The EASIEST Way To Paint Miniature Figures

My friends, tonight we'll look at a figure painting technique so easy it feels like cheating! It's nothing new in the miniature painting world, but it might be a game-changer for armor and diorama modelers.
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Music: Quincas Moreira - Scratch the Itch - KZbin Audio Library

[@mkelley9849]

I'm returning to modeling after an absence of 42 years--I'm now retired. Part of my career was as a technical trainer (electronics, computers, s/w, processes), and this session is close to being a masterpiece. I learned so much about a topic where my knowledge and skills are literally at zero. Broad expanses of armor, wings, and hulls are a piece of cake, but this stuff is a true art form, and I feel blessed by the skill level you bring to the subject. Your knowledge is excellent, but your presentation skills, especially with commentary, are outstanding. I had a little difficulty with the accent at first, but caught on quickly, and I liked this whole segment so much I had my wife watch it just for the sheer entertainment value, and even SHE loved it! Kind of like the first time I heard Led Zeppelin in 1968. I'm a fan!!! It comes across as a true labor of love Mr. Kovac!

[@savagex466-qt1io]

ha ha right on. I cant draw or free hand / paint canvas at all but for some reason I can do models decent and im learning faster and getting better at then I thought I would. Because in life im a slow learner witch surprised me. It gets even funner the more you do it thus the better you get. I paint warhammer 40k myself but Im a history nerd so id love to do some tanks down the road. After the Ukraine counter offensive mybie a challenger 2 or leapord we will have to see ! Enjoy your retire ment 42 year is a hudge tour lol

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

Really well said, I am retired and more into historical or fantasy dioramas in 1:18th scale but don't have years of miniature painting experience. I can do horses because I spent much of my life around them, drawing them and collecting and painting models of them but, the human face is just impossible, so I am eager to try this method.

[@andrewcharles459]

As a recently reborn modeler, I echo your comments entirely. Just started my first kit this century (literally). I wasn't going to include any figures, but seeing this makes me think I could give it a whirl.

[@annoyingnessbeginswithme5698]

Holy moly, that white paint on the black layer just adds a whole nother dimension to the figure and it just looks so freaking COOL

[@BEdmonson85]

I find when pre-shading skin tones, if I use a dark red instead of black I get much more realistic shading.

[@davidnickels3325]

I use Vallejo Back Red (I think) or Hull Red mixed with a drop of German Grey

[@georgemartinez1720]

Redess Brown

[@robertnewman4854]

With regards to the zenithal highlight technique, I've found that using a very dark brown/coffee base coat and an eggshell/cotton highlight coat helps with the starkness of the effect. Essentially, it gives yo a warmer base to work with which makes both cloth (particularly what is supposed to be natural fibers) and skin look less dead.

[@arsmithx]

I agree. I find the best colour for the base coat is simply a darker version of whatever the glaze/filter would be (so in this case, it would be a dark olive) and not actual black. As usual though, I can't argue with the results that Martin gets! :-)

[@ArenBerberian]

I can see how that would be ideal, but using black and white primers is probably quicker and more efficient than specifically finding fitting primers for every single unique figure...

[@andrzejfigaj2229]

@@ArenBerberian you do not need to look for matching primer just add additional cover with darker base colour (e.g. base colour with black) and do the zenithal highlight with white/ white tinted with base colour. I do not think it is much more effort. Nevertheless, you may use it only for faces to remove the "sicknes" just use dark skin tone for a whole batch of heads in your army:) additionally drybrushing hairs is great way to highlight them effectively.

[@miamijules2149]

Great idea

[@stevenpuderbaugh821]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@TheDragonsreach]

I’m a figure painter 99% of the time but follow you. One thing I see that armour modellers forget when adding figures is that the shadow areas on each figure is individual. So there have bee tanks with crew gathered around ALL with the highlights in the same place per figure and NOT how light would strike each one differently. Think of the 5 on a dice, light coming at 45 degrees would hit differing sides if the 4 outer figures were all looking at the centre. 👍🏽

[@mladtheimpaler]

Gosh, If you ever do a diorama for this thing, I just feel it would fit best on a slope in a tall grass field, ever since the start of this build and seeing the turret so far tilted up I could just picture it. Doing something like a tall grass field would be a joy to see you figure out, as I've always wanted to do one of my own, and I really feel it would be an awesome change of pace.

[@paralipsis]

As a long-time minature painter, I recommend switching out the Tamiya flat white for a white acrylic ink. It will reduce speckling dramatically. I'm not a great airbrush painter, so I use it thinned 50:50 to be more forgiving, but that is not necessary.

[@arsmithx]

I'll give this a go! Speckling can indeed be an issue.

[@h34d5h0tz666]

I've found the opposite to be better and sticking with flat white thinning flat white 1:8 thinner at 28psi/1.8bar. The ink is too glossy which doesn't help with paint adhesion and doesn't build up as smooth a transition.

