How to Paint Your Minis Without Fear 

"They shall be my finest hobbyists, these nerds who give of their time to me. Like plastic I shall mould them, and in the furnace of video tutorials they will be forged. They will be of iron will and steely adhesives. In great workspaces shall I seat them, and with the mightiest brushes will they be armed. They will be untouched by anxiety and worry, no procrastination will blight them. They will have techniques, workflows and hobby tools such that no project can best them in their free time. They are my bulwark against grey minis. They are the defenders of the tabletop. They are my hobby painters, and they shall know no fear."

“You’re never failing as long as you’re learning” -Bob Ross

“Sucking at something is the first step at being kinda good at something” - Jake the Dog

“We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”― Bob Ross

Fear is the mind killer. The -spice- paint must flow.

I always tell people 3 things, when they're too scared to paint minis. 1) start out with metal minis, because if you mess up the paint, you can use literally any paint stripping agent available to start fresh, and as many times as you want or need to. 2) if you feel that the mini you want to paint is too advanced for your skill level, don't buy it yet. Wait until you feel more comfortable. The only exceptions are if it's a hard-to-find/get mini/model, it's OOP, or it's soon to be OOP. In those cases, just get it while you can, and set it somewhere safe, but won't intimidate you by constantly being within eyesight. 3) it's okay to take your time. Move at your own pace, and take all the time you need, in order to gradually develop and improve your skills.

Face your painting without fear, embrace your painted models without regret.

hey uncle atom! i'm that person that you talked to at nova multiple times that has the boyfriend who is afraid of getting into painting. just saying, it couldn't have come at a better time as i'm shipping out his starter kit with some green army men i have and the basic tools we use (hobby knife, glue, nippers, etc), and he's a bit more willing now after seeing this :)

“You can’t screw this up. The number one reason I see people say they don’t want to try [a technique] is they’re afraid; they’re afraid they’re going to mess it up. I don’t know what that means. It’s paint. You can’t mess it up.” -Vince Venturella

Always watch for the crystalline insights like "stripping models is a skill in itself" and Atom never disappoints. One of the most humane channels on RU-vid.

This video just reinvigorated me to start painting again. Just got into the hobby, and have bought a lot of Age of Sigmar models. Fear is the main reason that 99% of them are unpainted.

I would say that this is a rule for life, not just painting. One of those secrets you can learn at any age, going in and grabbing that nettle with confidence and you don't get stung and hey if you do get stung, always a dock leaf nearby. *Painting Tip of the Day* : Keep easily accessible wet wipes by the place you paint. Then if you ever spill any or get too much on your hands when you need to answer the phone or something else, you have an easy close up solution. Saved me a lot of trouble.

As a hermit from Lithuania I must say that he is correct

Uncle Atom!! You are the Tony Robbins of the mini painting community. Keep that sweet sweet river of motivation flowing!

I find it hilarious that you thought about this at Gencon. A few years ago (I think it was the year I met you at Gencon) my friend and I took a greenstuff sculpting class at Gencon. One thing he kept saying was that you need to "lose the fear" and not be afraid of messing up. My friend and I say that to each other whenever we have doubt about something we're working on. Everyone needs to see this video!

That's a great life lesson people need to realise, not just us painters and artists. To recognise fear, accept it, and then work through. Great video

I used to paint and game minis in my late teens early twenties. Iam 48 now, and at the moment have alot of free time, due to spinal problems. Ive been wanting to get back into painting figures for the last year or so, but i cant believe the price of games workshop stuff! Its astronomical!! And thats plastic! Wen i gamed and painted it was nearly all metal figures! So i decided to visit my local pound shops/dollar stores and buy some cheap action figures. I started off just improving their original paint jobs, adding shading, highlighting etc. Now iam cutting limbs off and repositioning to get the stances i want. Then filling all the joint gaps in with milliput, adding features like robotic legs, removing part of thr head so it looks like a metallic endoskeleton underneath, adding weapons and little bits and bobs, and they look amazing! Iam currently modding a cheap figure to look like a dayz character! So my advice is if u want a go at painting, buy a cheap action figure and repaint it! Just wipe down with meths or alchohol and paint over the original paint job. Or buy second hand minis and repaint those! Point is, just do it, try it, have a go!

My anxiety: “Everything I have has been discontinued by GW, I have one shot at honoring this sculpt.”

Practice on bags of plastic army men, they might get so good that you'll want to use them in a game.

