Tutorials, How-To, and Tips

H
ere there be tutorials and various methods of improving your work. Whether you're an advanced painter or a rank novice, there should be something here that helps take your painting to the next level -- even if it's merely a different way of looking at things.

Disclaimer: If you're under 18, always get a parent or guardian to supervise your use of sharp things like knives, pin vises, and saws! Also be sure to use protective eye wear when cutting or snipping anything and use dusk masks when sanding or spraying.

Base Work Tutorials

Rock Base Tutorial
A step-by-step tutorial on how to create pleasant rocks for miniatures out of both stone and non-stone materials. This includes some basic formulae for how to paint stones, regardless of the materials.
Mushroom Tutorial
It's jokingly said that every Golden Demon winner includes mushrooms on the bases of their entries. The truth of the matter is that a visually interesting base really improves the quality of the miniature. This step-by-step tutorial reviews in painstaking detail how to add mushrooms of all sorts to your bases.
Plants Tutorial
Tired of the endless parade of Goblin Green bases? Break out of the rut! Explore all sorts of new and fun plantlife for your miniature bases, from static grass and leaf clutter to bamboo and paper flowers.
Display Base Tutorial
Are your army generals lost in a sea of rank and file when in the display case? Thinking of entering the Golden Demons this year and don't know how to make your entry stand out? Grab the wood stain -- it's time to put your best work on a pedestal.
Painting & Detailing Tips

Patchwork Tutorial
A lot of people shy away from painted-on detail work but it's actually quite easy to add the illusion of stitched patchwork to your miniatures. Leave the sewing kit behind but bring your brushes inside to see how!
Gemstone Tutorial
Whether set into a sword or a gaudy ring, dangling from a banner or a plasma rifle, or just set into amulets and necklaces, gemstones are everywhere in the miniature world. If you've never painted one before, you're overdue -- and it's an easy process for a beginner, I swear!
Streak Method Painting Tutorial
An excellent method for alien carapaces is streak painting, where short strokes of colour are used to quickly create natural patterns. But did you know that this surprisingly versatile technique can also be used for non-metallic metals and a host of other things?
Space Wolf Step-by-Step Tutorial
A basic step-by-step guide on how I painted a Games Workshop Space Marine Space Wolf Rune Priest.
Painting Red Step-by-Step Tutorial
Red has always been considered a notorious colour to paint. Here's my step-by-step guide on how to paint deep, rich reds without any hair pulling.
Orkskin Tutorial
Whether a roleplayer or a tabletop gamer, you're familiar with orks -- they're everwhere! This is my step-by-step tutorial on painting the typical green ork, but with a little pink-skinned variety thrown in as visual interest.
Tyranids Tutorial
Tyranids, that monstrous horde of aliens that devour everything in sight! Many folks have asked me how I paint my tyranids, so in this tutorial I share that process, outlining both the 'desert flower' and 'blue crab' schemes.
Modeling & Converting Tips

Scratch Built Dragon Wings Tutorial
Think wings from mini companies are too expensive? Need a specific style or size that nobody sells? Look no further. Here are some great techniques on building your own wings for miniatures of any size or shape -- and not nearly as hard you'd think.
Swamps and Craters Tutorial
Swamps and Craters: Two very common terrain types that can be made with extremely similar techniques despite looking so different. What? No! It's true. Both are merely illusions of depth. This tutorial provides two different methods that will work fine for either type of terrain.
Miscellaneous Tutorials

Top Ten Ways to Improve
A straight forward list of what I consider to be the ten best ways to improve your painting. This will be most useful to novices or intermediate painters, though advanced painters may be able to get some use as well. No tutorial pictures here; just raw information, waiting for you to devour it.
Fireball Templates
A cheap and easy way to make transparent spell templates for roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons. No longer need you be confused about figuring out whether that one kobold got away!
Recent Auctions
CMON Rank:
CMON Rank