Ultimate guide to painting your first miniature - everything you need to know

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

If you got excited and want to check out our Brushes and minis on our own kickstarter Champions of Sona do it here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/squidmar/champions-of-sona-75mm-resin-miniatures?ref=8nje2s

[@coradia]

Awesome vid guys. Loving all your content. Keep up the great work😊

[@Rhaenday]

You should try out other spray colors - like Montana.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

@@Rhaenday we have:)

[@Attan20]

I can never find the right Kolinsky brushes, and the link I don't think works.

[@coltonfrost2949]

Thanks for the advice. It really helped me paint my first mini this weekend. I would post a picture if I could but you will just have to trust me when I say it turned out far better than I thought it would.thanks again guys. Now I just need to save up for some more!

[@slaik3088]

I would have loved to see a comparison of the three methods on the same model, that would be the best way to see the true differences between the 3 methods.

[@misterpanel9722]

True

[@hiiipowerbass2337]

honestly kinda silly they made this video and didnt do that. maddening

[@walkmanstudios9733]

It seems like they did it this way to show the strengths of each option

[@BIGNEM2]

Ya dude give us an ultramarine in each method

[@wildboystv3013]

​@@walkmanstudios9733except doing it the way they did does the exact opposite. If they did the same sculpture 3 different styles then you would actually see the pros and cons of each style since you can side by side compare

[@NightHao]

I was so intimidated by painting minis that I figured I would never. Now im stoked into getting into this part of the hobby

[@Cheddar_96]

I plan on getting into painting minis soon as well, love 40k and it seems super relaxing to paint them. I just gotta wait a bit because I’m a broke mf right now 😅

[@MegaManlet]

I’m about to begin my first steps come Monday. I don’t have any interest in the hobby myself (yet). But my friends are all obsessed with WH40K. I have screenshots of their Space Marines 2 characters from another friend of mine, and I’ll be painting and making them to send in the mail. I hope yours went well!

[@MrJ0lly]

How did you do

[@Abcshawn01]

Have I painted hundreds of Mini's? Yes. Am I going to watch this entire video? Yes.

[@Abcshawn01]

Hey Look at that, the milliput section covered stuff I didn't know!

[@Twentyand1]

Never hurts to go over the basics 😄

[@whiphore]

Having painted probably 4-5 warhammer 40K army’s now and often 3000 points plus I only started getting better this year after watching you I started using a wet pallet and good brushes and challenging myself reguarly with different types of paint jobs and trying different styles of painting. This video will honestly help so many people get out of a slump or get started

[@RobertAnhalt]

armies

[@katekeenan703]

I'm watching this and gonna paint minis with my boyfriend because I love to see his smile Great tutorial, I'm so excited!!

[@barneyatkinson-saul9881]

He’s a lucky man. It means a lot to us when our partners take an interest in our hobbies.

[@McVilla1N]

This dude knows what he is talking about. Finally!!!! I've searched through alot of painting videos. Im a tattoo artist that has been Tattooing and "doing the art" for 20+ years. I recently came back to Warhammer after having been quit since 5-6th edition. I wanted to see what paints were good painters are using? Thank you for giving good advice. You my friend are my new favorite mini painting channel.

[@olotocolo]

I highly recommend Duncan Rhoades videos as well. He has very similar "3 techniques of painting" only he covers 1 and 3 and instead of 2 (slopchop) he hows drybrush technique. "3 Ways to paint Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine" - Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy or "Learn to Paint your first Warhammer miniature" nice thing is that he always shows what paint from what company and what brush he uses. Downsides is he didn't cover most beginner friendly slopchop technique and he doesnt use wetpallets

[@SkitZHitZ]

keep in mind that if you dont own a air brush, then you can do a black prime and a white dry brush all over the body for highlights. the black should stick to the areas where the dry brush wont show you where light will hit so if you do use a contrast paint that will help a lot also using a metalic silver and if you got copic markers laying around try using that over the silver youll be amazed at the result you will find

[@edo.1648]

Yes this is the first step in “slap chop”. Also don’t lick your brushes. Most mini paints are certified non-toxic. But this certification only tests using the paint with brushes - not eating it. Some paints have toxic pigment’s mostly these are found in artists paints though.