Wow, you have once again pierced the veils of space and time, reaching all the way back into my 1993 psyche! I STILL have unpainted Space Hulk Terminators sitting in an unopened box, waiting for the day when my painting confidence will allow me to do them justice...

Thanks for this Adam! I took a 15 year break from the hobby and dove back in head first. Looking at my models and the paint job from a 13-17 year old (When I first painted them), I started getting anxiety about wanting to make everything perfect this time around. Spending hours contemplating ideas/ techniques when I should just be doing! I have spent the last 3 months buying models and worried so much about painting techniques that I haven't even bought paint yet. Consequently I haven't played any games either... Time to stop messing around and get some work done. I'll start with the models I care about the least and end with characters. Thanks for the motivation!

Wise words again. And super awesome Dune citation :) I never strip my painted models, they remind me of the progress I've made :)

Something I did when I bought Dante for my blood angels army is I 3D printed dante in really bad quality so I could practice and then once I was confident in my ability to paint him to an acceptable degree by my standards, I went out and bought him. He's currently my favourite model in my whole army

This came across my feed at the perfect time. I was in panic mode for my first upcoming tournament and this made me realized to take a deep breath and that I'm doing good. Thank you!

I have only been doing table top hobbying for about 2 years now... but I think what I enjoy now is initially throwing paint on a model, and then going back over and taking a fine brush to "fix" or define the edges and ultimately bring the figure to life. This has come from swallowing my pride, just painting the model, and then making mistakes... I like knowing that my models have gotten better and better with each iteration.

I just got my first models and words cannot describe how much I needed this

Came here to learn how to paint without fear. I am leaving this video knowing that we are not perfect and it is in our human nature to make mistakes and fail, but we must learn to forgive ourselves and keep moving forward in life! Uncle Tom i want you to know that i really believe that your videos can help people who has lost their way or messed up their life to get back on track, achieve goals, organize, be more brave and try again! I had the need to write you this, now it is out from my chest :D Thank you for your advices Uncle Tom, they have helped a lot! Wish you all the best!

Relax, take your time and enjoy the process. The end result is just a bonus.

Take it from the space marines, "They shall know no fear." They may be giant hulking super humans but they still have to pump themselves up to feel no fear.

Coming back to minis after nearly 15 years away ,your advice really is a great help ,thanks 👍👍👍

This gave me courage! Just got into the hobby, almost finished with some paingiver beasthandlers & though they turned out good enough for me, the fear made me take FOREVER to paint them. No more!

This is a great video for various reasons. But what I like about painting or really most forms or art is there is no such thing as failure. You can't fail. You start, you finish, and "pa-chow" you're successful. Art is probably the only thing in life no one can fail at. It's all subjective. The only way to go is up. In skill and in knowledge.

That’s not just solid painting advice. That’s a life lesson to remember.

I came here to learn about not being afraid to paint minis, but ended up buying art prints from mike's website! Thank you for sharing!

I'm more of an Armour and WW2 modeller, but I love having my very 1st painted German soldier, and then looking at my 10th, and seeing my improvement over the last 6+ months or so, and that gives me inspiration to move forward...I love seeing my terrible paint jobs vs my not too shabby vs I nailed this one! (even if others don't think so) I paint for myself...keep painting peeps

So...I can actually start painting the Great Unclean One without fear? Hell yes!

In a timeline where drama and clickbait rules the day, Uncle Adam reminds us that mistakes are nothing to be feared. He is the hero our timeline needs.

I re-started painting miniatures after a multi-year hiatus, and decided to paint a bunch of identical minion-type minis from a board game I'd bought at GenCon a few months ago, figuring that I could experiment with color, layering, technique and such, and even express my own style and quirks. Then I could eventually practice what i'd learned on the heroes and major enemies. The game I practiced on? Power Rangers: Heroes of the Storm. I mean they're putty patrollers, they're literally made of dirt and clay, there's really nowhere to go but up! And just a few days ago I started painting the yellow ranger. Progress, it happens!

Awesome video, I couldn’t agree more!! I literally made my entire RU-vid channel based around this idea, and it was your Perfection is Prohibitive video from a couple of years ago that helped me get over my initial fears in painting and start recording! You’re the best, please, for the sake of our entire community, never stop making videos.

I just came across your channel a couple of days ago. Thank you, I love how you mentor through your videos not giving ultimatums from your experience and giving the option to use other things! You do a very good job of encouraging without pressure. Please keep up the Great videos coming!

Atom, you are the Kwisatz Haderach ... keep up the good work and thanks for the video!

