OIL PAINTS for miniatures -ULTIMATE beginner guide 

Need to suddenly drop your painting session to help with a fussy baby and hours later come back to a still workable blend? Boom! Oil paints.

Artists who share, are artists who care! Thanks for taking the time and effort to make this for us.

Three years later and your video is still inspiring. Great work Marco.

People love talking about the amazing blending properties of oil paints, but I would also like to mention that they are very good for „classic mini painting techniques“. Edge highlighting with oil paints is such a joy, because the consistency and flow is always the same. Also just a bit of paint on your brush lasts forever, no more constantly going back to your palette and cleaning the brush all the time. Painting with oils is not scary at all, go for it :)

As an American I enjoy listening to you speak. Your videos are very helpful. Thank you for what you do.

Yesterday i bought some oil paints and magically, the day after, there is an awesome video from Marco explaining how to use them.

Also consider separating brushes between light and dark colours. This assist in keeping the lighter colours unpoluted. Especially yellows

Thanks for this video, it has a lot of good information and gave me the courage to try them in my models! Greetings from Colombia !

If you cannot get access to odourless white spirit, use baby oil. We use it in the studio with 10-12 students and there is no smell and it cleans brushes and dilutes washes just as well :)

As a newer painter interested in broadening my skills, this was incredibly helpful. Your clear and enthusiastic instructions and advice made me think I might actually be able to use oils to up the quality of my final product. Thank you, my friend.

This. Was. Amazing I've never, ever considered being a Patreon for anything but I'm seriously considering it. Fantastic stuff mate.

I've been encouraged to try oils a few months ago, and lately I've been experimenting with using a 100% oil workflow on my minis haha. I've started incorporating canvas techniques and adapting them to minis to see how well they work; stuff like "staining the canvas" with a base tone, doing a value sketch prior to applying colors, etc. It's been quite the journey but it's so fun and satisfying when you find a technique that works for you and produces unique results! Thanks a lot for the inspiration and the great tips as always :D

"Discovered" oil paints a year ago. Now I cannot work without them. Excellent for blending, weathering etc. Very realistic results - when I don't get overly excited and over do it. Thank you for a lovely video, Marco. Saluti dal Carso.

I've watched this video very carefully, and it gives many important tips, and DEBUNKS some VERY COMMON and prevalent misconceptions, namely: 1) you HAVE to varnish acrylic coats before applying oils and mineral spirits... 2) mineral spirits WILL attack acrylic coats... 3) you CAN'T paint acrylics over coats of oils... these are all FALSE, as Marco points out time after time in his videos. If you watch most other videos about using oils on miniature painting, you see these misconceptions repeated time and time again. If they were true, I think using oils would be very troublesome indeed. It's good to have someone who actually knows what they're talking about. ;) Anyways, you CAN varmish acrylic coats before applying oils as it helps the flow (as Marco shows), but what do you think acrylic varnishes are made of, eh?

I’m so impressed by the high level of professionalism in your videos compared to other, “master” model builders.