[@BEdmonson85]

Specifically Liquitex white ink. Other brands I've used in the past have speckled just like paint. I think Liquitex uses much finer pigments.

[@genuz]

+1 for Liquitex although it is not in anyway a robust color. It will rub off from handling even when dry.

[@TheGreatKatulu]

In this particular case I'd say that the texture from the speckling actually gives it a more realistic look.

[@arrrgee]

I love the fact that you're putting figures with your models now and you seem to be enjoying figure painting now which is a plus!

[@fus149hammer5]

I've watched uploads from many very talented modellers and their subjects be they tanks, aircraft or buildings are magnificent but they let themselves down with human figures. They always seem to be overdone with heavy shading particularly on faces making them almost cartoonish. You have no such problem! That figure is a sheer delight to see.👍

[@Modkits131]

You make everything look easy in this hobby! But seriously, this is so helpful for painting figures. It’s so simple and looks like so much fun. :)

[@mariusz3879]

After many minis painting tutorials watched, I must admit this is one of the best and most pleasurable. I like the way you talk on the video. It has some storytelling in it. "Let's go on painting adventure. 12 minutes. You and me. No risk man, just fun"

[@psadorski]

Just get back to this material and it really really works ;) thanks :) you dont only show how it can be done in an easy and very effective way BUT its stops me from bitching all the time while painting 1/35 figures.

[@Moshavnik7272]

This is a terrific demo and I will use this method on my figures. I mostly build planes but take breaks painting figures for my plane.

[@ModellingWeekly]

Absolutely love it :) And perfect timing, as I'll be painting up some figures for a diorama soon as well haha. Also really puts into perspective how bloody huge tanks are....

[@m1a1TC1]

I just wanted to say that I enjoy every one of your videos and that they have helped me immensely in my builds. Some things that I thought I could never do you have made me understand how to and I have actually been able to pull the techniques off. Groundwork is an Achilles heel of mine and I will be doing one for a current build I have and I will be using your groundwork techniques step by step. Thanks for helping me and many others.

[@johndjenssen]

I've been getting ready to start tackling some figures myself. THANK YOU for putting this out. This will be a game changer for me!

[@AndyHeim]

I would like to thank you, for showing us this method. Tried it today, and it worked pretty well. Never would have dared to paint in this way, but the result is surprising and looks very good. Greetings from Belgium and thx for all your tutorials!

[@TheAlleyman]

I think I will totally copy that technique for my next figure

[@carklonk8233]

This came out a few hours before I’m going to start brush painting my sr-71 crew. Perfect timing

[@seanswader7425]

Thanks for the video, I have a few kits that have included figures on the backlog and it’s nice to see how other people do their technique and learn something new

[@MrJoeGarner]

I'm 60 and my eyes aren't what they used to be, but that looks amazing. Hope I can use some of what's in here some day. I only started painting figures a few years ago, and the truth is mine are quite basic. I really don't mind.

[@aaronhrk]

Wow. What an outcome! 😮

[@lordDenis16]

Just what I needed! this is actually a nice way for painting anything with brushes :D Going to try it over the weekend

[@arsmithx]

Yes, this is the method I use on every one of my figures. One of the major benefits (apart from the simplicity) is the finish is VERY matt, on account of the glaze/filter being just a diluted watery wash. There's no need to try and blast the figure into "matt-ness" with a flat coat at the end. The white highlight spray should be heavily thinned, too. Anyway, great video, as always! :)

[@liamfarnell6638]

How do you make a glaze?

[@arsmithx]

@liamfarnell6638 Just very thin paint. I just mix it with water, though some people use a purpose-made glaze medium (available from Vallejo, Ammo, AK etc). I find water works fine though. This is assuming you're using acrylics, of course. For an oil or enamel glaze, use thinners.

[@markchorlton60]

Your modelling and painting techniques are amazing! I have learnt so much.

[@PKTCrafts]

I discovered your channel this year and have become addicted. You are such a huge inspiration. I am going to focus more on realistic and detailed work in 2024. Marry christmas and happy new year!

[@InterstellarModeler]

Beautiful.....what a great technique

[@steveweston5902]

Thanks for this. I have avoided moving forward with my armour build as I wanted to add figures to it (I'm not an armour builder really, just wanted to try something different). This video has given me something to try and hopefully give me something close to what I had envisaged.

[@ArmorStudioNYC]

Amazing how I just started buying figures for upcoming dioramas, and rewatched older videos of your figures… just for this video to come out today. Wonderful work! Glazing method seems to give the most control with the best outcome.

[@jerrypf4373]

Awesome job. Thank you for sharing!

[@karolmalinowski9097]

I love how dynamical your work, and your channel is. You go all the way from spending 70hrs on chipping Tiger to basically speedpainting minis. Amazing that each of your models is not just "another one" but rather a journey to try and teach completely new techniques.

