints into dropper bottles) it certainly makes you wonder. And from what I gather from the community online although people enjoy their figures they are no so much a customer friendly business

[@bobpainter9720]

For larger resin models like GF9's Zombie T-Rex you really need either Green Stuff or Miliput.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Absolutely.

[@triden1022]

For anyone interested, I believe the SKU for the green brushes at Hobby Lobby is 238295. If you search for that on their website it’ll come up. Worth noting that these brushes had grey handles in my local Hobby Lobby.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for that information. I just a got some. Yes, they have grey handles now.

[@jeffreykershner440]

Thanks, I was just looking for this

[@tomyoung9834]

great video, professor! appreciate the perspective. have you ever tried gesso as a primer? i tried it recently and kind of dig it...

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

No, but I'll try it. Thanks for the tip!

[@sherizaahd]

Purple dye was made from the slime of various snails, so maybe that's why it was reserved for royalty? Only Kings and Queens are good enough to have snail trail clothing.

[@MrJASTM]

Professor D.C., do you have an affiliate link yet? I’m looking to buy this entire setup for my future 3D prints. If not, I’ll check out BMC, Wylock and DMG Info to see if they have an affiliate link for paints. ~cheers!

[@RoberttheFox0001]

I noticed you didn't mention Army Painter 'anti-shine' spray sealer. Good Man! I've done a review of how consistently bad it is.

[@Sharkenite]

Is it possible to paint over pre-painted miniatures that I bought? Examples are like default ones from Wizkids but I don't like how some of them are painted.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Great question! Tom and will work on this. My bet is yes. Keep reminding me about this from time to time and check on my progress.

[@rossnichols2038]

Proffesor Dungeon Master, Hello, I am new to your channel by about a week and I’ve very much enjoyed your teachings of streamlining the game. I however have a question and it’s about your “no more initiative” video I enjoyed your explanation of how tense and gritty combat is and this idea really called out to me. However I am at an impasse my players and I have been running games without any miniatures or graphs just “Mind’s eye” how can I incorporate this style of initiative into a gaming style like that? Thank you for your time

[@MarshmallowMadnesss]

Thoughts about the $.50 Apple Barrel brand acrylics from Walmart?

[@nobody342]

I dont use Apple Barrel... very much!! but I use mostly DecoARt and Delta craft paints (better quality then Apple Barrel), and you can paint to great quality with them. I started out using Artist paints, they are great! But craft paints are more convenient and much cheaper. I paint mostly 15mm fantasy (too a pretty high standard). I tried some of the "Miniature" paints but found they arent much better but hit the wallet hard. Citadel Agrax earth shade is quite good though, if you dont spill the entire bottle. I use mostly Roubloff Kolinsky sable brushes(Made in Russia) ( Much better brushes then the cheapo craft brushes from walmart, but much cheaper then Windsor Newton, ect) . Make or buy a wet palette, and buy a set of 6x reading glasses from internet. Use hardware store primers, but hardware store matte clearcoats may or may not be matte enough for your tastes.

[@GalaxyStranger01]

Hey, you had mentioned that the QuickShade is an "Oil-based Lacquer". I can't find any info on this - can you tell us where you got that? Is it on the label or something? I can't find a safety data sheet for it.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

It's sticky like oil. It stains like oil. Seems like oil to me.

[@GalaxyStranger01]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Damn, now I gotta figure this out. How quickly does your stuff dry? Does it say "Lacquer" on the can? See - I've never even heard of an oil based lacquer. Traditionally, you have water based acrylics that we use for this stuff, then there's oil based enamels - Testers, etc. These oil based enamels still have additives like Mineral Spirits and can even be thinned with Lacquer Thinner. That's why they still need to be treated like solvent based paint. Lacquer based paints are lacquer based. They dry more quickly than oil paints do. They shoot and apply differently. They're much more aggressive than most other paint types, have lots of awesome face-eating solvents in them and can melt plastic. All of this is important because a lot of people don't understand the differences between these substances and they start mixing paint products without understanding what they're dealing with. In the model building community lots of people post about problems with a can of spray paint on top of their existing paint job wondering why it curdled. This is because they've now mixed incompatible paint systems and didn't know that. So if I'm gonna use QuickShade, I need to know what it's composition is so I can deal with it with no surprises. it's not THAT big of a deal, but I've just never heard of an oil based lacquer.

[@GalaxyStranger01]

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 ALSO - you might want to check out Minwax Polyshades as a cheaper alternative to QuickShade. It does have a slightly different final effect, but it is cheaper for people who don't use it often. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIraZXikidyXZ8U

[@WoodRabbitTaoist]

What is the difference between reaper, gw, citadel, ap, Vallejo, etc. and the acrylic paints you can buy at walmart or a hobby shop? I'm just getting started with this hobby and I don't understand what the difference is between these companies paints and a standard acrylic paint is.

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

Somebody likes Darth Maul (",)

[@fuzzywigschickenemporium]

Any thoughts on army painter paint?