[@swordmasterj4264]

@@edo.1648 he never said anything about licking the brush

[@edo.1648]

@@swordmasterj4264 at 24:24 he tells you to remove excess water from the brush by putting it in your mouth. This is called "brush-licking" in my part of the world.

[@jdliefting8926]

@@swordmasterj4264 he did though

[@Velakor9150]

@@swordmasterj4264 someone didn't watch the video.. alot of people do brush licking

[@hanswurst7727]

No wonder that your channel is that successful and growed fast, the quality of your content and the enjoyment the viewers get out of it is outstanding! As a little bit more experienced modeler & painter none of the tips where new to me, but i had so much joy watching this video. The way how you explain & present is absolutely top notch!

[@McBernes]

This is by far one of the best intros to a style/method of painting I've seen. It's straightforward and easy to follow. I also appreciate the suggestion to not go hog wild immediately buying every color of the most expensive paints and brushes. The tip on how to diy a wet palette was really good to see too. This is the first time I've heard of a wet palette and using one would have saved me some hassle in the past lol. Thanks for a great video!

[@jubseest8439]

one small tip for all painters out there, no one started as a master, dont be afraid if you make a mistake. painting like anything is a process

[@andyseverance1519]

I literally just painted my first two mini this week. Thank you so much for making videos like this!

[@Meltdawn74]

My god Emil i wish i had this when i started painting years ago You are indeed an inspiration to us all !!! KEEP up the AMAZING WORK

[@grumpypotamus7143]

Zenithal priming. Where have you been all my life?!? This is such a simple concept and so absolutely brilliant. I used to paint quite a lot, then stopped for years because my kids were very small. Now the kids are older (youngest is 10 now) I'm getting back into it, this is a brilliant technique. Can't wait to get my models out and try! Thank you!

[@denisl8899]

Thank you Squidmar. After a few failed attempts and getting frustrated with the in progress ugly mini phase. This video puts it all together. I can picture the next step to keep going. Keep up the great work.

[@Enetsu]

I've been building scale models for a few years at this point, and recently painted my first proper miniature - and i have never heard of spuce glue. This is a fantastic tip that i will use to fill smaller gaps in my future builds! Thank you!

[@Gianakos94]

I’m thinking about starting to paint miniatures, and this is the most helpful video I’ve found on KZbin in recent days! Amazing advice for someone who wants to start painting, with pro tips combined with the video! Thank you very much, keep it up!

[@ReubenBute-ds1jx]

I am a big fan of this channel normally but after seeing this video I'm in fangirl mode. He explains each step very well and has obviously scripted this to be a tutorial. This is very well done.

[@TheBattleRabbit860]

This is an awesome video for not just newcomers, but anyone who has built a few minis and is looking for extra tips. I build mostly scale model WWII warplanes, tanks, and figures (some modern as well) and 95% of these tips are transferrable to other forms of clipping, fitting, gluing, and painting. Awesome video Squidmar, keep the great content comin'.

[@LadyYuukito]

Thank you guys for making this, I've only just begun my journey into miniatures, and learning about the Warhammer universe but I've been watching this channel for a while now. As a visual learner this is really really excellent video ; u ;

[@iezuborn]

I've gotten back into 40k and miniature painting for a few months and have watched a few of your videos. This is literally a reenactment of my journey learning techniques and finally explained Zenithal shading well to me, I guess it was just a known quantity. I actually got my first wet palette last week and am excited to try it out this weekend as I think I've figured out the paint scheme I want to use for my Votaan army set. Thanks!

[@EnriqueTDL]

Phenomenal video; so many of the basics are a huge barrier ("Just drybrush!") but the instructions on how to do these techniques and the appropriate equipment for it is invaluable. Thank you so much

[@Tyro_]

Brother just got me a space marines starter box for Christmas. I’m 27 and been watching you and related KZbinrs for almost a decade. Never had a mini but I am now essentially an obsessively stoked kid on Christmas 😂 Gotta give my gf credit for sticking around, she’s a real one 🤣

[@backtosquarefun]

Hell yeah dude. Welcome to the hobby and Merry Christmas!!

