So, you want to paint models fast? Speed painting a miniature takes skill, but most of all it’s about cutting corners. When I want to finish a project fast, I speed paint miniatures with a different mindset.

In general, I know that I can speed paint a single 28-35mm scale miniature to a tabletop standard in about 30-60 minutes. A display quality paint job for the same model could take me more than 2 hours with almost no upper time limit.

In this article, I break down my philosophy and approach for painting miniatures fast. I’ve fallen back on this method many times to get projects done fast, and pretty darn good looking as well.

Read on for my thoughts and tips for speed painting miniatures.

Skaven miniatures from Warhammer. If there was ever a time to speed paint….

The Key to Speed: Your “Eye”

The “eye” is a way of thinking.

Think big. See big.

In other words, the “eye” is my way of saying I try to think about the miniature as many big shapes stuck together.

Kind of like a lego house. The many smaller pieces come together to form the whole structure.

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The key to seeing like this is trying to see the biggest pieces of the whole.

Again, when speed painting a miniature, I’m looking for big elements. For example, a 40k Space Marine from Games Workshop has large shoulder pads. Or a war jack from Warmachine has a large torso with small legs.

Once I find the big elements, I plan to paint all those parts the same color.

Speed painted Space Marines (Games Workshop). Notice the large shoulder pads.

RELATED: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE: TABLETOP VS. DISPLAY QUALITY?

Use your “eye” to see what those big parts are in each model you want to paint fast.

Once you’re able to identify what defines a model’s shape, you will paint faster in no-time.

You’ll be surprised how good your model’s final results look, too!

An oil canvas painter once told me to “start with a big brush”. With a big brush, he said he could envision what he wanted to create better.

It did take me a few moments to figure out what this artist meant. But, it dawned on me that he was saying this: if you want to think big, use big tools.

Use the biggest brush you think can get the job done (here’s what I use). This point also makes sense in light of how common airbrushing is within our mini painting community.

Airbrushes are the biggest brush you can use on a miniature. But, you don’t need one for speed painting. Just grab a large high-quality brush.

On the other hand, if you do use an airbrush, consider using an ultrasonic cleaner to speed up the cleaning process. They are affordable and easy-to-use.

I base coated these models with an airbrush. Yes, airbrushing can speed up painting! But, only if you know what you’re doing….

How is speed painting different than “normal” painting?

When you paint a miniature at normal speed (or casually as I like to call it), you’re looking at what each element is made-of.

For example, the hair of a model should be one color, the skin might be another. When you paint a leather coat, it should look very distinct than the shoes or the belt buckle that holds up the denim jeans.

If you’re pulling out a magnifying visor for speed painting, you’re doing it wrong. Here are some magnifying visors I use for high-quality level painting.

Speed painting a miniature forgets all this specific information.

You want to paint your miniatures with a small color palette. For speed painting, I aim to have no more than 5 colors. With just 5 colors I can paint almost every model to a tabletop quality.

Make sure you shake up your paints thoroughly for reliable pigment coverage!

Check out these speedy model paint mixers.

Contrast: light and dark?

Contrast is the most important thing you need to keep in mind when you speed paint.

Always remember contrast!

What is contrast?

Contrast is how bright and dark your model is. The more different the “brightness value” between your bright colors and your dark colors are, the better your model will look.

When you choose your colors, make sure one is really dark, and one is really bright.

But, follow this rule: avoid using pure black or pure white.

You want to limit the use of these colors because they are the extremes of at either end of the brightness spectrum. Pure black and white paints tend to make a model look “boring” or “flat”, unless you paint them with a different eye than what you use for speed painting.

A quick way to add contrast after your base coat a model is to dip it in a dark wash.

MORE: BEST WASHES FOR PAINTING MINIATURES

Other ways to speed paint and maintain contrast is to use an oil wash to add dark values (you’ll need a dry palette for this). You can follow-up with dry brushing to add highlights (see an example here where I combine these methods).

