Miniature Painting
Stations

A note from the painting bench

Miniature painting glossary

Plain-English definitions of painting techniques, palette terms and lighting figures, with links to the next useful guide.

By the Miniature Painting Stations team · Updated 2026-11-02

Use this reference when a guide assumes a word you have not met before. Definitions describe common usage; paint makers can use the same words as range names. For a practical next step, visit the painting knowledge hub or plan your desk outlines.

Jump to paint and finishes, brush techniques, palettes or lighting.

Paint and finishes

Term Meaning Useful distinction
Primer Preparatory coating that helps subsequent paint adhere. Priming and painting the first visible colour serve different purposes. Follow the product's instructions.
Basecoat Main starting colour over an area. A painting step; it does not require a paint range named “Base”.
Highlight Lighter colour placed to emphasise a surface or edge. Placement matters as well as the colour selected.
Shade Darker colour used to suggest depth or shadow. A shade can be placed deliberately; it need not cover the whole model.
Varnish Protective finishing coat. Finish and protection are separate considerations; check the maker's stated finish and application instructions.

The Army Painter's getting-started sequence distinguishes preparation, base colours, shading and finishing. Our starter-kit guide helps you choose the next task before adding supplies.

Brush techniques

Term Meaning
Drybrushing Removing most paint from a brush before lightly passing it over raised texture.
Layering Building colour through successive thin coats, allowing each to dry.
Glazing Applying translucent colour to alter the appearance of the underlying paint.
Wash Fluid colour used to settle into recesses and strengthen definition.
Edge highlighting Placing a narrow highlight along an edge.

A glaze changes an underlying colour while leaving it visible; a wash is normally directed towards recess shading. There is no universal dilution ratio: paint formulation, brush loading and the effect you want all matter. The glazing explanation from The Army Painter and Redgrass painting book explain these techniques. Continue with our techniques guide and brush selection notes.

Palettes

Wet palette: paint rests on a sheet above a damp reservoir to help keep acrylic paint workable. Dry palette: an ordinary mixing surface without that moisture supply. “Wet” describes the palette construction, rather than an instruction to flood the paint.

Start with the wet-palette setup guide. If you want to try the principle with a container you already own, see the DIY wet palette.

Lighting

Term What it tells you What it cannot establish alone
CCT, in kelvin (K) Correlated colour temperature: how warm or cool the light appears. Colour accuracy or brightness.
CRI, often Ra Colour rendering index: colour appearance relative to a reference light of similar colour temperature. How much light reaches the miniature.
Lumens (lm) Total visible light output. Illumination at a particular working position.
Lux (lx) Light arriving per unit area: one lumen per square metre. A comparable desk result unless the measurement position and conditions are known.

These definitions draw on ENERGY STAR and Zumtobel. Their general lighting terminology does not establish a painting-specific target. Keep a manufacturer's lux figure with its measurement distance. Use the lighting guide and lamp comparer to read specifications in context.

Sources & further reading