[@richardcameron6335]

Phenomenal! The results are amazing and work excellent here. Never have I seen green done this well. Thanks!

[@eatsleepplayrepeat]

His skin looks literally gold

[@r199ers]

100% yay!!! Great tutorial Martin....love it! I have the characters from "Fury" to paint for my diorama. I will be using this technique. I've NEVER painted figures before & was always worried about my skillset for figures, this has given me the confidence to try. All the best......& thanks again

[@upperwarlord7744]

Thank you for this video I'm going to be working on my 1/32 scale He-219 and I have a resin maintenance crew, aircraft crew, and weapons loaders and this will definitely come in handy when I paint them

[@markmorgan2893]

Hi Martin- this method looks awesome! Can't wait to try it!!!

[@mezmerizer0266]

Dude, I just want to say thank you for sharing all of your tips, and your modeling journey. See you in the next one.

[@nja3224]

I’ve always enjoyed building models. I built my first one at the tender age of 10, maybe even as early as 8, through my early/mid teens, when toy and hobby stores in my neighborhood started closing mid 1970s. You couldn’t find a store that sold models anywhere. I was into slot cars too, especially Aurora. All my favorite things seemed to have vanished. Fast forward decades later, and through eBay, Amazon and the internet, I went back to my roots and began building models and racing slot cars. Anyway, long story shot, all the models I built over my lifetime, I only painted a handful and not very good either. You and others inspired me to give it a go, so now I purchased a airbrush kit along with acrylic and enamel paints. I have a few broken models around that I am going to practice on, I’ve yet to use the airbrush. I’m learning through your excellent videos and I’m just in awe of your creations, you make it look so easy. I’m not expecting mine to come out like yours, but I’ll be happy if they look somewhat decent.

[@peterdouglas5904]

Brilliant, what a perfect method you’ve introduced! Well done!

[@jilthunder2276]

That`s so amazing - I never thought about a black basic colour, before I started watching your videos. But concerning a "fake shadow" in areas, where one might miss some colour when paintig a model, this was the best idea ever. Thank you very much for this!

[@paulhennessy5627]

Martin, thank you so much for this. I know there are a multitude of other channels etc dedicated to figure painting but, I never been able to"get it". Watching this today domething finally clicked and tonight I've tried this out on a couple of figures. I'm only 3 filter/glazes in and already there's an appreciable improvement in my figures. Thanks again.

[@adjr09]

Love this method. Thanks for other amazing video!

[@VinceWeston]

The results are excellent. I've been trying to get clarity on this method. You did well in answering. Thanks for sharing.

[@joeokabayashi8669]

Excellent tips! Thank you for this video.

[@SmallSoldier]

Nice video Martin. Yes glazing is a great way to go. Keeping that preshade is key to achieving good results. Lots of layers to blend those transitions. Great stuff!

[@martinunderwood99]

Awesome. I was also aware of zenithal highlighting, and props to you Martin for making the jump from table-top to scale models. The process you’re using here make such sense, and whilst I’ve done the thinning/glazing thing, it’s only when you said ‘yo, it’s a filter’ did it click. Can’t wait to try this on my Brit RAC figures i got for my Border Model’s Crusader diorama. Thanks so much! By way of helping, I’d recommend looking up Squidmar’s video on using wet palettes. He talks about ‘loading’ the brush correctly for highlighting, and once you see what he’s talking about, it really helps with the whole ‘tide mark/brush stroke’ thing. Great stuff Uncle!

[@claycreator-creationsincla6416]

Excellent job. I love the final results and thanks for sharing this.

[@thehobbypony4265]

Welcome to the world of miniature painting! Wargamers, and & table top miniature painters have been using glazing and pin-washing techniques for ages. Great video!

[@msee383]

You’ve just solved my worries of figure painting 👌

[@paulmcwilliams1709]

Thanks for the information. The figure looks great. I'm learning something from every figure painting video I watch. 👍👍

[@ericchristopher1687]

Looking forward to traying this method. It will be my first try at a 1/35 scale figure - or any figure, for that matter. Thanks for the detailed tutorial.

[@vintageracer3734]

Excellent work, and thanks for sharing!

[@rwseemore1]

Very impressive, I may have to get back into model making, you've inspired me!

[@jackcameback]

Amazing - really love the mud and the glaze!

[@notyetidentified9720]

Definitely yay! Darn that looks good. I'm looking at it mostly from lotr/warhammer figures perspective and it looks waay better than most techniques I've seen. Sure it can't be applied to everything, but all the textiles easily. Gotta try it, it really gives it that nice realistic shadow transition

[@jacobakana5649]

This looks great! I think that this face may be the best one you have made yet! The tanker looks amazing standing on the tank, the uniform green looks terrific!

