Setting Realistic Goals for Your First Paint Job: A Beginner's Guide

Meta Description: Starting your first miniature? Learn how to set achievable goals, avoid common beginner frustration, and finish your first model with pride. Essential reading for new hobbyists!

Welcome to the incredible hobby of miniature painting! You’ve got your first model, a handful of paints, and a brush bursting with enthusiasm. It’s an exciting moment, but it can also be intimidating. Scrolling through social media, you see breathtaking works of art that seem impossible to achieve. Here’s the most important lesson you can learn: Your goal is not to paint a masterpiece. Your goal is to finish. This guide will help you set realistic, achievable goals for your first paint job, ensuring you finish feeling proud and motivated to paint more.

Your First Goal: The "Battle Ready" Standard

Forget 'Eavy Metal and Golden Demon winners. For your first model, your single goal should be to reach what Games Workshop calls "Battle Ready" (or Tabletop Standard). This means:

• All Elements are Painted: Every part of the model has a base coat of color.

• Colors are in the Right Places: Your metal parts are metallic, your leather is brown, etc. You've avoided spilling major colors onto other areas.

• It's Washed: A single shade wash (like Nuln Oil or Agrax Earthshade) has been applied to create instant shadows and depth.

• It's Based: The base has been painted or textured so it's not just plain black plastic.

A model that meets this standard looks complete, coherent, and fantastic on the gaming table. It is a massive achievement for a first-timer.

Breaking Down the Process: Micro-Goals

A large goal feels less daunting when broken into tiny, manageable steps. Here is a simple roadmap for your first model:

1. Assembly & Cleaning: Goal: Have your model glued together and any mold lines scraped off. It's ready for paint.

2. Priming: Goal: Apply a thin, even coat of primer. This is a success if the model isn’t dripping or clogged with paint.

3. Base Coating: Goal: Apply your main colors neatly within the lines. Don't worry about perfection; just get the colors down.

4. Applying a Wash: Goal: Cover the entire model with your chosen shade wash and watch the magic happen as shadows appear.

5. Basing: Goal: Apply texture paint, sand, or static grass to the base. Paint the rim a neat color.

6. Varnishing (Optional): Goal: Protect your work with a quick spray of matte varnish.

Celebrate completing each of these steps! Each one is a victory.

What to Actively Not Worry About

A key part of setting realistic goals is knowing what to ignore for now. On your first model, give yourself permission to NOT do these things:

• Freehand Symbols: Use decals if you have them, or just leave them for now.

• Extreme Highlights: Your wash will provide enough shading.

• Perfect Blending: Smooth color transitions are an advanced technique.

• Non-Metallic Metal (NMM): This is a highly advanced style. Use metallic paints.

• Object Source Lighting (OSL): Adding glowing effects is for much later.

Remember, every expert painter's first model looked just like yours will. They improved one model at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How long should my first model take?

There's no set time, but don't rush. Spread it over a few evenings. A good goal is 2-4 hours of total painting time. Taking breaks prevents mistakes from fatigue.

2. What if I make a mistake?

Mistakes are not failures; they are learning opportunities. Acrylic paint is very forgiving. If you paint the wrong color, simply wait for it to dry and paint over it with the correct color. Your goal is to finish, not to be perfect.

3. How do I choose which model to paint first?

Pick a single, standard infantry model—not a character or a huge monster. Characters have too much pressure; you’ll want them to be perfect. A simple soldier is a low-stakes practice piece where you can learn without fear.

4. I'm comparing my work to others and feeling discouraged. What should I do?

This is the fastest way to kill joy. Compare your second model to your first, not your first to someone else’s hundredth. Your only benchmark is your own progress. Celebrate the small improvements you make with each model.

5. Do I need to paint everything to the same standard?

No! This is a crucial lesson. Paint your army's rank-and-file troops to a good, clean "Battle Ready" standard. Then, once you're comfortable, you can spend more time on sergeants, heroes, and centerpiece models. This is called the "pyramid of time" approach.

6. What is the single most important tip for a beginner?

Thin your paints! Add a tiny drop of water to your paint on a palette until it has the consistency of milk. This will prevent it from clogging the model's details and give you a smooth finish. Two thin coats are always better than one thick coat.

Conclusion: Your Journey Starts Here

The goal of your first paint job isn't to win a prize. It's to cross the finish line. It's to learn how paint flows from your brush, how a wash behaves, and how satisfying it is to hold a completed model that you brought to life. Embrace the imperfections; they are the fingerprints of your start in the hobby. That first model, no matter how simple, is a testament to your courage to begin. Pick up that brush, set your small, achievable goals, and welcome to the most rewarding hobby there is.