I recommend starting on a miniature you already own that you are motivated to paint. It does not matter if it is a very cheap miniature or something more expensive. The most important thing is that painting this miniature is something that you actually want to do.
Practical Tips to Start Painting as a Hobby
Pursuing a hobby like painting is more about overcoming inhibitions than creating a picture – It takes practice, experience and observation. Painting can stimulate your imagination, inspiring you to explore how you interpret the world. Practising visual artist and CAE staff member, Rhonda Hodge, shares some advice to help you pick up a paintbrush for the first time.
If you’re a complete newbie it’s best to start with acrylic paints. They are inexpensive and easy for beginners. Acrylic paints are also water soluble, easy to clean from your materials, quick-drying and quite forgiving!
To avoid a mental blank when you get in front of the canvas for the first time, think ahead and plan what you are going to paint. For inspiration, you can create a Pinterest Board or find photos that you absolutely love and recreate them. Collecting images you love will help stimulate ideas, boost your imagination and will encourage you to think visually.
Get into the habit of using a visual art journal, either A4 or A3 with thick paper is best. You can use this to organise your sketches, images you’d love to draw and practice different art techniques. Practicing in your visual journal will help you to conceptualise the style or form of painting you want to explore as you start to discover your style.
If you’re looking to create a series of paintings, research related images on Pinterest. Start sketching different variations of the images you have in mind until you can visualise the theme or series of images you are after. For example, if you want to paint a series of portraits, you can experiment with lighting effects and shadows to convey a mood or style that runs through all of your creations.
Preparing your Brushes & Materials
When you’re painting, you’re likely to make quite a mess. Stock up on rags, supermarket sponges and rummage through your closet for an old t-shirt. Acrylic paints often permanently stain clothes. A good tip is to have a uniform that you regularly wear for every painting session. Not only will you protect the clothes you are wearing underneath your uniform, but you get the added benefit of getting into the artist mindset every time you step in front of your canvas.
Invest in a few quality soft and hard-bristled paint brushes and palette knives of different sizes. Softer brushes are great for smoother brushstrokes such as watercolour painting, while hard-bristled paintbrushes are ideal for heavier paints such as oil and acrylic painting. If you need some help deciding on the right brushes, visit your local art supplies store for inspiration or advice.
Brushes are at the heart of every painter’s toolkit so you want to take very good care of them. How you clean and maintain your brushes will affect how long they last. Keep a large jar of water in your workspace to store your brushes in while you are painting, but remember to drain the water and clean your brushes once you’re done for the day. While it’s ideal to keep your brush wet while painting, leaving your brushes in water to soak for extended periods of time can damage and deform your paintbrushes.
While you are painting, try using different brushes for different colours of paint. This will help you avoid mixing colours while painting on a canvas. You don’t need an expensive paint palette to separate your colours. Instead, use a large plastic or smooth ceramic platter to give you plenty of room to mix colours. If you’re taking a break, simply gladwrap your platter so that the paints don’t dry up.
Expand and Explore
Before you put a drop of paint on your canvas, you’ve got to sketch first. Sometimes you have to sketch your idea several times before you can make a start with paints. Sketching helps you formulate your final design and locks in a clear vision of what you are going to paint. It will stimulate you to think of the different elements in your work, such as colours, lighting, expression and texture.
If you want to get familiar with colours and colour mixing, creating a colour wheel gives you an understanding of the different dimensions, mood and synergy of different colours and their relationship to each other. There are great YouTube and web tutorials to help you create your own colour wheel, just find what works best for you.
Practice your brush strokes, but you don’t need to splash out on a new canvas each time. Use your visual art journal to practise a range of painting techniques such as dry brush, stippling, splattering, dabbing and palette knife.
Knowing how to observe the seven elements of art helps. Next time you visit an art gallery, pay attention to how the artist uses line, colour, shape, form, value, space and texture in their work.
There are a host of benefits to learning how to paint. It can improve your concentration, develop your critical thinking skills, and enhance your fine motor skills. It can foster creative growth, build your confidence, promote a positive attitude and nurture emotional growth. Learning how to paint should be more pleasure than pressure. Just remember, the key to getting better is repetition. Practice, practice, practice!
Rhonda Hodge is a Melbourne-based visual artist who completed a Bachelor and Master of Creative Arts Degrees. She went on to build her home-based studio business where she has created unique installation pieces for exhibition, commission artworks and worked on various collaborative projects. She has had the opportunity to exhibit in Australia and Germany with her collections and she has sold commission pieces and installations to private and commercial collectors locally and internationally. You can check out Rhonda’s artwork on her Instagram page and website.
