How to Layer Paint on Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures

October 14, 2026

How to layer paint on Warhammer 40,000 miniatures: paint consistency, how many layers, choosing highlight colours and shrinking each layer for smooth, readable volume.

Layering is the technique that turns a flat basecoat into armour, cloth and skin that look three-dimensional. Instead of one solid colour, you build up progressively lighter, thinner coats towards the areas where light naturally falls. It is slower than drybrushing and more forgiving than wet blending, which is why most painters treat it as the core skill everything else is built on.

The short answer: thin your paint to a milky consistency, basecoat the whole area in two thin coats, then apply each lighter colour to a smaller area than the last, following the upper and raised surfaces. Three steps (base, mid-tone, highlight) is plenty for tabletop; add one or two intermediate mixes if the jumps look stripey.

What is layering in miniature painting?

Layering means painting successive coats of increasingly light (or dark) colour over a basecoat, each covering less of the surface than the one before. The visible bands of colour that remain create the impression of light and shadow. Done carefully, the steps read as one smooth gradient at arm's length.

How thin should paint be for layering?

Aim for roughly the consistency of semi-skimmed milk: thin enough to self-level and leave no brush marks, thick enough to cover in two passes. Load the brush, then touch the belly of the bristles to kitchen roll so the paint does not flood into recesses. Our guide to thinning paints covers ratios for different paint ranges.

How many layers do you actually need?

For a tabletop-standard model, three steps (basecoat, a mid-tone layer and a final highlight) gives clear, readable volume. Display pieces often use five or more, with mixed intermediate colours between each main step. More layers do not automatically look better; clean, well-placed layers beat many messy ones.

How do you choose layer colours?

Pick colours that sit in the same family and step up in lightness by a similar amount each time. Mixing a 50/50 blend of two adjacent colours on your palette is the easiest way to create an in-between step. Avoid lightening everything with pure white, which turns reds pink and blues chalky; try a warm bone or a pale yellow for warm colours and a pale grey-blue for cool ones.

How much of the surface should each layer cover?

Each layer should shrink towards the light. A rough rule is basecoat on 100% of the area, the first layer on the upper two-thirds, the next on the top third, and the final highlight only on the very highest edges and points. Leaving the earlier colour showing beneath is what creates the gradient, so resist covering everything again.

Where does the light hit on a miniature?

Imagine a lamp directly above the model. Upward-facing surfaces, the tops of shoulders and helmets, raised folds and upper edges catch the most light, while undersides and deep recesses stay dark. Thinking in terms of a single overhead light keeps layers consistent across a whole squad.

Layering vs edge highlighting vs drybrushing: which should you use?

They are complementary rather than competing. Many painters layer large panels, then finish with an edge highlight, and use drybrushing on textured areas like fur or rubble.

Technique	Best for	Speed	Finish
Layering	Armour panels, cloth, skin	Medium	Smooth volume with visible but soft steps
Edge highlighting	Hard edges on armour and weapons	Medium	Crisp, graphic outline
Drybrushing	Fur, chainmail, rocks, bases	Fast	Textured, slightly dusty
Glazing	Smoothing layers, shifting colour	Slow	Very smooth, tinted
Wet blending	Large cloaks, banners, monster skin	Fast once mastered	Seamless gradient

Why do my layers look stripey?

Stripes usually mean the jump between colours is too big or the paint is too thick at the edge of each layer. Add an intermediate 50/50 mix between the problem steps, or run a thin glaze of the mid-tone over the join to soften it. Feathering the edge of each stroke with a slightly drier brush also helps.

Which brush and palette work best for layering?

A size 1 or 2 round brush with a reliable point handles most layering on infantry; drop to a size 0 for the final highlight. A wet palette keeps mixes at the same consistency for longer, which makes layers far more even. See what brushes you need if your point keeps splitting.

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