Quick answer: almost every miniature paint is water-based acrylic, sold in a handful of types that do different jobs. Base (opaque) paints cover in one or two coats. Layer paints are thinner and build up highlights. Washes (shades) are very thin and run into recesses to add shadow. Speed or one-coat paints go over a white or light grey primer and give colour, shadow and highlight in a single coat. Metallics carry metal flakes, inks give strong transparent colour, effect paints do rust, blood or glow, and air paints are pre-thinned for an airbrush. A beginner needs only three of these: a few opaque colours, two washes and a metallic or two.
Paint ranges don't help by giving the same type different names, and some brands blur the lines. A modern high-pigment acrylic can cover like a base paint and still thin down for highlights. This guide explains what each type is for, so you can read any range's labels and buy the right pots the first time.
The main types of miniature paint at a glance
| Type | What it is | Use it for | Apply it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base / opaque | Thick, heavily pigmented acrylic | First solid coat of each colour | Thinned slightly, one or two coats |
| Layer | Thinner acrylic, often in lighter tones | Highlights and smooth transitions | Thin coats, building up |
| Wash / shade | Very thin, tinted, flows easily | Shadows in recesses; tinting a colour | Brushed over the area, left to settle |
| Speed / one-coat | Translucent paint that pools in recesses | Fast tabletop-quality models and armies | One generous coat over light primer |
| Metallic | Acrylic with metal or mica flakes | Armour, weapons, jewellery | Thin coats, stirred well |
| Ink | Intense transparent colour | Glazes, deep shading, gem and lens colours | Diluted, in thin glazes |
| Effect / technical | Textured or special-finish paints | Rust, blood, glow, cracked earth, gloss | Dabbed or stippled where needed |
| Air | Pre-thinned acrylic | Airbrushing basecoats and gradients | Straight into the airbrush |
Base and layer paints: what's the difference?
Base paints are made to cover. They carry more pigment and dry opaque, so a dark colour hides a light primer in one or two thin coats. Layer paints are thinner and usually come in lighter steps of the same colour, so you can add raised highlights without clogging detail.
Many newer ranges don't split the two any more. The Army Painter's Warpaints Fanatic range, for example, sells over 200 colours, including 162 acrylics, in "Flexible Triad" families of six colours from dark to light. Each pot is pigmented enough to cover and can be thinned for highlighting. Vallejo splits its main brush ranges differently: it describes Model Color as creamy and highly opaque, and Game Color, developed for tabletop games, as lower in viscosity with a resin that stands up better to handling. Vallejo says all its acrylics can be mixed with each other.
What matters for you: always thin paint a little, whatever the label says. Two thin coats beat one thick one. See how to thin paints and how to make a wet palette to keep them workable.
Washes and shades
A wash is a very thin, tinted paint that runs off raised areas and settles in the recesses, adding instant shadow. A dark brown or black wash over almost any colour makes a model look finished in minutes. Coloured washes tint as well as shade, for example a red wash over gold or a blue wash over silver.
The Army Painter says its Fanatic washes use the same formula as its older Quickshade washes, in 18 options (17 colours plus a clear medium for thinning). Our guide to using washes shows how to avoid tide marks, and oil washes for miniatures covers the slower-drying alternative many display painters prefer.
Speed and one-coat paints
Speed paints are translucent: brushed on in one coat, they run into recesses and thin out on raised areas, so a single coat gives a dark recess and a lighter top. They need a light primer to work well. The Army Painter recommends a white primer under its Speedpaint 2.0 for the most vibrant result, one generous coat from a hard palette, and warns that a wet palette can thin the paint and let it stain the foam. Vallejo describes its Xpress Color range the same way: apply it over white or grey primer and it gives light reliefs, mid-tones and dark recesses, and it also works for glazes and filters.
They are the quickest route to a painted army, but they are less forgiving on big flat areas, which can dry streaky. Our one-coat paints guide and slapchop method show how to get the best from them, and which primer colour to use explains why a white or zenithal undercoat matters.
Metallic paints
Metallics contain flakes that reflect light. The Army Painter's Fanatic metallics, for example, use a mix of aluminium and mica flakes. Stir or shake them well, because the flakes settle, and use a separate water pot or rinse often so flakes don't end up in your other colours. A wash over metallic paint is the fastest way to make it look like real metal. If you'd rather paint metal with ordinary colours, see non-metallic metal for beginners and our guide to painting metallics.
Inks, effect paints and air paints
- Inks are intense and transparent. Diluted, they make glazes that deepen or shift a colour without hiding the work underneath, and they're good for gems and lenses.
- Effect or technical paints do one job: rust streaks, fresh blood, glowing energy, cracked mud, water or a gloss finish. The Army Painter's Fanatic range includes effects for gore, rust and glow, for example. Buy them when a project needs them, not up front.
- Air paints are pre-thinned for airbrushes. You can brush them, but they cover thinly. See airbrushing for beginners.
- Texture paints contain grit for bases: brush on, drybrush once dry, then add tufts. See static grass and tufts.
Which paints should a beginner buy first?
You don't need a type of everything. This 10-pot list paints a whole squad to a good tabletop standard with any brand:
- A primer spray or brush-on primer (white or light grey if you plan to use speed paints).
- Black (opaque).
- White (opaque), for mixing highlights.
- Your army's main colour (opaque).
- A lighter version of that colour (layer), or mix it with white.
- A secondary colour for cloth or detail.
- A brown or bone colour for leather, straps and bases.
- Silver (metallic).
- A dark brown wash.
- A black or dark blue wash.
Add speed paints if you want a big army done fast, and inks or effects later for specific jobs. Our step-by-step beginner's guide to painting miniatures shows where each pot is used, and which brushes you need covers the other half of the kit.
Drying, sealing and showing off the result
Acrylics are touch-dry in minutes but take longer to cure, washes and speed paints longest of all. Check how long miniature paint takes to dry before you varnish, then pick a finish with gloss, satin or matt varnish. Matt varnish also hides the patchy sheen you can get when mixing paint types on one model.
Once a squad is finished, get it off the paint desk and somewhere you'll see it. The WarSplay Classic holds 17 miniatures on 25–32 mm round bases across five tiers in a 20 × 11 cm footprint, with an anti-glare matte finish so your paint is what catches the eye, not the stand. Miniatures are not included. See all modular miniature display stands.
Frequently asked questions
What type of paint is used for miniatures?
Water-based acrylic paint, made for miniatures with finer pigment than craft acrylic. Some painters also use oil paints for washes and blending, and enamels for weathering, but acrylics do almost everything.
What is the difference between base and layer paint?
Base paint is thicker and more opaque, for the first solid coat. Layer paint is thinner and usually lighter, for building highlights in thin coats. Many modern ranges make paints that do both.
Do I need washes to paint miniatures?
Not strictly, but one or two washes are the biggest time-saver a beginner can buy. A dark brown wash adds shadow to almost any colour in one step.
Are speed paints good for beginners?
Yes, for getting models finished quickly. They need a white or light grey primer and one generous coat, but large flat areas can dry streaky, so most people combine them with ordinary opaque paints.
Can I use craft acrylics on miniatures?
For bases, terrain and large flat areas, yes. On the miniature itself, craft paints tend to have coarser pigment and can hide fine detail, so thin them well or use miniature paints for faces and small details.
Can I mix paint brands?
Yes. Vallejo, for example, says its acrylics mix with all water-based acrylics, and paints from different miniature brands layer over each other without trouble. Test a new combination on a spare part first, especially with metallics and speed paints.
Sources
- The Army Painter: Warpaints Fanatic (acrylics, washes, metallics, effects)
- The Army Painter: How to use Speedpaint 2.0
- Vallejo: Xpress Color product information
- Vallejo: FAQs (Model Color and Game Color)
Checked against the sources above on 28 October 2026. Brand and range names belong to their respective owners.