If you want to watch some videos, I can recommend the Goobertown Hobbies Youtube channel. Here a video on paint pigments and here his Getting Started tutorial.
this post was submitted on 17 May 2025
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since youve mostly gotten your answers on the basic questions, i will add some other information here for you as FYI. If you're wondering, you can use regular old acrylic hobby paints for miniatures. It's going to take some extra work and a lot of mixing to get it the right consistency and will be a learning curve there.
If you're wondering if it's worth the money to spend on mini paints, that's going to be entirely up to your preference. Mini paints can be quite pricey vs regular old craft store paints. I would maybe suggest dabbling with regular paints and getting some thinner medium and see if mixing them works out well for you. If you find it too annoying/frustrating/not worth your time then get mini paints. Mini paints can basically be used right out of the bottle.
Thanks. I was wondering about spending. From what I gather, a basic set of paints for minis would cost the same as a basic set of regular paints or perhaps slightly more. The difference would be the amount of paint. Atm I'm heavily leaning towards the minis, since it would take less storage space. But I'll see what I end up getting. Knowing the regular ones can be used too is still useful, in case I find any old acrylics in my possession.
If you look for acrylic paint sets on Amazon, you'll find tons of them have reviews testifying whether or not they're suitable for minis.
I'm talking about the artist tube sets, not the pots, here.
The key factor in suitability for these is the amount of pigment. The consistency can be changed easily with water.
Both the primers and paints are different. They have smaller particles of pigment, this allows much finer detail to be achieved. I believe they use different medium for the paint as well.
I have seen an amazing painter paint a model using cheap ass paint from Walmart and model paints, the details are lost using the cheap paint.
That checks out, I would be expecting the medium in particular to be different for that reason.
So I guess the same goes for oils? I suppose they would be more similar to oil based varnishes for wood instead, rather than oil based paints for canvas?
I do not know a lot about oils, i have not used them in almost 40 years. I sell acrylics for minis though, and I use them.
As for the medium, i do use the same matte medium for minis that i have used for canvas. But I also have mediums from AV and Citadel.
Thanks!
And while i do not sell oils, and have not used them in years. They were liquid, like a very wet acrylic. Pourable, unlike an oil for a canvas.
I see, so, very different. Thanks
Acrylic paints for miniature painting are, barring "technique" paints, roughly the same, though often much more thinned down than the acrylic paints found in a craft or art store.
I have only used oil paints to do special effects (oil streaks, grime, etc) using white spirits and wiping off most of the oil paints. While I cannot say for certain, I don't know of anyone who has painted a miniature using oils exclusively. We're they to do so, I would assume it would be as a display piece and not one to be handled.
Have you used oil based paint for miniatures specifically or was that the same oil paint sold for canvases? I can see the spirits helping with the drying times if it's just smear effects
I use a set of basic oil paints from a craft store.