[@Tyro_]

@ Ty man, happy to be here. Merry Christmas 😊

[@BoxCommenter]

Once you start theres no going back!😂

[@iantait309]

Thanks guys for a great vid, even for an experianced painter this gives a good refresh of the basics. One thing with the thin plastic glue, you can place the part, tape it in place then wick the thin glue into the joint, good for larger and edge joins.

[@sylvainamacher8601]

This is the most useful tutorial video I’ve seen: thank you so much, Emil, for this crystal clear and really pleasant to follow video!

[@derricktung958]

Love this video. Wish I saw this when I first started painting as it would have saved me hours of absorbing other videos... My only critique would be that during the final reveal, all three models are so different, it's hard to grasp what the different approaches/levels accomplish in terms of final product. Maybe having one with three techniques but all the same model would really help differentiate. Thanks for all the amazing videos!

[@alandotson6388]

It is crazy watching an explanation of parting line flash from the injection molding process, while servicing a mold used to make plastic parts lol. I guess my background is gonna come in handy for this hobby

[@qzxerty]

This is the most exhaustive introduction to miniature painting with tons of examples. Love it.

[@kumarsalib722]

This is such an amazing introduction. You conveyed all the critical information clearly in a reasonable time.

[@ViolosD2I]

After painting my first dozen of minis and doing research in various places, this concisely sums up just about everything I have found worthwhile to know in a single video. Great work The only additional things being - You can also use that Milliput to model your bases (vs Green Stuff to model more plastic/organic looking parts). - You can use a gray zenith plus white dry brush in method 2 for even better "ready after one coat" results. Optionally over a non-black base.

[@_xmohammedx_]

This is one of the most superb tutorials out there! I've not yet painted any minatures for my board games but done alot of research. I understand the basics and as I just want tabletop ready, I'm only going to focus on prime, zenithal then speed paints but this tutorial so far has explained so much I've missed and really given my some much needed confidence. Absolutely fantastic! If you could add chapter markers to the video this would help alot more too! Thanks so much for making such a detailed video

[@Jimalcoatl]

25:00 to 25:30 is easily the most useful 30 seconds of the video for new painters. Getting the paint consistency right makes all the following steps so much easier.

[@dren106]

I bought my first "learn to paint" kit yesterday. All of these tips have been incredibly helpfull, i'm excited for my journey with my new hobby.

[@Mytoria]

Just used this video to order everything I need for my first Warhammer army. Stoked to get into this, thanks alot!

[@johanng.5198]

Simply the best video I've seen for beginners ! Thank you very much

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Happy to hear that!

[@bryo-fit]

That a real ultimate! Simply the best tutorial i ever seen until now! Tusen takk

[@martialdoctor3482]

My friend, thank you for the excellent video. I’m quite new to painting and have watched several videos now on painting tips. Yours is well organized, easy to follow, and has great tips. Thank you! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@MisterTingles]

definitely one of the best beginner guides out there.

[@cybernerd4540]

Very good training material. It allows people to save a lot of time. money and mistakes and shows step by step how to start painting by example. Thanks a lot and greetings from Poland :)

[@zettobyte]

Great video! Only things I'm missing is how to best get the paint out of citadel pots, how to best stick a mini to a base and if you should paint the base before or after sticking the mini to it.

[@ahmedfares2017]

thanks for the ultimate guide, I swear that I wrote a comment asking if you'll make one a couple days ago but then deleted it before posint. I'm so glad you made an extensive guide.

[@oliverbird1957]

this made painting minis make sense to someone who's not artistic at all, thanks a ton man, love your tattoo as well!