[@keithburton5430]

Just wow. Amazing job.

[@genuz]

Vallejo air are great (and extremely cheap) colors to thin down for glazing. Using a glaze medium instead of water is also very good. If you want really vivid colors you can use Games Workshops contrast paints (stupid expensive) in a thin layer (or straight from the can if that's the result you're looking for) and if you're advanced you can use other colors than black/white to glaze over. And if you're really really advanced you can mix metals into your glazes and get cool results. If you want more advanced underpainting you can wash, drybrush, highlight or even weather your sketch before glazing it. Or between layers of glaze. You made a great figure. It's a definate yay from here. Good and patient job as always.

[@woody5109]

Amazing results

[@valuedhumanoid6574]

I love this technique. So realistic.

[@martianmuppet]

Magic. Thankyou! And I liked the cork idea too!

[@michaeltreadwell837]

Just got back in to painting and thank you so much as i have to relearn all this again 👍👍👍👍

[@MikeUSA67]

Amazingly simple yet a very nice end result! If I still had both of my eyes I would try this method for sure.

[@andyproctor696]

Wow. Beautiful. Thanks as always for sharing!!

[@ModeliteDiorama]

Great result. I will definitely will try this out!

[@stephenkiebzak8283]

Looks great and I will be trying it on my figures.

[@craigkniffin4948]

I'm starting new project today and I think I'm going to try this method on the model. Great video very helpful and informative

[@georgemorrison8026]

You do great work. Can't wait to try your technique for myself

[@davidharrington1133]

amazing result

[@jhoodfysh]

Very well done. Thank you for the information.

[@eos760]

thanks for your tutorials Sir 🙏🏻

[@bendenden]

Superb video, Martin. Makes me want to paint some figures right away!

[@brianfoley4328]

Nice techniques....thanks for sharing.

[@opalprestonshirley1700]

Very good method, the figure turned out great. Painting figures has always been my Achilles heel. Thanks for sharing.

[@timothywood4402]

You are a painting Wizard..! Amazing job Uncle.

[@stevenjohnson8309]

Brilliant Video - Thanks for sharing this

[@christopherk7920]

love your figure painting videos. Please post more in the future thank you 🙏

[@jimaltergott9326]

Interesting method of figure painting. I must experiment on a figure for myself to see how it works. Great work as usual Martin 🙂

[@stevenlitkey9354]

WOW !!! Very nice results. I will definitely be giving this method a try on my next figure 👍👍

[@HolidaySarge]

Such a joy to watch your videos

[@basfinnis]

Lovely finish. Looks like a great technique 😘

[@jamiesworkshop3198]

I'm going to try that out on my next figures! Thanks!!

[@AndreakR1minalrider]

outstanding results!

[@jerryvolpini7987]

This technique gives great results and seems easy to master, something good for the average modeler. I sometimes use a similar technique, utilizing glazes to soften the shadows and hilights on the figure. Excellent video, thanks for sharing! 👍

[@cfeduke]

I like using the glaze's complimentary color in place of black - so for an olive drab, a red brown instead of black. Of course this can be challenging if the figure needs a bunch of different color glazes.

[@Jonas_Fox]

I've been using this technique lately, especially since I picked up the line of Pro Acryl's Transparent Paints; they go down and mix like regular miniature paints but they're transparent, perfect for over-zenithal techniques.

[@peterthornhill4032]

Thank you for showing such a great technique , it has helped me a lot in my painting of figures .

[@JeiBeeBee]

Looks like a more economic technique like the standard procedure that you and I use. I will give it a try with the next figure. Thanks for this very instructive and illustrating video, Martin. 👍

[@redhog1arkie395]

Awesome work!

[@patricklandstrom5285]

Yay, fantastic video, I'll try the metod on my next figure, thank's!

[@jamesg2382]

Looks awesome!

[@donfrandsen7778]

Beautiful technique !!! Thank you !!! I will subtly try this amazing!!!! Super !!!

[@SPSteve]

I'll try it! When it holds up under magnification like in this video, you know you've done a superior job. Amazing figure and model!

[@schweikces]

Great technique, good work!!!!

[@badopinionsrighthere]

That's simply brilliant, and brilliantly simple

[@billmoore3779]

Awesome! I will try this!!

[@bohun28]

I will definitely try this when I get back into model making.

[@135thscalefiguresinreview4]

Fantastic Tutorial🏆🏆🏆! I’ve known about this technique for years and have always used it, but your thinning of the paints like you showed is the key as well as the use of flow retardant. Patience and practice are the key to any of our skills, but this just re-enforces what can be done with a simple change. Very well done and thanks…

[@youpamp]

Incredible. Best technique and results I have encountered. Now to apply it myself.....

[@grahammarkhorn]

Awesome job.....thanks for sharing coz lets face it figure painting is pretty daunting.