I needed this vid. The clear laying out of a simple practical setup that works, and why helps. It may seem simple or obvious but I've changed how I work and it really helps. Watching it (just after the Wurmspat too) one thing really leaps out, it's important Marco. I understand the need to produce well constructed, well edited, professional quality vids. They represent you and the project, they need to be this great, they need the specific structured content in order to be teaching using a remote media. BUT Marco that section at the end of just watching you paint, just play around with tones, transitions, blends on the figure was marvellous, it had an enormous value to my oilwork in itself. Sometimes as well as absorbing the theory and the approach you just need to also see it at work too. That leg transformed five or six times, it was like watching really good closeup magic. I needed to see that by using just tiny amounts of paint I can do that to keep refining and just overpaint mistaken choices of colour into the better results I'd hoped for. Seems obvious but to a less confident painter it was transforming. So long as I just use sheens of new paint and don't ever cake it! I've a hand tremor from a spinal issue and I need to fix and rework my stuff a lot. The love of painting really doesn't suit it! Frustration and disappointment makes me put down my brush a lot. You teaching me a much more forgiving technique is an extraordinary gift mate. Please seriously consider a new class of vid, mark the category clearly to separate them from the main brand, but please just show us you painting. Whatever you're doing, and of course competition entries and other stuff needs to be private but you've said in the past you paint every day - please show us as much as you can stand to of it. As the painter you are I don't think the extraordinary value of it to learners would occur to you. Don't worry about the editing - it's the brushstrokes Don't worry about skipping the stuff where setting up the camera to cover another part of the process would waste time and be a pain. Just dump out all you can stand to, marked clearly as unedited, raw footage and entirely separate from your tutorial work. Putting them behind the patreon wall like you did with the Wurmspat would keep it from distorting outside impressions of the brand. We're all already sold on the Marco project! Please Marco, we just need to see and learn from/get inspired by the everyday magic. Plus I now have three glass palettes that came out of picture frames from the charity shop (had to burn the pictures of kittens as shepherdesses though so the binman wouldn't ever see them). That also means I can lay my bits of paper under them with previous successful tones and transitions to use as reference targets. From now on I'll record them on strips cut to fit across the palette! Practical evolution of my table by the power of NJM

I am a beginner and I've gotten my shaders and drybrushing, and layering, and highlighting down. Just learned about oils so now am watching your vid. Learning is fun! But so is painting after you learn.

I have watched many, many videos about painting models and minis with oils, and this video is the most helpful and informative. Thank you! I feel much more confident about getting oily now. :)

I'm so glad I came back to watch this again after a year. I've really struggled with painting smoothly or in detail with oils, because I was following advice from others, leaving my paints out to drain the oil. It turns out that different preparation is needed for different techniques, and for detail, you need to thin the paint (I now use 10/90 linseed oil and solvent) not thicken it. Thanks Marco!

Great video as usual! Using oils is a lot of fun, but there is a lot to learn and get used to when you first start out. To those that are interested in learning more I would also suggest watching Dmitry Fesechko's videos, and in his comment section he answers a lot of questions about which paints to try etc. Thank you Marco for putting these videos out every week.

Yes!!! Saving to my playlist! Thank you for being amazing.

Oils are making a comeback in a lot of ways. I just started with a set of Williamsburg oils and their quality is amazing. So far really enjoy how easy blending is compared to acrylics. Oils for establishing initial blends, and inks for deeper saturation is a great combo.

Started with oil paints, after 3 days in a warm room i still can activation the paint. It is very satisfying. Thank you

Marco, as always, your videos have taught me more about painting then any other source (book or video). Thank you once again. Please continue the excellent work you already do.

This video, and a demo from a friend to test this in live, have convinced me to test oil paints for my minis. Thanks for the inspiration.

When I learned to paint figures, I learned with oils, as there was a great figure painter in my area who used them. I find them much easier to use and think about than acrylics. It's much easier for me to blend nice skin tones using oils than trying to glaze and blend and layer acrylics.

Thank you very much. You are just as skilled at composing videos as you are at painting. Almost every question I could think of, you anticipated.

Great teaching video Marco! Just ordered my first oils, so this was very timely for me. Thanks so much!

This vid was perfect timing, after watching your channel I got some oils last week and was going to give them a go this weekend. Thanks for a great start.

Awesome stuff...my comments below were made before watching the entire video, you addressed everything I was concerned with, great stuff!!! Thanks again!

This video convinced me to jump into oils. Thank you for bringing such high quality instruction and your great attitude to the mini community!

I have been writing with oils a bit over the last month and a half and have loved it. This video has helped me expanded my techniques. Thank you.

TYVM Marco. Got all the answers i needed to give it a try. You are a great guy and really appreciate your time and knowledge. GOAT

Amazing....I went out and bought a 51 color oil paint set and got most of the other stuff you featured in your video. Love how you explain it and demonstrate so it makes you feel you can do it. Thanks so much for your hard work and explaining it to us hobby geeks!! You rock keep the videos coming...