[@FainDAFT]

I feel alot more comfortable starting my first kit, thank you! There was so much I didn’t know

[@YanniCooper]

You can use Isopropyl Alcohol to "thin" milliput making gap filling a LOT easier. Make a donut of the milliput and stick it to a shallow dish (or a lid) and pour some IPA in there, mix it around with not your favorite brush and it's super easy to fill finer gaps.

[@perferstrategy]

One of the reasons why I want to give this ago. Is to help me become a better painter. Sometimes I paint in my book or paper but maybe If I paint Miniatures I can get a good grasp of painting colour and light around a 3 Dimensional object. And also Painting Sculpture like toys looks FUN!

[@keetmadu1054]

I am just starting out. I think I've watched this 20 times now. Thank You.

[@ultimomos5918]

just started painting and this has been a godsend, thank you!

[@RottenJeeves]

I felt pretty overwhelmed after watching this. Think I will stick to other hobbies for now. Thanks.

[@MrFrosteyes]

Coloring stuff was something, that I've been always bad at. But after watching your Artists from fiverr video, two figures really impressed me. Mattilay and Erik Swinson (figure at 1:25) and this is the reason that I want to try it out myself, even if this will take plenty of fails without being able to paint it like that not even after years of practise. BUT I want to thanks for this informative videos, despite that I will a few more walkthroughs step by step before I try out my first miniature. I love the effort you put into those videos, in addition to the timestamps and all the links for the products. This is helping me as a beginner quite a lot. No need to say that I subbed this channel.

[@omary5439]

Did you ever try it out and how's it going?

[@frozenthunderbolt1]

SUCH a solid intro video Squiddy! Brilliant reference for new people to the hobby!

[@sascharadke8450]

Good video! I felt pretty intimidated the first time I peeked into the hobby. So many paints, tools and no idea about what I really need and what is just a nice extra. I also learned a thing or two for painting my wood carvings. Once I recover from all the chrismas spending I'm getting into this.

[@incognidoqueen]

Thanks for the video, lots of good advice. The only thing I think missing is about what to do once you've finished painting to protect them from wear down. Particularly if you're playing with minis and will need to handle and transport them without ruining your hard work.

[@madmatt6240]

Awesome work!! This is going to be a huge help Got my first warhammer 40k set coming in a couple days and these tips are exactly what I needed 👍

[@kyleokane4639]

A few more practical considerations 1: make sure your chair is set at a healthy position so you arent hunched over your mini's like a creature 2: when WAS the last time you had your eyes checked? Wear glasses if you need them 3: if you are cheap, like me, and dont mind your models having a weird smell, using tea bag innards and coffee grounds make for good basing materials.

[@kungfupacman]

This was a phenomenal learning experience. I absolutely adore that last style you did for the space marine. Ive been searching for a comprehensive tutorial for a while on painting and this has scratched many of my itches. Thank you!

[@marksutherlandjr.2121]

Fantastic video!! This ranks up there with some kf the most helpful videos I've seen from your catalog.

[@cheyzus7554]

Absolutely fantastic and incredible. You gave me more info in this video than 0ver 30 years painting. Thank you very much.

[@elitewecker]

The Juorney startet with the Astartes videos on KZbin. I came along miniatures of warhammer 40k. Since i painted planes in my youth, i wanted to give it a go again but with my new found obsession with the marines and the grim darkness of the far future. Your videos and especially this one are the perfect beginners guide to start with the hobby! Thanks alot to you and your team. I can't wait to start painting now that i got all the tools and paints (and the first minis)!

[@kelsonv642]

Just recently got into warhammer and am going to be painting my first mini today 😊🤘🏻. Been watching your content for a little while now and really appreciate the help and advice 😊. Thanks a bunch

[@someblacktemplar]

I just got into warhammer too have fun painting your miniature I haven’t done it before but I hope you have fun

[@codysconclusions895]

after 14 years... i am BACK to warhammer!!! Thank you so much for your videos. Starting from scratch as all my armies are gone/lost from my childhood.

[@HolyCody]

Can´t even tell how MUCH you helped me over the years! Thank you!