What tools do I need to start painting miniatures?
Before you actually get to paint, you should make sure that you have the needed equipment and tools for painting.
I have put together a short overview of the necessary tools (plus some nice-to-haves) for you in the image (just press the different tools to read more about them).
It might help you to get to know your tools and colors before you get started. Just grab your brush and a color to your liking. Now you can try the color out on a piece of paper and a bit of plastic. Get used to holding a brush and learn what a color looks and feels like. This way, you can already get the hang of density of this color and might even find out how much to dilute it to make it work nicely.
How do I start?
Once you gathered everything you need, you can set up a small space as your painting area. There is no need for very fancy equipment or lots of space, but it helps to stay organized: It helps to keep up the motivation for painting if you can just get started right away.
Make sure to have good lighting on your paint station. You should be able to see the miniature in all its details and so that the color of the paint is not falsified (this can happen with too yellow a light). Get a comfortable chair, maybe put some music on and get started.
This is the most important aspect when getting into the hobby: Overcome your doubts and just get started!
How do I get and stay motivated to paint miniatures?
Do not let yourself be discouraged by others – and most importantly not yourself! It is important to keep trying and learning. Of course, your first handful of models might not look perfectly like what you aimed for. But keep in mind: It is okay to start small. There is no need for perfectionism, especially not if you are just getting into the hobby.
Do not worry about technical terms. There might be a ton of unfamiliar expressions when just getting started. Just learn how to paint on a basic level and keep improving. Once you have the general knowledge and experience, you might want to look up new techniques or talk with others about getting better. Take one step at a time and do not rush things.
Here’s How Anyone Can Learn To Paint
Painting Style
The type of art and style you want to make is important. This should indicate and narrow down the specific skills and techniques you will need to learn to paint something that pleases you.
Are you aiming for photorealism? Abstract? Modern Art? Impression?
The next thing you’ll want to consider is the medium.
If you’d like to dabble in a little bit of each, no problem. There’s no harm in trying different things out.
I started with watercolor, then acrylic, and finally had a calling to oil paints and gouache.
Out of all mediums, my heart is naturally drawn to oils and gouache.
Here are a few oil paintings I did once I started to get the hang of it:
You find yourself drawn to one specific medium over the other but this can only be discovered once you begin painting.
So, think about the kind of art you want to be able to paint and then you can go from there.
Tools
Art supplies are just as important as skills to a certain extent.
Indeed, the tools don’t quite make the artist but having brushes that give you beautiful applications and surfaces that are primed makes it easier to work it.
Imagine learning watercolor on printer paper. That’s a surefire disaster with loads of hair pulling in tow.
Bad supplies can also put you off. Trust me, this is coming from first-hand experience.
Art supplies aren’t cheap but you don’t need top-level artist-grade supplies to make good art.
Student grades or at least decent-quality paints, surfaces, and brushes are the best way to go when you’re learning.
Any beginner fresh to paint should have these supplies to get started.
But if you’re uncertain whether to invest in painting surfaces so soon in the journey, there are canvas pads that are a cheaper alternative that usually come in a pack of 10 sheets.
I’ve also discovered a neat hack that involves priming cardboard with gesso those dollar-store canvases for a cheap yet usable surface.
The primer will help protect the painting and ensure the paint doesn’t get sucked dry into the surface and it makes it a more pleasant experience to paint.
Tutorials & Guides
As a beginner, it’s not such a good idea to just wing it or try to figure it all out on your own.
What I found the most helpful for learning how to paint and upgrading my painting skills is by watching painting tutorials on Youtube or reading books.
An acrylic painting I did when I was a beginner after following CorreaArt’s tutorial on Youtube
This is an incredible source of information and guidance that beats having to pay for expensive classes or a single painting DVD.
Since most of these artists have already grasped the concept and skills of painting, it’s incredibly useful to take these skills and knowledge and use it to create your artwork.
Following tutorials to the best of your ability will help prove that you can paint. This should also help you gain confidence along the way.
With that in mind, tutorials can be tricky.
If you’ve never really painted before and you’d like to get a taste of painting, then pick any tutorial that you feel will suit your level or interest.
But if you’re serious about painting, I highly recommend that you pick at least two artists who have multiple painting tutorials.
Every painter has their way of doing things and this can get confusing fast.
This is why you’re bound to learn how to paint better if you stick with one instructor rather than 10 random tutorials from different artists.
Permission To Mess Up
Here’s where I went wrong when I was a newbie learning how to paint.
I didn’t allow myself to just enjoy the process of painting.
This is vital as painting for the finished product can often fail to meet your expectations and lead to disappointment.