I keep coming back to this video just to hear you say that oils exist since before the Middle Age and they’re still the gold standard. As an art historian I definitely still have my biases and cling to the idea that they only go on canvases and wood, but thanks to you I keep forcing myself to use this wonderful tool for our Tiny hobby. Thanks again!

Was inspired to give oil paints a try by your Blanchitsu Tech-Priest video. I've been playing with them for a month or so now, and I'm so glad I gave it a try. I may not be making masterpieces yet, but I'm having a lot of fun with them. Thank you for sharing your expertise!

I was a bit scared of trying oil for minis and this video gave me all the info I needed. Had a very good time with them, thanks

I finally picked up some oil paints and did a couple simple 75mm minis all in oil. Thanks for guide! It was such a joy to use oils on minis!

I realy need to get my workstation up!! Ithcing fingers every time i watch a video. Love your videos and thank you for sharing your experiences.

Great intro to oil painting - I have been wanting to give it a go for a while and this gives me the confidence to dive in!

Oh that was excellent Marco , I’ve painted pictures in oils for a few years , but never dare to try them on my minis . You have given me the confidence to have a go. Please can we have more vids on this subject🙏🏻

Awesome video! In all my years of hobbying, oils are the one thing that I haven't tried. But your guide inspired me to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!

omg, this is amazing. I've been been doing oil painting before mini painting and I've been wanting to use my oil techniques on minis, can't wait to apply this next time I paint minis

Perfect timing, my oils just came in today! Looking forward to playing

You have quickly become one of my favorite painters and content producers Marco! Thank you for this video. I might have to watch this video one or two more times to get over my anxiety of trying new things.. but I will actually do it thanks to you! Much love and appreciation for your hard work.

Being able to actually watch you do the whole process of the legs was a HUGE help, and exactly what I was looking for! I think for people that know how, just showing a few steps is enough, but for a beginner to this kind of blending that kind of detailed exampling is absolutely critical. Glad I became a patreon!

Thanks man, I started painting my 2000 point army Ork army with oils because of your Blanchitsu series. Lots of love from Sligo !

You are an inspiration Marco, I started playing with oil weathering because of your videos. Maybe I'll start doing more soon.

This has convinced me to give oils a try! I was worried about the drying time especially, but now I think they are what I need to improve my skillset.

Marco, without doubt your best video to date! Well done! Two corrections: 40-50+ years ago were "oil and enamel". 40 till now have been oils and acrylic! The tri-layer style of painting was in regular use in the Wargaming hobby 40+ years ago - as is evidenced by photos in Military Modeling and Miniature Wargaming magazines.

Hi Marco - enjoyed the reintroduction to oils - used them about 40 years ago when painting on canvas but enjoy the rapidity of acrylics. Always good to learn new things!! (or be reminded)

Started using enamel paints recently and been wanting to try using oil paints but was too afraid. But this video is giving me more confidence in using them so I'm gonna get some tomorrow! Thank you so much for this video!

I recently moved to oils, only thanks to you. I cant express my gratitude enough. So thank you for this, you are really nicest and most skilled painter on youtube. Thank you for improving my painting skills

Yeah, new content. Great as always Marco.

I have seen other videos of you doing this but didnt quite understand how, but now I do. I was just looking at trying oils for my minature painting and have been watching as many videos of yours as I can

Marco, You are truly an alchemist artist, I've Tried to NMM like a month or more without success, and now after this careful master-class explanation, finally made it in less than an hour. Thank you

Just found your channel. Bing watching them all! You are a fantastic artist and teacher. I love your techniques! Can't wait to put them to work on my miniatures. 👍👍👍

Marco, the painting hero we need, but not the one we deserve. Great episode mate

I only had to watch 2 videos on your channel to know you are my favorite painter of all time! Thank you so much for the effort you are putting into these tutorials! I love you!

Thank you so much. Extremely helpful. I can't wait to try my oil paints on minis.

Thank you for this. This has helped SO much.

