When I got into miniature painting, I came across a comprehensive guide that finally set me on the right track. Miniatures are those small models you assemble and paint, mostly for wargames like Warhammer 40K, Age of Sigmar or Infinity. They almost always come unassembled and unpainted, and it's up to us to bring them to life.
Preparation changes everything: you cut the parts off the sprue, scrape away the mould lines with a hobby knife, then apply a primer. Without primer, the paint doesn't stick and rubs off. Once the miniature was primed, I learned the basic techniques: layering, shading and highlighting, edge highlighting, washes and drybrushing. These simple techniques are what give a miniature depth.
As for equipment, I realised where I'd gone wrong: good brushes really make a difference, and a wet palette keeps your paint usable for hours instead of drying out in five minutes. For paints, it's better to invest in brands like Citadel, Vallejo or Army Painter rather than craft paint, which has too little pigment.
The hardest part was to stop comparing myself to other painters. Everyone progresses at their own pace, and it's by painting regularly — and trying new things — that you really improve. Painting something different from what I usually do helped me progress enormously.
Source: Figurines et Peintures
In its Sunday previews, Warhammer Community talked about Warhammer Tone Pro, one of the big surprises of the Big Autumn Preview that is close to going on sale. I think it is an interesting range for anyone who paints miniatures regularly.
It includes 30 new colours, each in five tones, which adds up to 150 paints. The Ultramar blue, for example, runs from Ultramar Blue 1, the darkest, to Ultramar Blue 5, the lightest. According to the article, the new formula gives good results straight from the pot and lets you use the same paint for glazes, shades, highlights, base coats and drybrushing. The colours are described as intense and vivid, and even yellows and whites, which are usually difficult, should cover well from the first coat. They are applied without thinning, and their self-levelling quality gives an even finish.
There are also two mediums. Shading Medium reduces the pigment density without changing the flow or the finish, so any Tone Pro paint can be used for shading or glazing. Blending Medium extends drying time to make blends easier. A new set of drybrushes is also presented, with curved tips and compact bristles, for applying paint precisely without overloading the miniature.
The painters Ninj0n and Albert Moreto Font have already tried the range and are enthusiastic. The paints are said to be available in thousands of Warhammer stores and independent hobby shops around the world.
What stands out most to me is the idea of painting with a single bottle throughout the whole process. If it works as promised, it would make buying and learning much simpler for beginners.
Source: Warhammer Community
I came across a fresh post about painting Magnus the Red, primarch of the Thousand Sons, and decided to retell it here. The author, Lasar Dinor, received the original model already assembled and primed, so there are no kit options. By his account, Magnus doesn't need them anyway.
The colour scheme is classic and close to the official art. The author also mentions a version with Illidan and glowing tattoos, but considers it more of a cameo than a serious option. He painted with a brush, since he has no airbrush. The work went quickly despite the size of the figure, but he admits he forgot to photograph the process. A Dreadnought's hand is in the frame for scale.
On the technical side, the main colour covers almost the entire figure, there are almost no shadows, and the highlights are minimal, mostly on the wings. He painted the sword flame green. Blue was considered too, but green draws the eye more strongly, and the character already has plenty of blue. He covered the base with mud so it doesn't look just black. The idea of magical swirls was postponed.
He plans to add a glass orb to the hand. I liked his honest conclusion: the most dangerous moment comes when the figure already looks finished, and the finishing touches easily get put off, especially when there are many unpainted models on the shelf. A familiar story for anyone who collects miniatures. The post names no paints; it is more a story about approach than a step-by-step guide.
Source: DTF
Games Workshop is rolling out its new Warhammer Tone Pro paint range with a series of articles from the 'Eavy Metal team, and the latest one adds more colours. As someone who likes seeing how professional painters approach a model, I found the whole series worth following.
The range was one of the headline reveals of the Big Autumn Preview. It contains 30 new colours, each split into five easy-to-use tones, so 150 paints in total. As an example, the Ultramarines' power armour runs from Ultramar Blue 1, the darkest, to Ultramar Blue 5, the lightest. The new formula is meant to work straight from the pot, and the same paint can be used for glazing, shading, highlighting, basecoating and drybrushing. The colours are vibrant, and even yellows and whites are said to cover well in a single coat.
There are also two mediums. Shading Medium lowers pigment density without changing flow or finish, so any Tone Pro paint can become a shade or glaze. Blending Medium extends drying time to help with smooth transitions. A new set of Dry brushes with curved tips and tight bristles rounds out the launch.