“Dipped” Zombicide models in Army Painter’s Quickshade Medium Tone solution

Board game minis speed painted using the “dipping” method.



What determines a good-looking speed painted model?

There are 3 things that contribute to the final outcome of a painted miniature. These elements include:

Time – The more time that an artist invests in painting a miniature, the better the model will look. Model size or complexity – The larger or more complex the model, the more skill and time you will need to finish the job well. Skill/experience – The more skill and experience an artist has, the more efficient he will be (e.g., faster and better painting).

Key elements that contribute to the quality of a miniature. Time and model size/complexity are constant variables. The skill/experience of the artist will vary between individuals.

To understand to speed paint a miniature, look at how time is allocated to each phase of a painted miniature.

What do I mean by time allocation?

Miniature painting takes time.

Interestingly, the time to paint a miniature can be sub-divided into four phases (see below in Figure 1 and 2).

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There’s a preparation phase where a model’s surface is prepared, e.g., cleaned/smoothed, and primed. The base coat phase is the first layer of color. The layer and highlight phase uses the most proportion of the overall time to paint a miniature. Then, the final phase would include finishing the base or applying a varnish.

Of course these “steps or phases” are very general. A painter may bounce between these phases as they prefer. For example, flocking a base or assembly of a model may occur later or earlier in the painting process.

In either case, the total time spent painting a model involves different steps.

Paint faster with simple tips and tricks.

Did you know you can breakdown mini painting into “phases”?

All creative projects have a workflow.

Example workflow for speed painting a miniature

When I think about any creative project, I try to break it down into small bite-sized parts.

Each phase differs in time, depending on the your desired outcome quality.

RELATED: HOW ABOUT A SPEED PAINTED MENOTH WARJACK?

Two important notes about painting phases

The speed and time needed in each painting phase is reliant on the technical skill of the miniature painter. Base coating takes less skill than the layering/highlight phase.

If you want to paint fast, spend most of your time on the base coat with an eye for a tabletop standard paint job.

Figure 1 – time invested in each phase of a miniature paint job destined to become “tabletop quality”

A miniature painter aiming for a tabletop standard finish may spend more time base coating than layering or highlighting. Layering and highlighting generally needs color blending of some sort (figure 1).

Figure 2 – Time invested in each miniature painting phase for model destined for “Greatness”.

On the other hands, a miniature painter who is looking for a high-quality finish will spend more time preparing the surface of their miniature. They will also invest most of their time in the technical layering and highlight process (figure 2).

In fact, base coating might be faster for the experienced painter. They will have the tools or knowledge to paint large surfaces efficiently. This allows a skilled painter to invest more in details with layering/highlights.

But, for speed painting, remember you’re not looking for details. You want to see and paint big shapes! Remember your ‘eye’ (see above in this article).

Bottomline: If you want to paint fast, paint to a tabletop standard

Speed painted Grymkin Hollowmen. Looks pretty good to me!

Summary

To speed paint a miniature, I recommend you try to follow these tips:

Think Big: Develop your “eye” for large shapes Paint as many big defining shapes in the same color Look for large parts, not details or materials

Develop your “eye” for large shapes Big Brush: Use the biggest high-quality brush that will do the job This can be an airbrush or a flat bristle brush (see here for more details on brushes)

Use the biggest high-quality brush that will do the job Limit Your Palette: Try and paint with no more than 5 colors on your palette

Try and paint with no more than 5 colors on your palette Strong Contrast: Keep your lights and darks as far apart as possible Use techniques like dipping and oil or ink washes to darken recesses (example here) Dry brush to add highlights (e.g, bright colors)

Keep your lights and darks as far apart as possible Invest the Right Time: Aim for a tabletop standard in painting quality Spend most of your time painting the base coat Decide that you are done when most of your model is covered in the base coat paint layer

Aim for a tabletop standard in painting quality

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