The Mini Painting Beginner Guide: Everything we learned so far
There is always something new to learn about mini painting, and we are still learning every day. This 195-page guide is everything we have gathered so far, written to answer all the questions we had when we started.
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Buy once and every future version is free. We update this guide as we learn.
Not what you hoped for? Email us within 30 days and we will refund you, no questions asked. Tell us what was missing and we will fix it in the next version.
Not sure yet? Start with our free 34-page starter guide, then come back. [Free Guide]
Is this guide for you?
This guide is made for people starting from zero. You do not need painting experience or an art background. If you have never picked up a brush, or do not know what D&D is, this is for you.
It also works as a reset for anyone who has tried mini painting already and feels like things are not coming out the way they want.
What you will be able to do by the end
The guide takes you through the full beginner process, one step at a time:
- Walk into a hobby store and understand what you are looking at
- Navigate the tools section and the paint racks without feeling overwhelmed by the brands and terminology
- Select your first mini, your essential tools, and a small set of paints
- Sit down at your workspace and paint your first mini from start to finish
- Recognize when something is going wrong and know how to troubleshoot it
- Paint with a brush or an airbrush, and finish a mini you are proud of
We are not promising you will paint for competition. Our goal is to give you a solid foundation to get started and to keep going.
What is inside
Covered:
- What mini painting is, including a bit of history and a breakdown of key concepts
- The tools and setup you need to get started
- Basic colour and lighting theory
- The full painting process, step by step, with no airbrush required
- Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Airbrushing as an additional skill
- Cheat sheets and mini painting lingo
Not covered:
- Enamel paints or oils
- Vehicle models like planes and tanks
- How to play tabletop games
- How to design or 3D print models
- Advanced competition-level painting
Format
An 11 × 8.5 inch PDF (50 MB), yours to download and use at your own pace. It includes plenty of images, plus external links to videos and tools on our website. Version 1.0, July 2026.
PDF or membership?
The PDF is yours to keep, print, and use offline, forever.
The Supporter membership gives you the online interactive version: the same content, plus extra videos, search, and image zoom, built for looking things up fast at your workstation, at the hobby store, or mid-session. It also includes our colour planner and light study tools. Access lasts as long as your membership does.
A note from us
This guide exists because we love creating board games for our nieces and nephews at Christmas. That is what brought us to mini painting in the first place. We fell in love with it, and we wanted to pay forward the help we received from the hobby community when we were starting out.
To everyone who answered our questions, pointed us toward the right tools, and never made us feel silly for not knowing beginner concepts: thank you.
The small print
This is a digital product for personal use only, and may not be redistributed or resold. Interactive guide access requires an active membership on Fourthwall or Patreon.