[@GetArkd]

I've just started looking into these miniatures, well, miniatures in general. Never looked into Warhammer, miniatures or anything like this before and know nothing of it, but I've been watching so many of your videos and I feel very compelled to get into it. No idea where to start, what I should look for, what miniatures to get, etc but I'll keep going through your videos and see where my addictive personality takes me. I'm thinking this is going to be an expensive journey.

[@KabinMiniatures]

Perfect video to send to new friends who just discovered the hobby!

[@maybenot4267]

Thank you for this complete beginner guide ! Really helpful to pick up this new hobby

[@optipwr40]

I swore off warhammer about 20 years ago because of the price. Haven't thought much of it since then. After finding your videos I'm now super interested and thinking about starting. Thank you for your efforts and knowledge transfer.

[@conwks]

Same here although I've just been buying small 35-60$ kits and slowly slowly building my way up!

[@Dark0Storm]

For a home made wet palette if you buy a sistema type clip lock food container, the lid is actually a perfect depth for the palette itself; just enough for a flat cellulose sponge and paper with very little getting in the way of your hand. Still haven't found a good way to make use of the box itself for storage though. I guess 3D printing some kind of insert to keep brushes and maybe some kind of dry pallete in would be the way to go.

[@L3ttuc3]

Also, I bake my parchment paper a tiny bit before adding it to my palette, just until it's slightly 'crispy.' it may be because I'm using too waxy of a paper or something, but it works much better for me that way.

[@jts8053]

Really great video. I painted for years, but have been out of the hobby for a while. Your channel has inspired me to get back to it.

[@mcspiffington]

Story time. I'm a lifelong arty type, never really painted because i could never quite get the hang of a brush; but gathered a fairly large collection. I started mini painting during the pandemic, got out my brushes I had collected over the years and started going through to see what was worth keeping hold of. Among the synthetic brushes and the couple of 'ok' watercolour brushes. There was a trio of 2, 3 and 4 sized, Windsor and Newton series 7 artist brushes that I had stashed away for at least 15 years. After testing and seeing which brush seemed to work best on minis as i had never done it before and didnt think 'oh youtube'. Not using certain paint types never really occured to me so I absolutely trashed all 3 and now cry daily when I look at how much replacements are going to be (about £150 for the exact ones I ruined tehe, not the newer miniature ones) Squidmar tells no lies when he said 'use a really good kolinsky sable brush and you will never be able to go back'.

[@ChaosChris84]

My man! Thank you! 😊 I have JUST started painting, and I love this! Never stop my man!

[@svartninjan]

Flytta till andra sidan jorden, började med Warhammer och nu kollar jag på er. Surrealistiskt haha Tack för super material!

[@wafflereaper1290]

I’m interested in getting started painting. After watching your video I’m really digging that second technique

[@davidkromnow6848]

Mycket trevligt, din kanal bär lite ansvar för att jag började med hobbyn igen! Med skillnaden att innan målade jag för att spela turneringar, nu mest för att det är avkopplande även ifall man spelar lite av och till.

[@cocopopt]

I am a pro painter and I watch this videos like - oh boy pls tell me more things I already know - and I love this

[@berenthebear1313]

You can also use different color grout for basing your miniatures too.

[@maximilien714]

man, I'd love to see people who are very good at this try doing nail art, they'd do wonderfully!

[@TehCryus]

I wish I knew about zenithal priming before, I've been painting for a month or 2 now and this is gonna change my life

[@swdw973]

Some really good tips. Thanks for the spruce glue tip! One comment though- I think it's funny that the "contrast paints" give about the same result as what's called "glazing". But all you need after the zenithal priming for glazing is diluted acrylics for the base coat, and diluted acrylics with a little retarder for the highlights. The retarder makes the highlights blend better as it makes the highlight paint more translucent.

[@AlAnt89]

Amazing video, already feeling the thrill to pint again since my teen gears.

[@RBarchy7]

Excellent video! I will recommend this video as the de facto beginner's guide to paining minis.

