Painting Miniatures

What I like to paint most is 25mm or 28mm scale miniatures, but most of the techniques described here can be applied to most any size of miniature. My personal preference is for lead-based or pewter miniatures. Since I am advoacting the use of lead-based miniatures, let me stress a point. Please keep lead-based miniatures from small children that might put them in their mouths and always wash your hands after handling them. Most miniatures companies now make their metal miniatures from non-lead alloys, which are certainly safer.

Typically, I avoid plastic miniatures because they often do not have the sharp details which metal miniatures can have, although they have gotten considerably better over time. The miniatures put out for the Mage Knight™ or D&D Miniatures games are made out of a rubbery plastic that I have not seen before, but the detail on them is uncommon for non-metal miniatures. The fact that they are resistant to breakage (they tend to bend, rather than break) is also a plus if you have children around.

I hope that you find what you see here useful. The site will be illustrated with more and more graphics as time progresses. I have purchased a digital camera with a macro setting for the purpose of adding instructional photos and a gallery of miniatures that I paint. I am a novice photographer and am still learning to use the camera well. I have provided some tips on how to photograph miniatures based on what has thusfar worked for me. Thankfully I have access to PhotoShop® for color correction.

My painting style uses vibrant colors on darker ones for the most part to attain a great deal of contrast. My style is somewhat similar to the Games Workshop™ style of painting (makers of Warhammer™ products). If anything, the coloring of my miniatures are a little more subdued than theirs. The techniques discussed can be applied to other styles of painting, so if you want darker, moodier pieces than those shown in the site, read on.

Click on the link below to begin.