You prime a miniature because acrylic hobby paints will not adhere properly to bare plastic, resin, or metal without it. Applying an aerosol or airbrush primer creates a microscopic textured surface that gives subsequent paint layers grip, preventing the acrylics from beading up or scratching off during handling.
How do you thin acrylic hobby paints?
You thin acrylic hobby paints from brands like Citadel or Vallejo by transferring a small amount onto a palette and mixing it with a tiny drop of water until it reaches the consistency of melted ice cream. Thinning the paint prevents thick, chalky layers from clogging the fine physical details sculpted into the miniature, requiring you to apply two thin coats rather than one thick layer for smooth, opaque coverage.
What is a wet palette?
A wet palette is a specialized container holding a damp sponge covered by a piece of semi-permeable parchment paper. You use it to keep small amounts of thinned acrylic paint workable for hours or even days, as moisture slowly wicks up through the paper into the paint, completely eliminating the rapid drying times associated with standard dry plastic palettes.
How does a shade wash create depth?
A shade wash creates depth because it is an extremely thin, heavily pigmented liquid designed to flow off flat surfaces and pool exclusively in the recesses and crevices of a miniature. When you apply a dark wash over a flat base coat, the recessed areas dry significantly darker, instantly simulating realistic shadows and separating different materials on the figure without requiring manual blending.
What is the drybrushing technique?
You drybrush a miniature by loading a stiff-bristled brush with a lighter highlight color, then wiping almost all the paint off onto a paper towel until the brush is nearly dry. When you rapidly drag this dry brush over the heavily textured areas of a model, such as chainmail or fur, the scant remaining pigment catches only on the highest raised edges, instantly highlighting the texture with minimal effort.
How do you base a finished miniature?
You base a finished miniature to ground the figure in a physical environment, gluing texture pastes, sand, or small rocks to the plain plastic disc it stands on. Once the textured base is painted and drybrushed to resemble dirt or stone, you often apply drops of PVA glue to affix static grass tufts or miniature foliage, completing the presentation of the model.