{"id":523,"date":"2023-01-22T15:06:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-22T20:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/?p=523"},"modified":"2023-07-12T11:39:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T15:39:31","slug":"about-miniature-painting-hobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/about-miniature-painting-hobby\/","title":{"rendered":"About Miniature Painting: How The Hobby All Fits Together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Takeaways&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/miniature-painting-start-here-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Miniature Painting<\/a> is the hobby of painting small figures for fun, display, collecting, competing or playing a tabletop game.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Miniatures are used in a lot of tabletop and board games like Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k, Star Wars Legion, Lord of the Rings and many more well known properties<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are many ways to paint a miniature.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Miniatures are made by gaming companies and can also be made at home with a 3D printer and STL files that you can pay for or download for free.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Miniature painting is art.&nbsp; It can be a very simple process done by a beginner or a finely detailed, expertly painted display piece that wins awards in worldwide competitions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I will Cover:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>What are miniatures and what are they used for<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Where can I get Miniatures<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What is involved in the miniature painting hobby<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The different levels of miniature painting<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong>&nbsp; Miniature Painting is the hobby of assembling and painting miniatures.&nbsp; They can be bought at local game and comic stores or online.&nbsp; You can print them on 3D printers if you create, download or buy the 3D printer files.&nbsp; You\u2019ll use clippers, hobby cutters, and adhesives to assemble the miniatures that need it (others come in one piece and no assembly required).<br><br>Painting the miniature is accomplished with tools like:&nbsp; Paint brushes, paints, airbrushes, thinning mediums, palettes, and more.&nbsp; You\u2019ll do your painting on a hobby desk.&nbsp; You\u2019ll likely use good lighting and magnification to see what you\u2019re doing clearly.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are Miniatures and What are they Used for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At a very basic level Miniatures are simply small scale models.&nbsp; It can be anything from historical WWII soldiers, to a Lord of the Rings character and anything in between.&nbsp; Miniatures include buildings, characters, animals and anything you can imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are made from different materials:&nbsp; Plastics, Resin, Pewter and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The earliest record of using soldiers in a war game dates back to the late 1800\u2019s.&nbsp; In the early 1900\u2019s HG Wells published the book Little Wars which had his rules for what is considered the first wargame with miniatures.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not all miniatures are used for wargaming however.&nbsp; I personally don\u2019t use my miniatures to play anything.&nbsp; For me it\u2019s the pure enjoyment of the hobby and displaying the finished products.&nbsp; Artistic expression is important to me.&nbsp; The fulfillment of assembling and painting a miniature to the quality I can achieve.&nbsp; There is a lot of satisfaction for me personally in seeing a finished miniature that I brought to life by painting it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Involved in the Miniature Painting Hobby<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A high level overview of the hobby<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Miniature painting comes down to the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Buy or print a miniature<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assemble, clean and prep the miniature if necessary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prime and paint the miniature<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Base the miniature if desired<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seal the miniature with varnish to protect it if desired<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buying miniatures &#8211; Where to get them<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Miniatures can be found in a lot of retail spaces.&nbsp; Your local gaming store almost certainly has some.&nbsp; Amazon has them, and specialized sites like MiniatureMarket in the US or Element Games and Noble Knight in the UK has a huge selection.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to make your miniatures at home you can get yourself a 3D Printer and go to sites like MyMiniFactory for files.&nbsp; Another source is Patreon where creators have tons of amazing miniatures for you to download and print.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Popular Brands that make Miniatures<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.games-workshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Games Workshop<\/strong><\/a> &#8211; GW is the largest miniature maker in the world.&nbsp; They have multiple IPs including Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, Blood Bowl and more.&nbsp; They also have rights to create various Lord of the Rings characters.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reapermini.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Reaper<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong>&nbsp; A long standing miniature maker that has a lot of fantasy and sci fi options.&nbsp; Great for D&amp;D.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wizkids.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>WizKids<\/strong><\/a><strong>: <\/strong>&nbsp;D&amp;D and Critical Role specialized miniatures among others.&nbsp; They are owned by <a href=\"https:\/\/necaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NCEA<\/a>.&nbsp; Nolzurs Marvelous Miniatures also falls under WizKids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atomicmassgames.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Atomic Mass Games<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fantasyflightgames.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Fantasy Flight Games<\/strong><\/a><strong>:&nbsp; <\/strong>Both are owned by Asmodee USA.&nbsp; Atomic Mass makes Marvel Crisis Protocol and Star Wars Legion minis.<strong>&nbsp; <\/strong>FFG makes Star Wars Legion among other miniatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cmon.