Found you after watching James Wappel streaming, and you both have me ridiculously excited to try out oils. The thought of not blending against the clock has always kept me in the layering camp. Thank you so much for the info! Also, your voice is 😍😍😍

I'm in your tubez, stealin your sekrits! Seriously, this is above and beyond helpful. Thank you!!

Another vid for the Favorites list! KD:M model, real time footage & the magic of oils... What a combo! 😍

This video ties the #1 spot of best miniature painting tutorial on RU-vid, the other ones being all your other videos. Hehe maybe I'm doing too much injustice to the great content that is out there, but every single video if yours teaches me so much.

This video makes me want to go get some oil paints and start testing it out. A friend uses them for washing, but it would be interesting to try out painting a mini with them, especially the blending from dark to light on armour plates. There's a big box of space marines coming soon that needs their blue.

Finally. I started painting minis with enamels, and have sometimes considered going back to them, so I'm very happy you tackled this subject. I'm looking forward to see more topics on the subject.

It’s been 3 years and I keep coming back to wash! Settled into a Marco-inspired acrylic-oil workflow. Thank you!!!

Amazing video! Thank you so much for all this great information :)

Amazing. Great video. Thanks for all the tips!

Thanks for the video, Marco!

Perfect timing! This is a wonderful video, thank you for it. Seeing the full process for the Kingdom Death model was especially helpful to see this in practice; the theory isn't particularly new to me, but it's so helpful to see something actually getting worked back and forth. It was also nice to see you do something more involved for skin; I mostly see you do quicker stylized approaches for gaming models, so this was great! Plenty more Kingdom Death stuff I'm sure you could paint, at very least the rest of that box :D

Thanks Marco, your channel is a gem! fantastic!!

Yes! Thank you for the information on mediums ! 😉

I’m sold. I’ve even been using them with some success - thanks!

this video answered so many questions i had :) thanks!

I recently tried my hand at painting a model with all oils for the first time. I should've waited lol! It's not that it looks bad, you just explain better than I had found in a lot of videos. I can fix it now! Another fantastic video!

Perfect timing as I was considering investing in some oils just last night. Marco to the rescue

Really inspiring your painting style!It is making me into painting again! I am starting to do all the edge highligts with oils too, using also quite some linseed oil. The control is far better than with acrylics

Good timing for this! Just this past weekend I tried experimenting with oils on the portrait of the 1:6 "Zombie Hunter Shaggy" I'm working on. Had both success and failure; the stubble look I was trying to add came out even better than I'd expected, but the bright skintone highlight I was trying to add to his temple, cheekbone, and nose ridge was sort of a mess and I ended up just removing most of it. After seeing this video I think I'm going to give that highlight another shot.

Amazing video man! I’m just starting out using abteilung paints myself for my minis. Thank you!

Very helpful and informative video thanks.

Thank you for helping us opening this door!!!

thx for the vid i was thinkinh on starting working with oils on my miniatures you are awesome sir!! thx alot!!!

Thank you Marco, I've been waiting for this...

After watching your great video. I just went out and bought some oil paints.

Excellent video, was waiting for you to make a video about using oil paints with mini's

Just thank you for this awesome tutorial !

Awesome! Thanks for the great explanation.

I tried oil paint! it was glorious! thanks Marco

This is so impressive, thank you very much.

Loved this thanks! Would be fun to try one day

Thank you for the information great video.👍

Cool, you just save me so much money! I have ton of oil paint for cosplay weathering, i definitely try to do some wash with it !

Davvero illuminanti i tuoi video! Grazie!

Oh yes, I have waited for this video!!!

Amazing and really helpful video!

Amazing Tutorial! Now i need to start using oil paints

Wonderful tutorial and you have a very nice accent as well. Many thanks Marco.

Very solid video with extremely useful information. The one thing I would add is that you really don't want to just throw the wipe rags into the trash and discard them. The drying process that the oils go through is exothermic and if confined the rags can spontaneously combust. This can make for really interesting stories, but is otherwise contraindicated. 8-) Set the rags out to dry before discarding them. When dry they should be safe.