Beyond the paints, Warhammer Community has been publishing interviews with well-known painters, including Roman Lappat, Angelo Di Chello and Kentaro Ikeda, all talking about the range. The 'Eavy Metal articles go colour by colour, listing which tones they used on specific parts of a model, and I think that recipe format is the most practical part for hobbyists who want to try the paints themselves.
If you collect Warhammer miniatures, these pages are a good place to compare how the tones stack up before deciding which ones to buy.
Source: Warhammer Community
Games Workshop is running a whole article series on the new Warhammer Tone Pro paint range, and the green installment stood out to me because it gives concrete recipes. After the articles on red and yellow, the ‘Eavy Metal team this time shows green miniatures.
For a Salamanders Intercessor, the base is Lustria Green 3, the shadows use tones 1 and 2, and the highlights use 4 and 5. The principle of the range shows clearly here: every colour comes in five steps, so a single pot can cover base, shade and light.
The Kriegsdespot is more involved. The armour starts with Green Morkshroom 3, shadows with 1 and 2, highlights with 4 and 5, and the final edges get Blackstone Void 5. The gems are made with Seraphon Blue 1 to 5, the pink part of the glaive with Eye of Terror 4 and 5, and the horns with Dataslate Grey 1 to 5. The visible part of the sash is painted in Magnus the Red.
According to the article, the paints can be pre-ordered from Saturday, and you can try them out in Warhammer stores and at independent retailers. A post on blue is announced for the following day.
I find this recipe format very practical. If you want to paint an army, you immediately see which tones go together and don't have to guess how many steps a clean gradient needs.
Source: Warhammer Community
An article has appeared on the German Warhammer Community site in which the 'Eavy Metal team shows how to build different blues with the new Tone Pro paints. It is part of a small series: after yellow and green, blue is up now. The paints can be pre-ordered within a few days, and the new range will be available from Saturday.
The principle behind Tone Pro is a numbered system. Each colour has five tones, with 1 the darkest and 5 the lightest. The painters use exactly this as a classic layering approach: a dark base, shading, and several lightened steps.
Three models are shown. The armour of an Ultramarines Intercessor is painted with Ultramar Blue: tone 2 as the base, tone 1 for shadows, and tones 3, 4 and 5 for lightening. Carthalos Skin is used for the shadows of the golden areas, and Blackstone Void for the metals. On a Liberator of the Stormforged Eternals, Blue Gorkshroom 1 serves as the dark tone, and tones 3, 4 and 5 set the highlights. The Liberator of the Celestial Defenders combines Green Morkshroom 3 with Craventhrone Cloak 4 and 5 to get a bluer surface.
What I like is that the article names concrete tones and their order instead of only showing result photos. There are no direct quotes from the painters; it is purely about technique. According to the article, the paints can be tested in Warhammer stores.
Source: Warhammer Community
I read an introductory guide from the 3DJake Svizzera blog, published in August 2026, and it struck me as a good starting point for anyone who has never picked up a miniature brush. The authors honestly admit they are not professional miniature painters, which makes the advice more concrete.
It starts with primer: a raw miniature should not be painted directly. Primer, usually sold in a spray can, comes in black, white, or grey. Black gives a darker, higher-contrast look, white makes colors brighter, and grey is a compromise that suits beginners. Before that, the guide recommends cleaning the miniature with lukewarm water and a little dish soap, because residue from mold release or dust can stop paint from adhering.
For colors, specific miniature acrylics are enough. They flow into the engraved lines and create shadows. The most common mistakes are using paint undiluted and in layers that are too thick: it is better to add a little water and apply several thin coats. You need two brushes, a larger one for broad surfaces and a fine one for details. Synthetic brushes are cheap and fine at first, while natural-hair brushes suit people with more experience. After use, they should be washed in lukewarm water and left to dry lying flat.
The guide describes six techniques: base coating in several thin passes, washing (a very diluted dark color that settles into the recesses, the easiest to start with), dry brushing to highlight raised details such as fur or stone, layering with progressively lighter shades, highlighting, and edge highlighting along the edges with a fine, almost dry brush. According to the article, a simple miniature with a base coat, wash, and dry brushing takes one or two hours, while layering and highlighting take much longer.
I especially like the closing message: no expensive equipment is needed, just a primer, a few base colors, and one or two brushes. For a first attempt, it is best to choose a simple model with well-defined surfaces. The text is published on a site that sells materials, so there are some promotions too, but the advice holds for anyone.
Source: 3DJake Svizzera
Warhammer Community just published a painting guide to the Legio Custodes liveries in the Horus Heresy, and it is packed with specific recipes. The standard look is gold armour with red cloaks, loincloths and helmet plumes, taken from the Emperor's own colours. Three sub-orders, the Templi, then get their own variants.