It’s easy to feel like you’re not cut out for this when you keep making bad paintings and funny enough, you’re probably going to have tons of bad paintings.
Give yourself the time and permission to do a bad job. A bad painting means something and you should take them lightly. This is an awesome opportunity to learn from your mistakes.
You should also consider playing around with the colors and the medium. Get familiar with your paints and how to work them.
If all you want to do is paint, just pick the brush up and smear some paint on the canvas.
You don’t only have to follow tutorials all the time at the beginning when you’re just getting friendly with your paints.
There’s so much enjoyment in mixing different colors on the palette, applying different brush strokes, and filling a black canvas with colors.
As you paint, you’ll instinctively know what I’m talking about.
A gouache sketch from a Sarah Sedwick reference:
Main Essential Features of Painting Anything
Now the following stuff may be a bit more advanced but I think having this knowledge of the essentials of painting can be incredibly useful to have in your mental toolkit.
This is what painting mostly consists of:
A Toned Canvas
A toned canvas involves staining or tinting the canvas or surface to a warm color like a light brown.
Most artists prefer to tint the canvas with a light wash (a watered-down version of the paint) so that it gets rid of the white.
You’re probably wondering why?
Well, it makes it easier to match and compare the values (how light or dark) a color is whereas a white surface can often trick you into thinking a color is darker or lighter than it actually is.
Another bonus to toning a canvas is that it helps get rid of that fear of ruining the blank page.
You could also consider this as a starting ritual when you tone a canvas every time you begin painting.
This should help quickly get you into the flow.
Break The Subject Down
The most important thing you will ever do when painting a subject is to figure out the main components and this can be broken into shapes of light and dark.
Here’s what to look for:
Think Big Shapes – Try to find the main shapes of the subject and remove all detail. An easy way to do this is to squint your eyes so you only see the big main shapes or you can blur the photo. Once you get the big shapes down, you can go back and add smaller shapes as this helps turn the image into a 3D form.
Paint The Darks First – Finding your darkest dark and your lightest light in the painting can be a useful guide and an awesome starting point. Also, if you’re working with oils, painting your darks first makes it way easier as it’s much harder to darken the color over light paint. With acrylics, since it drys so fast, you could probably paint dark over light but generally, painting the shadows first helps define the image as this helps the painting to come together faster.
Leave The Lights For Last – This applies to the lightest or brightest highlight. Before grabbing that white paint, you’ll want to make sure the highlight is white. Most of the time depending on the subject, the white is never pure. It usually has a slight tint of another color in it.
Also, as tempting as it is to pack a painting with detail, it’s best to hold off.
If the painting and drawing are off, the detail won’t save it.
Practice Your Drawing
Drawing is one of the most important components of any painting.
Yes, drawing! You might have aced the colors, brush strokes or interesting designs of a painting, but if your drawing is wonky, this is what’s going to determine if it fails or not.
Now you don’t need to be a pro at drawing and nor do you need to feel like you need to master drawing before you can even learn to paint.
You can always practice drawing and painting at the same time.
But if you want to jump right into painting and maybe you’re not confident about your painting skills, here is what you can try: using a grid.
This grid will help you figure out where everything goes and it just makes the whole process of getting down an accurate drawing quick and easy.
Learn Color Mixing With A Limited Palette
Before you go buy every color there is, there’s a much easier and better way to paint just about any color there is.
Start with a limited color palette. These should be the primary colors: red, blue, yellow, white, and brown.
In your journey of painting, you’ll learn why a limited color palette works so well and you’ll also have loads of fun mixing and matching colors.
If there’s a really important tip I can give you is to avoid using black to darken your colors. Opt for blue or red instead.
Follow And Learn From A Competent Instructor
Make the process of learning to paint easier on yourself. Get a good instructor.
As mentioned before, I learned so much valuable information which in turn I’m sharing with you from instructors on Youtube and painting guides.
This is a golden tool that will speed up the process of learning.
Closing Thoughts
There’s no right way or just one way of painting. You just go with what feels right to you.
As you can see, there’s no need to fear painting or doubt whether you can do it.
With time, effort, and skills, painting does get better over time and you do end up gaining more confidence with the more art you produce.
In fact, for me, it’s quite a satisfying feeling to look back at those days when I just started and where I am now. And it can happen to you too.
I hope this article helped convince you that anyone can learn to paint and that these tips nudged you to get started.
It would be a shame not to make an attempt because this could be the best possible thing you’ve yet to discover.
I wish you all the best and if you’re interested in learning more tips and ideas from me, here are a few topics worth reading:
