Techniques

This is a short introduction of what I am doing and what it’s all about. So, basically this suppose to be an overview of main steps you consider doing miniature design.

To make it simple I will present to you the most common questions regarding miniature design. Here we go:

What is miniature design?

Mostly, people are interested in the following:

Q: Do you buy the miniatures beforehand or do you build them yourself? 

A: Mainly, I buy miniatures because, nowadays, there are so many (online) shops and stores where you can find amazing miniatures. These miniatures are perfect to combine with your ideas. I think they are also a great inspiration. Besides that, it is important for me to get or stay in contact with suppliers, artists and sculptors. 

Q: What size are they? 

A: Usually, my miniatures have a size from 28mm up to 74mm (from the feet to the eyes).

Q: How long does it take to build and paint them?

A: This depends on how much detail I want to put on this miniature… There are projects which are completed in about ten hours but there are also complex ones which can take about one week or even a month… 

Q: Do the brushes you use only have 2 or 3 hairs?

A: Nope, there have one more… 😉 No, just kidding.
Of course, they do have more than 2 or 3. But in order to achieve the look you want it is always good to have more brushes at your workbench. This allows you to be more flexible. So, this is why I have brushes with just a few hairs but also typical brushes like you can find them in a paintbox.

The Approach

In this section I will show you the important steps of creating a miniature. In order to make it more visual I will demonstrate this with photos of one of my most favorite projects: the Scottish Bones!

At first, there is this idea in your head. Spotting a great miniature in a store or shop helps you to specify your idea. You can continue creating a story around it and a certain atmosphere which helps you to create the perfect surrounding of the character. Now, the miniature design begins…

With the help of many different materials your miniature character is transforming into your setting and your idea. For this you can use e.g. plastic cards, metal foil, different putties and much more.

The base is an important ‚tool‘ to create and support a storytelling of your composition. For this, I use the same techniques and materials for the base.

After you built all parts of the composition it is time to paint. At first, they get primed. With a wild mix of painting techniques such as ‚wet-in-wet‘, ‚color layering or blending‘, ‚free hands‘ and much more all parts will be colored more and more. Your miniature character comes to life.

Tadaaa: After hours of spending time with this little fella he finally is created and looks exactly how you had it in mind.  A new miniature design is created! :)

(You will find more pics about this project in my portfolio)