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I used to use their spray paint. Very high quality. But the nozzles are not as good as Citadel. Eventually they create a powdery effect--unless you prime a lot of models at once and empty the can. I'm sure their bottle paints are great, although I don't have any.

[@williamhenry2290]

Sadly where I live airbrush my best option due to weather not being good for spray can for 3/4 year...

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I think that's how they got so popular. Can you recommend a good one? That's my next step as a painter.

[@fum716]

What is the putty that you use to attach your minis to the caps/holding doodad

[@fum716]

I use a putty that just doesn’t work half the time

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I'm kicking myself for not including that! It's just poster tack on bottle cap. Buy it in the stationary section of the drug store.

[@fum716]

DUNGEON CRAFT thanks, I made a mistake for thinking a putty I used for holding pieces in place while glue dried and it just wasn’t working as good as I would like it

[@williamhenry2290]

I'm a douche and go to our local Hobby Lobby and buy one bottle of Vallejo at time with 40% coupon., I started out with Citadel from our local gaming shop but they bad habit of not having the color in stock that I was needing.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

I would do the same thing! Your gaming shop sucks. You can order Citadel online. Look around. There are places that sell it cheaper than the official website!

[@davespray6644]

Too lazy to look through all of the posts to see if this info. is in here, but here is the SKU for the Hobby Lobby "green" brushes. SKU: 238295

[@SentientSoup]

Thank you

[@Jok-the-Mad]

Someone likes Darth Maul :)

[@aaronbono4688]

I am trying to get back into miniature painting but every time I do I get overwhelmed by something. That paint list... sorry but this is not getting started cheap. I am going to go back to making terrain for now I guess.

[@Geologist997]

If you're really strapped for cash, you can get by with just the cheap paint brushes, black, linen white, 1 blues, 2 greens, 1 red, 1-2 yellows, and 1 brown. Grey can be mixed with white and black. Purple can be mixed from various proportions of blue and red. If you need to paint armor, then get the silver and gold. Flesh tones can be mixed from various proportions of white, yellow, and brown. You can make your own washes by thinning the paint with water. If you're painting the reaper bones or wizkids pre-primed miniatures, then you don't really need a primer. I also recommend some kind of sealer to protect the paint, although this is less necessary if the miniature is only for display. This would cost about $40-$45, plus $15-$20 if you get the sealer and metal paints.

[@nobody342]

THIS VIDEO IS NOT! REALLY ABOUT PAINTING FOR CHEAP! You can get just as good, or better results using either a set of Artists Acrylics, Daler Rowney System 3 from walmart work just fine, or you can buy some better quality Craft Paints for much Cheaper! ( I use either DecoArt or Delta) Much Cheaper for a much larger quanity, and they seem to paint just a good for me as the expensive Miniature paints. Rustoleum Primer is plenty good. And Rustoleum Clear coats just as protective, (but maybe not quite as matte as you may or may not want. Buy your a couple Cheaper Kolinsky Sable brushes ( I use Roubloff, but Rosemary, cheap Sable brushes from DIck BLicks should be just fine), make or buy a wet pallete, any buy yourself a pair of 6x Reading glasses. Citadel washes are great, but!!!!! you can do just about as good with a mix of Pledge Floor Care/water/drop dish detergent and little paint. Buy a bar of artist soap ) or Dial soap if your cheap. You also want a good light or two if you dont have a bright window to illuminate your room. THere I just saved you 400 Dollars over what the Professor just told you to buy. And once you have a few hours painting you can paint as good or better then what the Professor shows as his minis on the channel. His Video was not about Getting Started Painting for Cheap. It was more about how to paint just like he does. I Paint mostly 15mm fantasy minis and my 15mm looks just as good (OR BETTER) using what I just described above as the 35mm Minis that the professor shows on his channel. IE you dont need all those over priced expensive Miniature paints from the Gaming Companies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RealSamuelApostol]

You don't need to buy 5 different reds, just dull the base red.

[@cole4783]

I feel like this video didnt quite achieve the goal you intended. Yea this is YOUR minimum that you would never do without but most starting out painting will only need a few browns, metal color, primer, shade, black, white, brushes, and shade with a few accent colors. yea their minis wont look as good as possible but when you are starting out, half of the time you are painting like 4 hero minis and then a few orcs.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for watching Cole! This is 1/3 of my total paints. I did my best to narrow them down. I tried to explain my thinking so people could pick and choose what is most important to them. I just can't pick ONE blonde!

[@cole4783]

Absolutely, I love your content and @@DUNGEONCRAFT1 I hope i didnt come off as combative in my comment. I was just saying how I started with basically 5 colors with black and white with my minis with decent success. granted they didnt look anywhere near as good as what I am doing now, I just know I was able to get into the hobby with about 30 bucks

[@manaman6971]

plus if you suck at painting, you can just huff it all

[@josieber8032]

you need to change the name this not any where close to cheap can't u mix ur own colors i know I can

[@aaronbono4688]

Pickles are gross. Mason jars are cheap!