By Mia Hanuska
It’s no secret I love miniatures. The tiny little things. Whether it’s dolls, LEGO, or even just dioramas, I find miniatures absolutely adorable. I mean heck, I’ve even made a couple for English classes…
If you share my love for miniatures, but don’t know where to start when making your own or want to learn some new techniques, you’re in the right place! Take my advice with a grain of salt though, if you want yours to look like mine (yikes) then go ahead.
1. Foam board
When making miniatures, I find foam board works better than cardboard or bristle board, at least for dioramas. The best foam board is definitely from the dollar-store as the backing paper is easily removable. Speaking of paper, if you’re planning on painting the foamboard, make sure to peel the paper layers off to expose the raw foam underneath. This also allows for texturing of the foam, which can be done quickly with scrunched up aluminum foil, pencil, or pen.
2. Paint
If you look at my minis, you’ll notice one thing: the paint jobs lowkey suck. I’ll freely admit it, I am really really not the greatest at painting. However, I’ve found two things helpful to make it look at least half-decent. First, instead of buying high-quality paint, invest in nice brushes. A good paintbrush can really make or break your painting, especially with small details. Additionally, try out a paint wash. After painting a mini, dilute a darkish color with water or paint thinner and apply generously over the miniature. Then quickly dab off extra wash and repeat this as many times as you’d like! I love this for adding dirt, grime, or wear-and-tear to the model. It also helps tie various colors together if you’re working with a diverse color palette.
3. Tweezers—you’ll need them
I used to think I didn’t need tweezers. Then I made a very very small diorama and learned tweezers are the best thing ever invented. I have these lovely ones where you squeeze to open (instead of squeeze to close), and although that feature isn’t needed, invest in a pair of needle-nose tweezers to hold things while you paint, glue, or place tiny items.
4. Glue
As much as I love hot glue, it’s just not realistic for all applications. I’ve found Tacky Glue and Elmer’s School Glue to be pretty amazing. However, the applicators for these SUCK. Highly recommend taking the screw-top caps for these off and having a dedicated “glue brush” to apply it. This way, you have full control over how much glue you use and where it goes.
5. Don’t make it too small. Trust me.
When planning a diorama, keep in mind the tiny details, and if they’ll be too tiny. When making my project Lost in the Night, I wanted to add some details in some places that simply couldn’t be added, my pens and brushes were just too big. Think about sizing, but also don’t limit yourself by restricting to keeping things to scale. Figuring out scaling not only takes forever, but it won’t impact your mini as much as you think it will. Enjoy your time making it, and don’t stress too much over the scaling, details, or little flaws.