We all own a miniature we’ve never painted. It sits in the box not because painting is hard, but because the first one feels like the one you could ruin, and nobody's handed you a method. Maybe you feel like you don’t have an artistic or creative bone in your body and you wish there was a simple way to get your miniatures painted and on the gaming table. If that's you, you're not alone. I struggled with both of these things and I’ve learned a method to solve both. All you need is a few colours, and an hour or two, and you'll have a painted model on the table. No creativity required, because sometimes trying to be creative applies too much pressure and we never get started.

The method: two thin coats

There's one rule, and the range is named after it: two thin coats, not one thick one.

With a lot of paints, painting straight from the pot is gloopy, hides the detail you paid for, and dries with streaks. Thin the paint a little (until it flows like milk) and brush it on in one or two layers. It sits smooth and keeps every rivet and buckle sharp.
To thin, add some paint to a palette (I like a wet palette but a small dinner plate works when you’re starting out), and then add a drop of water or Two Thin Coats medium, and mix. The paint should leave your brush smoothly and should not leave any streaks.

Apply the paint and give each coat a minute to dry. If you’re in a hurry (or lack the patience like me), a hairdryer does the same job faster.
The irony with Two Thin Coats: over a grey primer it usually covers in a single coat anyway. So that's the whole technique.

• Thin the paint
• Paint a smooth layer
• Let it dry
• Paint a second layer if needed

Everything after that is just choosing colours.

What to buy: three to five midranges

You don't need a rainbow. Start with three to five midrange colours that cover your model: something for skin, something for metal, a leather or a wood, and a colour or two for cloth and armour. In the Two Thin Coats range the midrange is the "true" version of a colour (colour theory calls it the local colour), and it's all you need to get a whole model looking finished. Add a pot of primer (a lot of people use Halfords primers) and one brush, and that's the kit.

We don't make a ready-made beginner set yet, so for now pick your midranges straight from the Two Thin Coats collection. If you're coming from Citadel or Vallejo, the switch is easy: you thin and layer them the same way, and every colour is part of a shade, midrange and highlight triad.

"Bought this together with black and a wash to try the brand - have only used the white so far and really liked the consistency, coverage and finish."

Simon M., verified review (real Loox review on Two Thin Coats White Star — brand confirmed; cleared for publish)

Paint your first model

1. Prime the model and let it dry properly. I lean towards black or grey; grey is the one that gets you that single-coat coverage.
2. Block in each area in its midrange, two thin coats each. Ignore shading for now. Flat colour is the whole goal.
3. Work lightest colours to darkest, so any slips are easy to cover with the next colour.
4. Tidy the edges with whichever midrange sits next to the mistake.
5. Stop. That's a finished, table-ready model, from five pots and one rule.

You’ve just painted your first mini. All that's left to do is base it. Basing doesn’t need to be complicated. Cover the top of the base in glue, dip it in a basing material (like fine sand), and once it’s dry, paint the rim of the base. I usually use black to paint the rim.

Once based, you have a miniature that is tabletop ready, and since many tournaments require miniatures to have at least three colours and be based, it’s tournament ready too.

The key here is to try and be neat. Painting neatly is your first step to being a great painter, as becoming more accurate helps you with advanced techniques.

Painting an army this way won’t win you any painting prizes, but it will get your miniatures painted quickly and enhance your tabletop games. An entire army of miniatures painted to this basic standard will look a thousand times better than an army that’s primed with one or two miniatures painted.

A few more benefits: you'll improve as you work through the models, and you’ll get to know the miniatures, which helps you paint more of them. If you want to take things up a level later, you’ll already be familiar with the different surfaces and volumes.

You can even varnish them at this stage if you’re feeling fancy. It will protect the miniatures, and you can paint over the top of the varnish if you want to go to the next level.

Level up: complete the triads

When you want more than flat colour, this is where Two Thin Coats earns its name a second time. Every colour comes as a matched triad: a shadow, your midrange, and a highlight. You already own the middle. To get the classic miniature look, work the shadow into the recesses and run the highlight along the raised edges of the colours you've already used. Now every colour has depth, with no new technique to learn. You're not starting your search for paints again. You're filling in the ends of sets you already have.

→ Two Thin Coats triads

What next?

• Not sure which paint does which job? Read Which paint for which job.
• Want a game to paint your models for? Learn Relicblade in 10 minutes.
• Ready to pick your first colours? Browse Two Thin Coats.

Whatever's been sitting in its box, this is the afternoon it gets painted. What are you starting with?

FAQ

• Do I need to thin the paint? Yes. It's the single biggest difference between smooth colour and a gloopy mess, and a drop of water or medium is enough.
• What if I make a mistake? Let it dry and go over it with the neighbouring colour. Acrylics are forgiving, and nobody sees the layers underneath.
• How many paints do I actually need? Three to five midrange paints, a primer, and one brush. You can grow the collection once the first model is done.