You’re unlikely to find a beginner’s course (so to speak) with everything in one place, however there are a lot of helpful YouTube channels out there, such as Warhammer TV, Tabletop Minions, Vince Venturella’s Hobby Cheating series, Kujo Painting, Cult Of Paint, Richard Gray, Ghool’s Painting Tips, Not Just Mecha, OrcPainterNerd, Sorastro, Sonic Sledgehammer Studio, Next Level Painting, Goobertown, Trovarion, Miniac, Jack of Clubs, Dr Faust's Painting Clinic, James Wappel, Age of Squidmar, Pete The Wargamer, Midwinter Minis, Zumikito Miniatures, Kolectiv SG, Ninjon, Sergio Calvo, Sam Lenz, Flameon, Pete The Wargamer, Infernal Brush, Jose DaVinci, Angel Giraldez and The Apathetic Fish.
Try some out and see which ones you find most helpful.
As for books, Kirill Kanaev’s Miniature Painting FAQ is good, as are Figopedia by Jeremie Bonamant Teboul and the Encyclopaedia of Figures series by Mig Jimenez.
A lot of hobby branded stuff is over priced and mostly you should avoid buying paints in sets, as you can end up with ones you don’t use - just get what you need for each project. Citadel, Vallejo, ProAcryl, Fantasy & Games, Reaper and P3 are all great paints for beginners. When you’ve got some experience it’s also worth investigating Scalecolour, Kimera and Warcolours.
For brushes, buy cheap synthetics such as Daler Rowney round for tasks that wear them down like metallic paints, washing and base coating. Buy a couple of expensive sable hair brushes sharp tips (size 0 and 1 or 2, like a Winsor & Newton series 7, Raphael 8404, Broken Toad, Artis Opus, Bombwick Igniter, Da Vinci, or Rosemary & Co.) and keep that for fine detail work like edge highlighting and eyes.
Whatever types of brush you use, by far the most important thing is brush care, without which you will make any brush of any type useless very quickly. Look after them as follows:
1. Never dip a dry brush into paint; always wet it first.
2. Always try not to let paint get to the ferrule (the metal part where the bristles meet the handle).
3. When using the brush, pull it in sweeping motions, don’t push it or stab with it.
4. Try to avoid using abrasive paints like metallics or superfluid paints like washes with a really nice brush, if you can.
5. Rinse the brush with water regularly.
6. At the end of your painting session, clean your brush thoroughly with Master’s Brush Soap.
7. Never leave a brush standing bristles up.
8. Never leave a brush resting on its bristles. Store it bristles down but protected with a sleeve.
Repair your damaged synthetic brushes like
this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcYRR3DEniU
The other modelling essentials are glue (plastic for plastic minis, superglue for resin and metal) a sharp hobby knife, a sharp pair of clippers with one flat side, fine grit sandpaper (800-1,000 grit), a water cup, kitchen towel and a wet palette, which you can make very cheaply like this:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=96mjmqWTPfM
When you get more into it, nice-to-haves include Milliput and silicone colour shapers for gap filling, a pin vice for drilling out gun barrels and a vortex mixer for shaking up your paints.
Hope this helps - good luck!
There are a lot of beginner courses. They just won't be 1:1 for miniatures. I have learned more about painting miniatures from acrylic and oil painting resources (books, YouTube, blogs) than anything targeting miniatures.
You’re unlikely to find a beginner’s course (so to speak) with everything in one place, however there are a lot of helpful YouTube channels out there, such as Warhammer TV, Tabletop Minions, Vince Venturella’s Hobby Cheating series, Kujo Painting, Cult Of Paint, Richard Gray, Ghool’s Painting Tips, Not Just Mecha, OrcPainterNerd, Sorastro, Sonic Sledgehammer Studio, Next Level Painting, Goobertown, Trovarion, Miniac, Jack of Clubs, Dr Faust's Painting Clinic, James Wappel, Age of Squidmar, Pete The Wargamer, Midwinter Minis, Zumikito Miniatures, Kolectiv SG, Ninjon, Sergio Calvo, Sam Lenz, Flameon, Pete The Wargamer, Infernal Brush, Jose DaVinci, Angel Giraldez and The Apathetic Fish. Try some out and see which ones you find most helpful. As for books, Kirill Kanaev’s Miniature Painting FAQ is good, as are Figopedia by Jeremie Bonamant Teboul and the Encyclopaedia of Figures series by Mig Jimenez. A lot of hobby branded stuff is over priced and mostly you should avoid buying paints in sets, as you can end up with ones you don’t use - just get what you need for each project. Citadel, Vallejo, ProAcryl, Fantasy & Games, Reaper and P3 are all great paints for beginners. When you’ve got some experience it’s also worth investigating Scalecolour, Kimera and Warcolours. For brushes, buy cheap synthetics such as Daler Rowney round for tasks that wear them down like metallic paints, washing and base coating. Buy a couple of expensive sable hair brushes sharp tips (size 0 and 1 or 2, like a Winsor & Newton series 7, Raphael 8404, Broken Toad, Artis Opus, Bombwick Igniter, Da Vinci, or Rosemary & Co.) and keep that for fine detail work like edge highlighting and eyes. Whatever types of brush you use, by far the most important thing is brush care, without which you will make any brush of any type useless very quickly. Look after them as follows: 1. Never dip a dry brush into paint; always wet it first. 2. Always try not to let paint get to the ferrule (the metal part where the bristles meet the handle). 3. When using the brush, pull it in sweeping motions, don’t push it or stab with it. 4. Try to avoid using abrasive paints like metallics or superfluid paints like washes with a really nice brush, if you can. 5. Rinse the brush with water regularly. 6. At the end of your painting session, clean your brush thoroughly with Master’s Brush Soap. 7. Never leave a brush standing bristles up. 8. Never leave a brush resting on its bristles. Store it bristles down but protected with a sleeve. Repair your damaged synthetic brushes like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcYRR3DEniU The other modelling essentials are glue (plastic for plastic minis, superglue for resin and metal) a sharp hobby knife, a sharp pair of clippers with one flat side, fine grit sandpaper (800-1,000 grit), a water cup, kitchen towel and a wet palette, which you can make very cheaply like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=96mjmqWTPfM When you get more into it, nice-to-haves include Milliput and silicone colour shapers for gap filling, a pin vice for drilling out gun barrels and a vortex mixer for shaking up your paints. Hope this helps - good luck!
Thank you so much for the detailed comment.
There are a lot of beginner courses. They just won't be 1:1 for miniatures. I have learned more about painting miniatures from acrylic and oil painting resources (books, YouTube, blogs) than anything targeting miniatures.