I own a good handful of minis but all of the nice ones are unpainted. I really want to paint them but I'm scared because they are a little smaller than usual and have a lot of details. I suck at painting but never tried painting minis. I'm sure there are paints specifically for minis but other than that I don't really know what I'm doing. These minis cost a lot of money and I would hate to absolutely ruin them. Also I share the minis with my siblings so if I ruin them it's ruined for everybody else too.

i would watch a lot of youtube videos if you are really scared, i like squidmar miniatures and ninjon, both are very skilled and have plenty of experience in painting minis. if you are really worried about ruining them, buy some practice minis and practice on them. remember, just like any skill, it takes practice and time. 

Very first thing, muy importante, BRUSHES!

Make sure you have nice brushes and take really good care of them, because even the most skilled painters in the world can't do much with nasty frayed hooked brushes.

Also, PAINTS!

Thin them! Don't just slap them on straight out of the bottle, put them on a palette and mix in a wee bit of water. Also get paints made specifically for miniatures. I highly recommend Vallejo's model color line, it's what I use.

And yeah, like bls said, get a few practice minis so you don't end up being unhappy with your nice ones. Try and get ones with very different details and styles and techniques to paint so you can get a lot of practice on all the different techniques and just overall brushwork you need.

Also, if you really really hate the paint job, you can just strip the paint with some kind of solvent (never done it, look it up before you ever try)

Quote from carsorino >>

Very first thing, muy importante, BRUSHES!

Make sure you have nice brushes and take really good care of them, because even the most skilled painters in the world can't do much with nasty frayed hooked brushes.

Also, PAINTS!

Thin them! Don't just slap them on straight out of the bottle, put them on a palette and mix in a wee bit of water. Also get paints made specifically for miniatures. I highly recommend Vallejo's model color line, it's what I use.

And yeah, like bls said, get a few practice minis so you don't end up being unhappy with your nice ones. Try and get ones with very different details and styles and techniques to paint so you can get a lot of practice on all the different techniques and just overall brushwork you need.

Also, if you really really hate the paint job, you can just strip the paint with some kind of solvent (never done it, look it up before you ever try)

 yeah i use vallejo too, if you are going to strip models use ONLY IPA

IMO, these are some of the best painting tutorials on the web: (https://www.youtube.com/@WayoftheBrush)

Really need to agree with carsorino, don’t cheap out on the brushes. Go to a good art supply store and get the expensive ones. And super-duper tiny. They come in sizes by number, you want fractions, less than 0.

For paint, I use games workshop, I’ve been happy with them. 

I also like to use a magnifier. A pair of reading glasses you might get at a drug store can really help.

In addition to the other advice about stripping it off, I’d suggest getting a few cheap minis from a hobby store and using them for practice. Your first few will probably suck, but like everything in life, practice will help you get better. 

And, fwiw, I’ve been painting minis for decades, and they still don’t look as good as the ones you see in stores and the internet. But I just enjoy painting them. That’s the real trick, do it for yourself because it’s something that’s fun for you. Don’t do it to impress other people. And don’t concern yourself with their opinions. Just do it for you.

Quote from Xalthu >>

Really need to agree with carsorino, don’t cheap out on the brushes. Go to a good art supply store and get the expensive ones. And super-duper tiny. They come in sizes by number, you want fractions, less than 0.

Best thing I can recommend for brushes is to never ever settle for synthetic brushes. Always get real kolinski-sable (i think i got that right?) hair brushes and always wash them when you're done

I always recommend watching a couple videos on brush care and related topics

Also on the actual technique side, if you don't already, start doing edge highlighting and shading. It made my minis look twice as good in only a few days.

As a beginner it's also super useful to learn drybrushing especially for more wrinkly things like skin and cloth that would take forever to edge highlight, but don't rely on it forever because it yields good results quickly, but you will eventually need to kinda phase it out as it can look a bit messy compared to patient by-hand stuff

There are a lot of good tips on the other comments and tutorials on YouTube that you can follow. I’d say most important are  the supplies. Get some tiny blushes for minis and good paints. I use the army painter’s paint which I like a lot. Get some paint thinner as well. A common mistake is to paint using the stair up paint which obscures details.

 Once you have the stuff just go for it! In my experience if you mess up completely and you can’t just paint over the mistake, you can use an xacto knife to remove the paint. 

Quote from Legoswitch >>

There are a lot of good tips on the other comments and tutorials on YouTube that you can follow. I’d say most important are  the supplies. Get some tiny blushes for minis and good paints. I use the army painter’s paint which I like a lot. Get some paint thinner as well. A common mistake is to paint using the stair up paint which obscures details.

 Once you have the stuff just go for it! In my experience if you mess up completely and you can’t just paint over the mistake, you can use an xacto knife to remove the paint. 

 i never use paint thinner, just water( except when i use my airbrush)

Also acceptable. I prefer the texture of thinner but they produce a similar result.

Quote from Legoswitch >>

Also acceptable. I prefer the texture of thinner but they produce a similar result.

 yeah water can thin it too much sometimes

Make sure you have a good magnifying glass that can magnify the mini, making it easier to paint, and try on less expensive ones first to get used to using it.  Also, you will need the proper mini painting brushes. Not sure where you live, but you will need brushes like this:  https://travellingman.com/collections/games-workshop/products/small-layer-brush, but you will also need the different brushes for the different things.  

As a sidenote, you will also need a very good directional light source and I would recommend that you get the large magnifying glasses that can clamp onto your desk.

Mostly, it just takes practice and patients.  So practice on cheap minis first until you get used to it.

:D

Fine brshes. Litte bit of paint on the end. Eyes are always a pain in the neck. Depending on the mini material, a base coat (black for a darker color, white for a lighter color). 

Thanks. I was a little worried about how to do base coats.