I had this hangup about the Mantic giant. I had only been painting for under a year at the time and needed the giant for my first wargaming tournament. I was skittish about painting a model that large and expensive. I did end up screwing it up the first time (mostly because of the priming job) but I stripped and started over again. And now it's the centerpiece of my Kings of War army!

My Tip: I only paint when I feel 100% interested in the model. Never paint if you have any sort of doubt in the model. When your hyped up about the certain unit or warband or whatever, and you know what color scheme to use and your super excited to paint it, that's when you go at it. Another wonderful and informative vid by the way Adam.

I absolutely love this channel and await the upload every Friday! :)

Great topic! This applies to so many things in life, not just painting minis. This was very timely for me, thank you!

One more great video about the "philosophy" of our hobby. Thank you Oncle!

Thanks Uncle Atom! This is good reinforcement not just in painting. I needed this!

I came back to painting my minis after two years and forgot how to thin paints, so I used glazing medium instead of water since I remember using the glazing medium to get some of the paint jobs I’m most proud of. I completely botched my Cyriss (warmachine) paint job while trying to add glow effects. I also tried finishing my base coat Grymkin models by creating a “wash” that was 10% black acrylic and 90% glazing medium. I utterly botched both paint jobs. The Grymkin are looking better after a LOT of dry brushing and re-washing, but the cyriss modes have to be stripped and repainted. All in all I learned a valuable lesson, remembered the basics, and I’m working on fixing them. I also remembered to thoroughly thin your paints and go layer by layer instead of using fresh paint from the bottle and slathering it on. (The right thinness is the one that doesn’t ‘run’ but also doesn’t leave brush strokes.) anyway, great video, great advice, and hopefully my story will help some people go back to the basics and just get painting.

This video just popped up in my suggested feed. Really useful stuff! Important for new painters to think about.

I just recently started painting little plastic toys that I had at home for a long time. Learned a lot by painting five toys :)

Thanks for the pep talk Atom... always appreciate your life insights...

More people need to hear the message of this video. I am probably one of the more active painters in my local play group, and it kills me when others don't paint. What I mean by that is that they let their fear of "not being good enough" to actually put paint on the model.

You have such a great mix of encouragement and humor. Love ya dude!

I know this video is a few years old, but I just got into warhammer, and my only prior painting experience is a model tank like 3 years ago, thank you so much for this video, I’ve been so hesitant to actually start painting my minis

Thanks for all the help

You got two addicional frikipoints for the Dune Citation. From now on I will repeat the Bene Geseri mantra while I paint...

I so needed this vid right now! Keep up the great work!

I'm actually going to show this to one of my violin students in our next lesson. This applies across so many types of skills.

Finding something to practice on looks like a good idea. Thanks!

This reminded me of that appointment I have on the 38th of Notvember...thanks, uncle Atom!

This advice is so important for any hobby

Lol I just started my first paint job yesterday. Thanks for this!!!

(Chikahiro) I've found that having reasonable expectations/goals is a big part of fighting fear. If I expect myself to do Golden Demon work for my tabletop minis, I would never have started.

Another great post. I know fear contributes to my slow production. A tip I find helpful for learning new techniques is using green army men as test models. They are cheap and readily available, the scale is similar to miniatures, and they have many of the same surfaces (wood, flesh, metal, and clothing.)

Thank you for yet another great video, been a fan for a few years now! I just joined your irregular minion tier on Patreon! Keep up the good work Uncle Atom!

A lot of people, myself included, started out thinking of painting as a means to an end. The goal was to be playing with awesome painted miniatures. That’s fine, but it contributes to people’s fear because they may not end up with awesome painted minis if they paint poorly. Over time, some (not all) of us start to actually enjoy the painting for its own sake. And this really helps get rid of the fear because the worst thing that can happen is you... do more painting.

Wow this really resonate with me. First because I avoid going into mini painting for years for fear that my skills sucked. Well they still do but at least I'm painting now. Second I had a terrible painting session yesterday but hey it's just a mini and paint worst case scenario if I can't salvage it I just need to scrape or prime again.

Another Good video. Makes so much sense, just have to get past that fear.

Great video once again. Fear has been going through my head in a different way and in fear of color choice. I have been painting Wild West Exodus minis and throughout I keep telling myself that it needs to be a certain way because it’s Cowboys and whatnot, but I am coming to realize that it’s my model I’ll paint it whatever colors I like. It’s my choice.

after painting for 30+ years, I still suffer from this..

Hermit hair: i laughed so loud it startled the cats!

