Customizing Star Wars Minis 3

Basic Painting Techniques

By Jack Irons

Welcome to the third in a series of articles about customizing Star Wars Miniatures. In this installment, we'll look at basic techniques for painting your figures. (If you're interested in more advanced painting tips, try searching for "how-to" guides online.)

Customization Archive Part 1: Tools and Precautions Part 2: Color and Paint

I prefer having my custom's paint job look like the minis that come out of the Booster Packs so that all the figures match during a game. There are three steps in this process: basic painting, washes, and dry brushing. Some figs need complete repaints, but for others, you can get away with painting only a few sections.

Some people strip the original paint from a figure before repainting, but it's easier to simply paint the whole fig (or whatever sections you want) with black paint. Apply a few even coats of black, and you'll completely cover the original paint without obscuring the major details of the fig. If you're only doing a small touch-up, you might not need to base coat the miniature.

When the black paint is dry, decide which specific colors you'll use on each part of the fig or the section. Mix one color at a time in small amounts, and apply the paint in a thin layer over the area to be colored. If needed, apply a second coat of paint to achieve the intensity of color that you want.

For some parts of the fig, that basic repainting might be enough. But for other parts, you might want to bring out more details, especially if the mini has fur, a cloak, or something similar. By using washes and dry brushing, you can darken and highlight details to make them stand out.

Washes

A wash is when you use a water/paint mix to darken or change the tone of an area. Mix a few drops of black with twice as much water and apply it to the area you wish to darken. The water will help carry the pigment down into the figure's details while generally leaving the color unaffected.

Experiment with washes to see what kind of effects you can achieve. Using a brown wash will give the colors an aged look that can be really effective. Multiple layers of washes can also produce some amazing details. Don't be afraid of making a mistake -- you can always start over again.

Dry Brushing

Another way to pull out details is a method called dry brushing. Mix a color that's lighter than the color you want to highlight. Put a small amount of the mixed color on your brush, and then brush back and forth quickly on a sheet of paper until most of the paint has come off. The bristles will separate and retain only a bit of paint.

Now brush lightly on a section of your figure. A small amount of paint will transfer from the bristles onto the highest section of the area being brushed.

As with washes, you can experiment with dry brushing. By using increasingly lighter shades of the same color and brushing less of the area, you can add more depth. By using different color shades on top of each other, you can create cool effects, such as dirt dusted on clothing.

General Tips

Take your time and be sure to change your rinse water often.

Let one layer (whether it's paint, a wash, or a dry brush coat) dry completely before adding the next layer. Acrylic paint dries quickly, and you can always work on another miniature while the first one dries.

It takes practice to become proficient, but it's easy to learn. There's really no wrong way to paint a miniature, and using techniques that you're comfortable with will help increase your skills until you're ready for more advanced procedures. So don't worry about messing up. Just start with a fig or two that you can spare and that you want to see in a different color. If a custom doesn't turn out the way you wanted, simply repaint it.

Next Time

In the next article on customizing Star Wars Miniatures, we'll go over simple repositioning tricks and techniques.

About the Author

Jack Irons is an artist and graphic designer. He has been fan of Star Wars since he was four, when his dad took his sister and him to a matinee on the second day of its release. He posts regularly on the Star Wars Miniatures Game boards under the name "ironlightsaber" and often works with other board members on projects such as the Lost Twenty fan set. Jack lives in the middle of the U.S. with his wife Ruth and their son.