[@nicholasstahl713]

Fantastic! TONS of great info in a small package, with fantastic production value. I do sort of wish you had done the same mini for all three techniques though. It's tough for a rookie like me to really tell if I the one I like most is really because of the technique, or maybe I just like the mini best :O

[@ROMANLAPPATMINIATUREART]

Nice overview for starters, sums up all basics in a funny way. Beautiful!

[@TheBloodedMoose]

For somebody starting out in the hobby like me, this is a great video that explains pretty much everything. Love your content & the new kickstater project. Peace, love to you & the team. ✌️❤️👍👏👏

[@cmikhail7289]

For Watercolor painting hobbyists the second most expensive item some beginner might get is the Kolinsky brush following whatever brand of watercolor paints he/she will get. In Warhammer 40k table top figure painting, the Kolinsky brush is probably the cheapest part of the hobby.

[@escherleduc9567]

Squidmar you have helped me so much with wanting to start to paint my miniatures. Thank you so much.

[@GrahamNickerson]

I used the quick warhammer method last night, which was an improvement over the way I had been doing it, and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm getting older so my motor controls are not as fine as they used to be. Thanks.

[@harryk6777]

Thank you. Needed a good video about how to do this. I haven’t painted before. And I’ve always wanted to try. And now I know how and where to start. Super excited. I know my first one may look bad. But my last one won’t!

[@matseriksson6492]

Very nice and comprahensive beginners guide! I just miss brush cleaning. Keeping those brushes alive longer, but perhaps that will come in a later clip. Cheers to a good job!

[@Grimwear]

I've been watching your vids but this one made me subscribe. Just having this stuff laid out is so nice. I'm a 6/10 painter on my best day and avoided contrast paints because the name and increased price made me think it was for actually skilled painters. Bit I think I can actually do that. Also seeing this stuff done without an airbrush was appreciated.

[@lordestis2942]

i realised that this is the only channel where you can see highlights like that. it's really different from everything else, and i'm not sure why. i've got the feeling that it's because he uses light flesh mixed with his colors for the highlights, and it gives this particular tone that is so vibrant and awesome. i should give it a try.

[@kissadam3553]

These are the best and most understandable advices for begginers. THX😀👍

[@dis-xgaming3174]

Mate, these techniques are incredible. Really well explained too, thanks for all the great work!

[@heelloooooo956]

wowowow. i painted models when i was 8-12, am 43 now. it was so hard to get any info. blown away once again by the internet and you guys (and i use AI at work) ❤

[@Nyctereus]

I'm pretty new to painting miniatures and a technique I learned that works pretty well for me is, starting with a black primer after that dry brushing everything with a lightgray and then just the top parts with white. Once that is all done I go in with contrast paint and adding details with acrylics after. Its kinda like the second technique shown here but with extra steps. Sure it takes a bit longer but it works really well for me.

[@real_pat_ftw420]

21:15 how to know someone has never lived in Texas. It’s so insanely humid here lol. Great video though! Starting to get back into to the hobby so i needed a refresher on painting!

[@PriMaLSunrise]

What a great and straightforward video. Thank you!!!

[@sjoerdtollenaar4089]

I thank you for providing this nice tutorial. Will start with two 1/35 scale tank commanders. Will see how it works out.

[@MikeBeals]

Great video with a ton of good advice! I mostly use technique no. 2 these days, contrast really makes army painting easier. The only thing I’d add is a note to the cleaning up and sanding resin minis, be sure to wear a respirator since the dust from resin is really bad for you.

[@dakotalavelle3838]

When i started out i just used a piece of cardboard for the palette then i got a small cup palette and recently i got a wet palette and it is one of the best buys that ive ever done and i dont think i would ever go back to a cup palette.

[@sleepy7671]

I think getting Angron Daemon Primarch of Khorne and Kharn the Betrayer as my first two figurines I want to paint is a tad daunting, but watching this broke down the process and provided many useful tips

[@pascalsimioli6777]

You're "starting" with a 130 euros miniature? Goddamn you swim in money.

[@benalmon241]

This is the best video have seen since I am trying to get back painting. Amazing job !!