How to Paint Forest Terrain Miniatures
A painted forest transforms your gaming table from flat and lifeless to an immersive woodland battleground. Terrain painting is fast, forgiving, and satisfying because drybrushing -- the easiest painting technique -- does most of the work. This guide covers painting trees, rocky outcrops, and forest floor scatter to create a cohesive woodland scene.
Supplies Needed
- •Black spray primer
- •Dark brown paint
- •Medium grey paint
- •Light grey or off-white paint
- •Dark green paint
- •Dark brown or black wash
- •Static grass, flock, and grass tufts
- •PVA glue for flocking
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prime Everything Black
Spray prime all your terrain pieces in black. Terrain has deep textures, undercuts, and hard-to-reach spots, so spray primer is strongly recommended over brush-on primer. The black primer provides built-in shadow and means any spots you miss look like natural darkness.
Tip: If you don't have spray primer, you can brush on heavily thinned black craft paint as a cheap alternative for terrain. It doesn't need to be as precise as model primer.
Heavy Drybrush the Tree Bark
Load a large, stiff brush with dark brown paint and wipe off most of the paint. Drybrush all tree trunks and branches with a heavy hand. You want about 70 percent coverage -- the black primer should still show in the deepest bark crevices. This creates an instant bark texture.
Heavy Drybrush the Rocks
Using the same technique, drybrush all rocks and stone surfaces with medium grey. Cover most of the surface but leave the deepest cracks black. Rocks are the most forgiving surface to drybrush -- it's almost impossible to make them look bad.
Tip: For variety, drybrush some rocks with a slightly warmer grey (mixed with a touch of brown) and others with a cooler grey. Subtle variety looks more natural than uniform color.
Light Drybrush Highlights
Switch to a lighter color and a much drier brush. Very lightly drybrush off-white or light grey onto the tops of rocks, the upper sides of branches, and any raised edges. This creates the illusion of overhead light catching the highest points.
Wash for Depth and Grime
Apply a dark brown wash over all the trees and rocks. Be generous -- let it flow into every crack and crevice. The wash blends the drybrush layers together, adds organic grime, and creates a unified, natural appearance. Let everything dry completely before the next step.
Paint the Forest Floor
Apply dark brown paint to the base surfaces and any ground areas. Once dry, drybrush with a lighter earth tone. Then apply PVA glue in patches and sprinkle on a mix of dark and medium green flock. Press it down gently and shake off the excess after the glue sets.
Tip: Vary the flock colors and density across the base. Real forest floors have patches of bare earth between clumps of growth.
Add Foliage and Grass Tufts
Glue grass tufts around the base of trees and at the edges of rocks. If your trees need canopy foliage, apply PVA glue to branch tips and press on clump foliage or fine-leaf foliage material. Build up layers for a fuller look.
Final Details and Sealing
Optionally, paint patches of green on tree trunks for moss. Add tiny mushrooms, fallen logs, or scatter rocks for extra detail. Once everything is dry and set, seal the terrain with a matte spray varnish to protect the flock and paint from handling during games.
Pro Tips
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Terrain painting is the best place to practice drybrushing. There's no pressure for precision -- rough and quick looks great.
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Use cheap craft paint for terrain instead of your miniature paints. You'll use a lot of paint on large terrain pieces, and craft paint covers just fine.
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Seal flock and static grass with a spray of diluted PVA glue (50/50 water and PVA in a spray bottle) to prevent shedding during games.
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Build terrain in batches -- paint all your trees at once, then all your rocks. Consistency across pieces makes a better-looking table.
Related Techniques
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