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CMON<\/strong>:<\/a>&nbsp; Makes products for IPs like He Man, Game of Thrones, Zombicide, Thundercats, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources of 3D printed Miniatures and Files<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Etsy:<\/strong>&nbsp; There are many different miniatures on Etsy you can have printed and shipped to you.&nbsp; They also have files you can buy and use on your own 3D printer.&nbsp; Search for terms like \u201cminis, stl files, dnd miniatures\u201d and more.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3D Printers:<\/strong>&nbsp; To be able to make your own miniatures you\u2019ll need a 3D printer.&nbsp; With a printer, some resin and an STL file you can print as many copies as you want.&nbsp; You can also resize them if you\u2019d like something a bit larger or smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Patreon:<\/strong>&nbsp; There are quite a few miniature makers on this platform.&nbsp; Titanforge comes immediately to mind.&nbsp; You can subscribe or buy files for miniatures here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kickstarter:<\/strong>&nbsp; Lots of fun miniature projects to back here.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assembly methods and gear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are plenty of single piece miniatures that have nothing to put together.&nbsp; However, quite a few do require at least some assembly.&nbsp; Even if it\u2019s just gluing it to a base.&nbsp; So let\u2019s quickly cover some stuff you\u2019ll use when assembling:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sanding sticks<\/strong> &#8211; These will be useful for stray bits of plastic or resin<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pinning<\/strong> &#8211; Pinning is the method of using a small hobby drill to make a hole in 2 pieces, then using a small pin or bit of metal (pieces of paper clips are commonly used) that is glued in place to provide real stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hobby knives<\/strong> &#8211; Simple hobby knife is great for cutting, scraping, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Glues and adhesives<\/strong> &#8211; Extremely common to use simple white glue or crazy glue, and I love Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Painting gear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Palette<\/strong> &#8211; Anything from a wet palette to a paper plate.&nbsp; Just something to hold your paints and dip your brushes into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brushes<\/strong> &#8211; Fine art brushes to synthetics, there are many types of paint brush you can use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dry Brushes<\/strong> &#8211; A specialized brush with a very round fluffy head.&nbsp; You can use miniature painting dry brushes or make up brushes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Airbrushes<\/strong> &#8211; Very commonly used tool in Miniature Painting.&nbsp; You can prime, base coat, varnish, highlight and more with an airbrush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Paints<\/strong> &#8211; Acrylic, oils, enamels.&nbsp; Plenty of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Primers<\/strong> &#8211; There are miniature specific primers, and you can use more generic brands as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Helpful gear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lighting<\/strong> &#8211; A very important and under rated advantage to painting is making sure you have good lighting.&nbsp; You can see clearly and the colors are correctly represented with clean white light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Magnification<\/strong> &#8211; Hobby magnifiers are very commonly used.&nbsp; There are goggles and magnifiers on lamp necks.&nbsp; Makes seeing what you\u2019re doing so much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Paint racks<\/strong> &#8211; Makes it easy to keep your paints organized and at arms reach.&nbsp; They come in various shapes and sizes.&nbsp; Even modular sets with drawers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Desk<\/strong> &#8211; A dedicated space to do your hobby painting and assembly.&nbsp; This can be any flat surface really, but a hobby desk will have places for all the tools and paints you use regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chair<\/strong> &#8211; Someplace you can sit comfortably while you work.&nbsp; This is a personal preference.&nbsp; Sometimes I\u2019ll lean back while I paint, other times my elbows are propped on my desk.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the different levels of miniature painting&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Miniature painting can run the gamut of very basic to high art.&nbsp; I personally still look fondly at the first miniatures I painted.&nbsp; They are very rough, few colors, not a lot of skill was involved and yet highly satisfying.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other end of the spectrum are competition pieces I have seen done.&nbsp; It\u2019s incredible to see what skilled people can accomplish. &nbsp; I encourage you to check out the competitions and various instagram posts to see what can be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would classify the levels of painting in the following way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Table ready<\/strong> &#8211; A simple paint job with the basic colors.&nbsp; Nothing fancy here, just getting it on the table and ready to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speed painting<\/strong> &#8211; Speed painting is more about getting multiple models done quickly.&nbsp; Maybe it\u2019s a bunch of zombies or rats.&nbsp; There are various methods to make the process quicker.&nbsp; Batch painting, assembly line painting, airbrushes, contrast paints, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>High Quality<\/strong> &#8211; This is the step above a Table Ready or Speed painting.&nbsp; You\u2019re taking the time to do all the little things.&nbsp; Pin washing maybe, or edge highlights.&nbsp; A bit of weathering.&nbsp; Some extra work on the base.&nbsp; All these extra steps take time, but the results are very noticeable.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Display painting<\/strong> &#8211; Display pieces by my standards are the best you can do in a reasonable time.&nbsp; Reasonable is typically in the 10\u2019s of hours.&nbsp; You\u2019re just going as far as you can to get these pieces to look great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Competition Pieces<\/strong> &#8211; I have no frame of reference personally for competitions, but the winners typically will say they spend well over 100 hours on pieces.&nbsp; Wow.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Takeaways&nbsp; I will Cover: Summary:&nbsp; Miniature Painting is the hobby of assembling and painting miniatures.&nbsp; They can be bought at local game and comic stores or online.&nbsp; You can print them on 3D printers if you create, download or buy the 3D printer files.&nbsp; You\u2019ll use clippers, hobby cutters, and adhesives to assemble the miniatures&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,8],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tabletopdash.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}