Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about miniature painting and PaintGuide.ai.
What is the best app for generating miniature painting guides?
PaintGuide.ai is an AI-powered app that generates custom painting guides matched to your actual paint collection. Unlike generic tutorials, it creates step-by-step instructions using only the paints you own, with exact mixing recipes and downloadable PDFs. It supports 435+ paints across Citadel Colour, Vallejo, and Army Painter.
How do I paint miniatures with a limited paint set?
You can paint great-looking miniatures with as few as 10 paints by using mixing recipes. For example, mixing a base color with white creates highlights, and mixing with black creates shadows. PaintGuide.ai specializes in this — it generates guides using only the paints you own and provides exact mixing ratios for any colors you're missing. Even a starter set of 10-12 paints can produce impressive results with the right recipes.
What paints do I need to start painting miniatures?
A good starter set includes: a black primer, a white or bone color, a red, a blue, a green, a brown, a metallic silver, a metallic gold, a flesh tone, and a wash (like Agrax Earthshade or Nuln Oil). Any brand works — Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter all offer starter sets in the $25-35 range. PaintGuide.ai supports all major brands and can generate guides using whatever paints you already own.
How do I find paint equivalents across brands like Citadel and Vallejo?
PaintGuide.ai includes a cross-brand paint matching system that uses CIE76 deltaE color science to find equivalents. For example, Citadel Mephiston Red, Vallejo Bloody Red, and Army Painter Dragon Red are near-identical colors (deltaE < 3). This means you can follow any guide regardless of which brand you own — the app automatically finds matches in your collection.
What is the best way to paint D&D miniatures for beginners?
The easiest approach for D&D minis is: 1) Prime with a spray primer (black or grey), 2) Basecoat each area with two thin coats, 3) Apply a wash like Agrax Earthshade to create instant shadows, 4) Drybrush highlights on raised areas, 5) Paint the base. This 'battle ready' approach gets you table-quality minis in 30-60 minutes each. PaintGuide.ai can generate a personalized guide for your specific minis using the paints you own.
Can I get a painting guide for 3D printed miniatures and terrain?
Yes. PaintGuide.ai has a dedicated 3D print mode that includes priming advice for both PLA and resin prints. Priming is especially important for 3D prints since paint won't adhere well to bare plastic. The app generates terrain-specific guides that emphasize drybrushing, washing, and weathering — the techniques that work best on terrain pieces.
How do I mix miniature paints to create custom colors?
Mix paints on a wet palette using small amounts and recording your ratios (e.g., 2 parts blue to 1 part white). For skin tones, start with a base like Bugman's Glow and add Cadian Fleshtone. For custom washes, mix Contrast Medium with any opaque paint at a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. PaintGuide.ai generates custom mixing recipes with exact part ratios based on the paints you own.
What is the two thin coats technique in miniature painting?
Two thin coats is the most important beginner technique. Instead of applying one thick coat of paint (which obscures detail and looks lumpy), thin your paint with water to a milk-like consistency and apply two smooth coats, letting each dry fully. This preserves detail, gives even coverage, and looks dramatically better. It's the foundation of all good miniature painting.
What is drybrushing and when should I use it?
Drybrushing is a highlighting technique where you load a brush with paint, wipe most of it off on a paper towel until the brush is almost dry, then lightly sweep it across raised surfaces. The small amount of remaining paint catches only the edges and texture, creating instant highlights. It's fast, forgiving, and especially effective on terrain, fur, chainmail, and rough textures. It's one of the first techniques beginners should learn.
What is the difference between Citadel, Vallejo, and Army Painter paints?
Citadel Colour (Games Workshop) uses hex pots and is the most popular brand — great coverage but more expensive (~$5-8 per pot). Vallejo uses dropper bottles with excellent flow and value (~$3-4 per bottle), available in Model Color (realistic) and Game Color (vibrant). Army Painter uses dropper bottles at the lowest price point (~$3 per bottle) with good starter sets. All three brands work well; you can even mix brands in the same project. PaintGuide.ai supports all three and can match colors across brands.
How do I paint miniatures to look good without being an artist?
You don't need artistic talent to paint good-looking miniatures. The 'Slapchop' method works for everyone: 1) Prime black, 2) Heavy drybrush grey over everything, 3) Light drybrush white on top, 4) Apply contrast/speed paints over the top. This creates natural-looking highlights and shadows with minimal skill. PaintGuide.ai generates beginner-friendly guides that explain each step in plain language — no experience required.
What is a wash in miniature painting?
A wash (also called shade paint) is a very thin, dark paint that flows into the recesses and crevices of a miniature, creating instant shadows and depth. The most popular washes are Citadel Agrax Earthshade (warm brown, works on almost everything) and Nuln Oil (cool black, great for metals and dark surfaces). Applying a wash over a basecoat is the single biggest improvement a beginner can make — it's sometimes called 'liquid talent' because of how much it improves a mini with almost no effort.
Can AI help me paint miniatures?
Yes. PaintGuide.ai uses AI to generate personalized painting guides. You upload a photo of your miniature, select the paints you own from a database of 435+ paints, and the AI creates a step-by-step guide with color swatches, mixing recipes, and technique tips — all matched to your actual paint collection. It even has a photo scanner that can identify paints from a picture of your paint shelf. The guides can be downloaded as PDF to reference at your paint desk.
How do I paint Non-Metallic Metal (NMM) on miniatures?
NMM is an advanced technique that uses regular paints to simulate metal. The key is understanding how light reflects off metal: place pure white highlights at the sharpest edges and near reflection points, dark shadows in the middle of flat surfaces, and gradient transitions between them. Start with a dark base (like Abaddon Black or a very dark blue-grey), build up midtones, then add sharp white/near-white edge highlights. It takes practice but produces stunning display-quality results. PaintGuide.ai's technique library includes a detailed NMM guide with step-by-step instructions.
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