How to Paint Miniatures for Tabletop RPGs: Beginner Steps
By Tanuki Games | Published: 2026-10-17
Category: How-to Guides
A practical step-by-step guide for painting your first tabletop RPG miniatures, with common mistakes to avoid and tips for better results.
Quick Answer
Start by cleaning your miniature, priming it, and applying a base coat. Then add washes for depth, layer highlights, and seal the paint. Focus on thin coats and patience over perfection.
What You Need Before Starting
You don't need a full professional setup. A few basic tools will get you through your first miniature: a hobby knife or clippers to remove mold lines, plastic glue or superglue, spray primer (gray or white works for most colors), a set of synthetic brushes (size 0 and 1 are versatile), and acrylic paints designed for miniatures. Avoid craft paints—they have larger pigment particles and won't adhere well.
A wet palette helps keep paint from drying out, but a damp paper towel on a plate works as a low-cost alternative. Good lighting and a magnifying lamp or reading glasses make detail work much easier.
Choosing Your First Miniature
Pick a simple miniature with large flat surfaces and few small details. Humanoid figures with simple clothing or armor are ideal. Avoid models with lots of fur, scales, or tiny accessories for your first try. Many tabletop RPG miniatures come as single-piece casts or easy-to-assemble kits, which are perfect for beginners.
If you want a ready-to-paint option, consider a pre-primed miniature or a kit that includes a clear assembly guide. The goal is to build confidence, not frustration.
Step-by-Step Miniature Painting Process
- Clean and Assemble: Remove the miniature from its sprue or packaging. Use a hobby knife to scrape off mold lines and flash. If the miniature has separate parts, dry-fit them before gluing. Use plastic glue for plastic models or superglue for resin and metal. Common mistake: skipping mold line removal. Mold lines will show through paint and ruin the finish.
- Prime the Miniature: Spray primer in a well-ventilated area or outdoors. Hold the can 8–10 inches away and use short, sweeping passes. Apply thin coats rather than one heavy coat. Let it dry completely (15–30 minutes for spray primer). Checkpoint: if the primer pools or drips, you're spraying too close or too much. Sand gently with fine-grit sandpaper and re-prime.
- Base Coat: Apply a thin, even layer of your chosen base color to the largest areas (armor, skin, cloak). Thin your paint with a drop of water to the consistency of skim milk. Two thin coats are better than one thick coat. Common mistake: using paint straight from the pot. Always thin your paint to avoid obscuring detail.
- Apply Wash: Use a wash (a very thin, dark paint) to flow into recesses and create shadows. Apply it over the base coat with a brush, letting it pool in crevices. Wipe away excess from flat surfaces if needed. Checkpoint: if the wash dries glossy, you can apply a matte varnish later. If it stains too much, use a dedicated wash product instead of homemade mix.
- Layer and Highlight: Mix your base color with a lighter shade (or use a dedicated highlight color). Paint only the raised areas—edges of armor, tops of muscles, ridges of cloth. Use a fine brush and steady hands. Common mistake: over-highlighting. Less is more; you can always add more layers, but you can't remove excess paint easily.
- Seal and Finish: Once paint is fully dry (wait at least 24 hours), apply a spray-on matte varnish to protect the paint from chipping during gameplay. Avoid gloss varnish unless you want a shiny finish on specific parts like eyes or gems. Checkpoint: test varnish on a spare piece or old miniature first. Some varnishes can frost or yellow over time.
Miniatures and Accessories to Consider
- Mork Borg - Cult Feretory: MORK BORG CULT: FERETORY is a zine full of community made classes, adventures and horrible treasures for use with MRK BORG or other rules-light dark fantasy games. It includes a monster generator, travel rules, and more. If you're painting miniatures for dark fantasy RPGs like Mörk Borg, this zine provides new scenarios and creatures to paint, giving your miniatures a purpose beyond the display shelf.
- The Painted Wastelands RPG - The Quest Unpronounceable: The Painted Wastelands RPG - The Quest Unpronounceable is an ENnie award winning adventure set in the same world as Mr. Unpronounceable, written by John Leibee. This adventure gives you a themed campaign to paint miniatures for, with a distinct post-apocalyptic aesthetic that's fun to paint and play.