For the standard gold, the guide uses Retributor Armour as the base, shaded with Darkoath Flesh and Cygor Brown, then edged with Liberator Gold and Stormhost Silver. There is also a lighter gold built from a Liberator Gold base. The reds start with a Mephiston Red basecoat, shaded with Barak-Nar Burgundy and picked out with Evil Sunz Scarlet, while the leather pteruges and gloves go Khorne Red over Doombull Brown, with mixing ratios like 3:1 and 2:1 spelled out.
The variants are where it gets fun. Templi Lictoris is black iridescent armour with ivory cloaks, Templi Prudentia is polished black with purple detail built from Phoenician Purple, a Xereus Purple glaze and Genestealer Purple highlights, and Templi Veritas is pale brass armour over Runelord Brass with black infills. A final example shows a gold Custodian with a purple cloak to suggest long-term allegiance to the Prudentia.
The techniques are all layering, glazing and dot highlights, nothing exotic. I like that vehicles get the same treatment: three Caladius Annihilator grav-tanks appear in different liveries, one with the battle honour Nordyc and another Maulland Sen. If you are planning a Custodes force, this is a handy colour reference to bookmark.
Source: Warhammer Community
In its Sunday preview, Warhammer Community covered the Warhammer Tone Pro range, one of the most anticipated reveals of the Big Autumn Preview. The new colours are coming soon, and they look like an interesting release for anyone who paints miniatures.
The range has 30 new colours, and each one comes in five numbered tones, from 1 (the darkest) to 5 (the lightest). That makes 150 colours in total. For the Ultramarines' energy armour, for example, you use Ultramar Blue 1 through Ultramar Blue 5. The paints are said to handle glazes, shades, highlights, base coats and drybrushing on their own, and difficult colours such as yellow and white should cover well in one coat. They go on without thinning and level out by themselves for an even surface.
Two mediums come with the range. Shading Medium lowers the pigment density without changing the flow or the finish, so any Tone Pro paint can become a shade or a glaze. Blending Medium extends the drying time to make colours easier to blend. New drybrushes are also planned.
Community painters Ninj0n and Albert Moreto Font have already tried the range and expressed enthusiasm. The paints are said to be available in thousands of Warhammer stores and at independent retailers around the world.
What I especially like is the numbered tone system. If you know that 1 is shadow and 5 is light, you don't need to spend time looking for the right mixes. I also think it could help people who are learning layered painting for the first time.
Source: Warhammer Community
The official Warhammer information site has announced September's new content for Warhammer Academy, the online learning programme. Since it is a useful update for anyone who wants to start painting miniatures, here is a summary.
The Academy is an online programme for people who want to build their Warhammer skills and gain confidence, and new content is added every month. According to the article, it started on 21 July, the August content went live on 28 August, and this September instalment was published on 29 September.
September's theme is "Brutal and Cunning Orks". The content includes a lesson on Ork clans, a lesson on painting the notorious green Ork skin, two guide videos that use the Plus Paints paint sets, and advice on a first Warhammer 40,000 army. The videos use the "Ork Boyz & Paint" set and the "Space Marine Intercessors & Paint" set.
Personally, I found it interesting that green skin gets a lesson of its own. The article does not give specific paint names or steps, though, so the actual content will need to be checked in the Academy itself. New content is also scheduled for October, and if you want advice in person, the article suggests asking at your nearest Warhammer store.
Source: Warhammer Community
In its Sunday preview, Warhammer Community returned to the Warhammer Tone Pro range, one of the big reveals of the Big Autumn Preview. Here is what I take from it, as someone who enjoys painting miniatures.
The range includes 30 new colours, each available in five easy-to-use shades, for 150 paints in total. For the Ultramarines' energy armour, for example, you start with Ultramar Blue 1, the darkest, and go up to Ultramar Blue 5, the lightest. The new formulation is meant to give good results straight from the pot, and the same paint can be used for glazes, shading, highlights, base coats and drybrushing. The colours are described as intense: even yellows and whites, which are notoriously difficult, should cover well in a single coat. They also level out by themselves for an even finish.
Two mediums complete the line. Shading Medium reduces the pigment density without changing the flow or the final finish, so any Tone Pro paint can become a shade or a glaze. Blending Medium extends drying time to make blending easier. New drybrushing brushes, with curved heads and tightly packed bristles, are also planned.
Community painters such as Ninj0n and Albert Moreto Font, a three-time winner of the Slayer Sword, have already tested the range and are enthusiastic. The paints are said to be available in thousands of Warhammer stores and at independent retailers.
What I find interesting is the idea of a numbered shade system: you pick a colour, you know 1 is the shadow and 5 is the light, and you avoid hunting for mixes.
Source: Warhammer Community
