Start your journey.

Technically, all you need to start Display Painting is paint and a 3D sculpt. But since we aren't finger painting our figures, here is a comprehensive list of necessary, mostly optional (but very helpful) and simply nice-to-have materials. Once you have your miniature, of course.

These supplies are what determined our Starter Bundle.

Mandatory Supplies

Paints

You will find the most success Display Painting with paint made specifically for miniature work. Regular acrylics, like what you might buy at an art store (or Bunnings), have large pigment flakes, meaning the paint may split and look poor quality on a small scale. It will be obvious that after thinning, these paints will have some areas the pigment will group up and some where it doesn't, creating an uneven application across the sculpt. Any money you save trying to use dollar store paints will bite you in the ass here, unfortunately.

Miniature paints, such as those from AK Interactive or Vallejo, are designed specifically with tiny pigments in their suspensions. This means that when thinned, the paint will still apply consistent layers. The holy grail of pigment purity at the moment are Kimera paints. Made in Italy, these paints have some of the highest pigment concentrations on the market. They provide rich, vibrant colours. The catch is that they are somewhat challenging to use if you are new- they require more thinning than other brands, and controlling paint hydration is a skill in itself. It is recommended that you start with a brand like Vallejo or AK, then work up to Kimera.

Brushes

There are a million brushes out there, so which ones are the right ones for Display Painting? For a beginner, it is simple- whatever is within your budget and is an appropriate size. Generally speaking, there are two major umbrellas categories for paint brushes- Synthetic and non-synthetic. Non-synthetic brushes are usually made from animal hair or fur and are priced in a mid to high-range. Synthetic brushes are typically made from nylon or polyester and can be low quality but cheap, or high quality and expensive.

The debate between which is better is a long and mostly irrelevant argument, as it primarily comes down to the individual brushes and the manufacturing quality. In general, non-synthetic brushes are considered, on average, "better". Display Foundry has curated what we believe are the best brushes for their cost in both non-synthetic and synthetic options. If you are new, start with affordable synthetics, and buy more expensive non-synthetics as you progress.

Sizes

Brush size can be a point of confusion for beginners. The instinct is often to reach for the smallest brush possible, like a size 000, because the models themselves are tiny. In practice, this can actually make painting harder.

A larger brush that maintains a sharp tip will almost always perform better than a very small brush. A size 1 or size 2 with a good point holds more paint and moisture, which allows smoother application and fewer interruptions. Smaller brushes dry out quickly, forcing you to reload paint constantly and increasing the chance of chalky or uneven layers. For most display painters, an essential starting set might look like:

Size 2/3 – Basecoating, layering, framing
Size 1 – Detail work
Size 0 – Very small details (e.g Eyes)

You will likely discover that the majority of your painting happens with a size 1 or above, not smaller, as is typically assumed.

Palette

Paint should almost never be used directly from the bottle. It needs to be thinned and controlled before it touches the model. Adding more paint is easy, taking away is hard.
This is why a palette is considered essential for display miniature painting.
There are two kinds of palettes: wet and dry palettes. A dry palette is what you may think of when you think of a palette- a "Bob Ross" style wooden board, a plastic container or something similar. A wet palette is what we typically use for display painting as it helps keep the paint hydrated. Since we use small amounts of paint, they tend to dry out really quickly on a dry palette, leading to inconsistent layer thinness.

At the simplest level, a wet palette typically consists of three layers:

1. A container
2. A damp sponge
3. Semi-Permeable palette paper

The moisture slowly travels through the paper into the paint, preventing it from drying out while you work. This allows smoother blending, longer working time, and significantly less wasted paint.

For display painting, a wet palette becomes almost indispensable. Some very talented display painters have, for years, used a cheap but effective wet palette made of nothing but Tupperware, a sponge, and baking paper. This would be considered essential. However, as an optionally nice-to-have, many agree that a professionally made wet palettes are fantastic for leaving paint hydrated for days instead of just hours.

Very Helpful Supplies

Lighting

This was a challenging choice to put in this section, as it is so helpful, but not technically required. Painting miniatures requires good lighting. Without it, colour judgement becomes difficult and details become hard to see.

A bright, neutral light source light, usually around 5000–6500K colour temperature (you can typically find it on the packaging or online) is ideal. This mimics daylight and allows you to see colours accurately. It also is useful for creating reference images- after priming your model, taking photos of it under the light at a given angle, gives you a reference with very clear source lighting that you can paint onto the model.

Desk lamps designed for artists are excellent for this purpose. They provide strong, even illumination and can be positioned directly above your work area. Poor lighting is one of the easiest problems to fix, and it dramatically improves painting quality.

Basing

Basing is the practice of designing, sculpting, assembling or just painting a feature on the Base of your model; the platform it stands on. It is almost it's own art form. A grand or complicated basing effort is certainly not "required", especially when talking about busts. However, even a simple base can be crucial to the framing of your miniature.

A great base is absolutely a game-changer to a model. Some competitions are won and lost over the basing of two closely-tied competing miniatures. 

If you plan to create a base for your model, it is generally recommended that you plan out your desired layout & large features beforehand, saving you time and money. Having some grass tufts, sand or snow effects on hand is never going to be bad, but buying highly specific features (a Greek pillar, an Aztec temple staircase) without a plan to use them might lead to them sitting on your shelf for far longer than you planned. Definitely not speaking from experience here.

Nice-to-Have Supplies

These are not required in the slightest- some world-famous display painters may never use these tools. But despite their optionality, they can be useful.

Painting Handle

Holding a miniature directly can make it harder to control your brush, and can also rub paint off areas you've already finished due to the oils in our hands.
A painting handle solves this by giving you something larger and more stable to grip. Some painters use purpose-built handles, while others simply stick the model to a cork or bottle cap with poster tack. Whatever you decide to use, a painting handle rocks.

Airbrush

Airbrushes allow smooth gradients, fast basecoating, and efficient priming. They are powerful tools, but they introduce additional complexity. compressors, cleaning routines, maintenance, and ventilation considerations. For a beginner focused on learning brush control and colour theory, an airbrush is not recommended. But once you begin tackling larger pieces or advanced effects, it can be an effective tool.

Varnish

Once a piece is finished, a protective varnish can help preserve the paintwork. Matte varnishes are most common for display pieces, though satin and gloss are sometimes used selectively for certain surfaces when trying to pull of a certain effect, like glass.

Varnish also helps unify the finish of a model, reducing unwanted shine from different paint layers.

The Real Requirement

All of the equipment above helps. Some of it helps a lot. But the one thing that cannot be purchased is time spent painting.

Display painting is a skill built through repetition. Your first model won't look perfect. Your tenth will look better. At some point you will notice that your hands know what to do before your brain finishes thinking about it. The tools matter, but the real improvements come from the time you spend learning how to use them.