Painting & Assembling Your Beast Box Miniatures
It has long since been a tradition in tabletop gaming to paint your own miniatures. But getting a great paint job can be stressful and seems daunting! If you’re like me, once you paint your first few minis you’ll be hooked, and enjoy painting baddies with your d&d group AKA “a painting party”!
The truth is, painting miniatures for d&d is easy! Even if it’s your first time. And the miniatures from beast box are even easier to paint because of their huge scale!
I use the same process every time I paint and even if I am doing it quickly they still look great on the table! So get excited because you’re about to learn how to paint minis for Dungeons and Dragons in X easy steps!
Step 1: Clean the “flashing” & Assemble
When you get your beast box or any other d&d miniature there is often bits left over from casting it. These leftover bits are called flashing. Before you put a brush to your miniature you should use an Exacto or utility knife to remove it.
General sharp things Warning: Always push the blade away from you to avoid accidentally cutting you.
After you have a clean model you’re ready to assemble you miniature! Some miniatures are one piece, so if you have a one piece model, you can move onto step 2.
To assemble your model, use super glue and start with the biggest parts first. I personally like to get the model attached to the bases as soon as possible. That way you have a more stable surface to glue the rest of the model on.
Step 2: Setup & Base Paint
Here’s something they tell you about painting miniatures…
Depending on the material of the miniature, getting paint to stick can be difficult. I find that Games Workshop’s plastic takes paint really well. BUT Reaper minis “Bones” collection takes a lot of effort to get the paint to actually take.
Beast box miniatures are created with a 2 part resin and I was delighted at how well they take to paint.
Alright, here’s the basic setup:
- 1 Brush set: get any old brushes from a big box or hobby store. Here are some you could grab off of Amazon. You need small tipped for details
- Acrylic paint set
- Acrylic paint black big
- Acrylic paint white big
- 1 cup of water to wet and clean brushes
- 1 surface to mix paint with
- 1 paper towel to wipe off brushes and accidental paint
- 1 Old newspaper or surface you don’t mind getting paint on
Optional:
- 1 blow dryer with low setting for quick dry
- 1 helping hands like this one from Amazon
- 1 desk light for seeing
- Texture flock of your choice
So, to ensure the model takes paint, you’re going to apply a one color coat first. Stick to White or Black. If you’re going for a brighter look with vibrant colors (good guys) then White is your best choice. If you want darker figures with dastardly looks, black is your goto.
Cover the model in your base paint and make sure none of the original material is showing. Now your main paint job will go right on!
You don’t necessarily need to paint the base, but it doesn't hurt. I personally “Flock” my bases (glue texture materials so it looks like grass, sand, etc). If you’re flocking you’ll be painting the bases the same color as the flocking material.
Step 3: Painting Big To Small
You have your model assembled, you have your workstation setup, and your miniature is base painted. Congratulations you’re over halfway done! Your huge beast box is about to come to life and impress your buddies at the table!
Now it’s time to bring some life to your Dungeons and Dragons miniatures!
Think about what colors you want for your minis, and then grab that paint set and start mixing. I like to put a super thin layer on the newspaper to see how it looks dry.
Start with the most color and work your way down to finer detail. Remember, like all great art painting d&d miniatures is all about layers.
For instance, if you’re painting the Giant Ape from the huge beast box. You would do the primary fur first THEN a lighter color for the skin on his chest and face.
So, work from the biggest parts of the miniatures that share the same color, and work your way down to the eyes and mouth + details (like claws, belt buckles, and straps).
The reasons to work from big to small is because you’re less likely to mess up the super fine details with huge swaths of paint AND because you need the most paint for the bigger parts and need less paint as you move into detailing.
ADVANCE MOVES:
After you get the flat colors down, you could try what is called “dry brushing” which is basically wiping off most the paint on the brush and lightly applying it to the mini. I’m talking very soft touching. I like dry brushing colors onto the very top of fur (Like on the Giant Elk). I also like dry brushing shadows onto cloaks and clothing folds.
This adds color depth so when the miniature has various lighting it’ll look more realistic and awesome!
Step 4: Ink washing & Clear Coat
Now you have a nice paint job on your miniature you’re ready for some finishing touches that are going to really bring out the detail of your beast mini or other dungeons and dragons miniatures.
First, you’re going to prepare your “ink wash” which you’ll be using black acrylic paint. I do a 1:10 ratio with paint to water. Shake well and dunk your model in the mix.
Then you’ll want to shake off the access and pat the model lightly, leaving the liquid in the folds and details you want.
This method is all about bringing out the natural details in the model. The coolest thing is even with 1 color you can make the miniature pretty cool looking. A good example is painting skeletons. You can paint them bone white and then dip them and the ink wash will fill in the ribs, eye sockets, and every nook.
After you dip your model and pat the chunks you don’t want to be shaded, just let it dry.
Once the wash is dried you can use an acrylic matte or shiny clear coat to protect your paint job. I personally skip this step to avoid unwanted shininess!
But you can make a knight miniature all shiny with a clear coat!
Step 5: Flocking the Base
Now that the miniature is all painted and washed you’re ready to add some flair with flocking. To flock a base you should base paint it the color of the flock. So if you are doing a grass texture, use green paint. That way if you miss a spot it all blends.
After the base paint is dried on the base, take Elmer's glue and cover the base in a thin layer. Then pour the flocking material over the base. I like to take a wax paper, pre-fold it, lay it flat then pour the flock on the glue covered base.
Then you can fold the paper and pour the excess flocking back into the bag!
You should now have a beast (or 6 :P) painted and flocked! The first time you put your giant crocodile, ape, snake, elk, mammoth, or elephant on the table, get ready for Oooo’s and AAAS's.
Want to start learning how to paint miniatures? Go ahead and grab a beast box for 6 easy-to-paint miniatures that will impress your friends! Get your Huge Land Beast Box now.