Not too long ago I learned some deep philosophy that really helped me with this shallow problem, and it is thus: Nothing lasts. Stone crumbles, wood rots, people die. As this is unavoidable, it has, in a sense, already happened. My favorite mug _will_ shatter one day, as inevitably as if it was already in pieces. So why fret about it, when I can instead accept that the mug is already gone, and focus on enjoying it until it's time to sweep up the shards? So I try to remember that I don't need to worry about ruining my models because, in a sense, they've already _been_ ruined. Might as well have some fun getting there.

Loved the quote from Dune! :)

That moment when someone like a teacher tells you "If it goes wrong, its not the end of the world; we can just start over" has to be one of the most eye-opening events; if you find yourself in a position where that needs to be said, you're probably scared, panicking, wanting to bang your head against something hard in frustration because you feel so helpless and that advice completely blindsides you, makes you actually stop and realize the truth of it. I liken it to a moment of profound enlightenment because it almost inevitably changes how you look at whatever it is you're doing. As long as you get something from it, learn something even if that's what not to do in the future, its not a failure. It might feel like one for a while, might even put a serious damper on your drive to continue with whatever task it is, but if you try to keep in mind that you've learned and grown, you can push past it. Also, "Don't buy models from hermits" is an excellent piece of advice.

I am quite sure I needed to hear this.

Truer words were never spoken

Great video, could you talk about how to keep up with work and social life while painting minis, because I love painting minis and I don't wanna screw up

Trying new techniques on expensive model will make you try your best.

Starting to Airbrush was a huge fear factor to me. I would come up with excuses I need this or that before I can start. This went on for 6 months. Finally to break the deadlock in my brain I have a few kickstarters with plastic in them and I decided to use them as test models. Once I actually started trying *and admittingly failing for a bit* I was fine with it, now I use my airbrush all the time and have gotten way better. The other thing that works for me in this situation is something Vince Venturella always says in his Hobby cheating videos "who cares" so if I make a mistake that's exactly what i think and I fix it.

I’m really afraid of varnishing my models. I’ve put so much time in painting them and now I’m avoiding games just because I’m afraid of rubbing off some paint. I’m confident while painting at all but varnishing gives me the chills. I tried with one mini and it turned out way to matte and very cloudy...

Thanks Uncle Atom!

I've given so many models the brake fluid plunge over the years that there's little left to fear.

As always...great advice.

This was the video which made me Subscribe. Great motivational stuff! Thank you

Cant stress a practice model enough! I use a demo model I got at a Warhammer store. The poor intercessor must have 10 coats of paint on his shoulder pad now.

Thanks! I need this!

I like sharing my painted figures more than my paintings or 3D renders. Mostly because I dont need to do anything from the begining. Minis are finished 3D models that you glue pices gother and then paint them the way you want. and my Paintings and 3d renders take much longer and I mostly scrap 90% of them cuz I dont get it from my head the way I want it.

Sorry to necropost on here, but I'm gonna do it anyway. Bought my first models about 4-5 weeks ago, got a box of custodian guards cus they seemed like a pretty badass faction and they seemed easy enough to paint given they are mostly gold. Had em primed and basecoated gold with spray paint for a week or so before I got the nerve up to put a brush to em. I spent a bunch of time watching videos on technique and looking up the colors for em, and decided to do my own tweak on the standard color scheme. Completely botched the first one, but I figured out my game plan for the rest and had them done over a few days. I was definitely scared/intimidated to paint, since I've never been the artsy type, but once I got the second one done, I realized not only is it not that hard, but its super cathartic. I thought painting was gonna be the part I hated, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it. And really, who gives a shit if it's not perfect or whatever, I painted em, I think they look pretty cool, and that's what matters at the end of the day.

Great video! Kudos for the Dune reference.

Hello there. I found you comment "paints done with titanium" very funny since titanium oxide was, and still is, the "pure white" standard ;)

Thank you for this.

Ah yes! Great advice and a couple more shirts for me. The day got better. :)

'Don't buy busts from hermits'. If only I'd been told that when I was starting out, it would have saved so much trouble.

This is my favourite of your videos

Well said! I use "LA Totally Awesome" to strip plastic and metal models. It has worked for me great and has not damaged any of my models. Does not seem to strip the primer though...

Fear is the mind killer. The little death that leaves the soldiers gray and emotionless..

I really like your videos Uncle A.

As always... great advice great tips thanks for a super channel

What a friend told me is that a mini is never ruined, unless you broke the model or dipped it in paint. As long as you can see the details everything is fine.

Good advice as usual, thanks for making awesome videos 😝