We have made a brand new fantasy Universe with 10 amazing looking miniatures to paint! You can check out the campaign and support the channel - it goes live October 2022 here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/squidmar/champions-of-sona-75mm-resin-miniatures
I like the look you get when you don't thin your paints. I want my miniatures to look like they are melting with almost no detail. For this I like the dip technique: take the lid off your pot and coat your models by dropping the miniature into the pot: this gives quick full coverage.
I've always been partial to blasting contrast paint at my space marines through a firehose, myself. You can also repaint your car, the side of your house, the neighbour's dog and a multitude of other things with this method too, often at the same time. It's really, really handy!
Look at artist materials: a heavy body acrylic and various texture pastes should allow you to obscure detail in a slower and more expensive way, good for characters.
As someone who is returning to painting miniatures after 25 years I feel like I am coming at this like a beginner. Even when I was at my best as a kid I still didn’t do most of these - such great advice 💪🏻
I'm in the same boat. I'm surprised he didn't mention washes though, I've yet to use them but from what I've been seeing they seem like a super easy way to shade and give depth to a piece.
I'm still a very basic painter, so watching all of these videos helps hammer home different techniques. Still not very good at highlights or transitions/wet blending.
Yes. And not just painting. Crafting, terrain and DIY's. I get done watching and go, "I knew that". I think it's more youtube addiction. Plus I do enjoy some people's video content and it's always helpful for a little re-confirmation of my own skills.
I think a lot of us do that, and to me it often has to do with how different people approach or use different techniques. We've all learned these basic techniques but not in the same order or with the same applications. I actually learn a lot from these videos despite painting minis for 15+ years now :)
This is the video I wish I'd had when I started painting 3 years ago. Literally my exact list of most valuable techniques since I started, and very clearly explained. Awesome job, Emil!
I'm just getting in to the hobby with my husband, but it seemed so overwhelming. Your videos have been incredibly helpful and I'm excited to try my hand at it! Looking forward to more videos. Also, hope you feel better soon!
Awesome video, always good to revisit the basics. You've laid this out really well and I'll be sending this over to my nephew who has just started painting, and my brother-in-law who has just got back into it after not painting for 15+ years. For them this video has been released at the right time!
"oh yeah just use a big brush, this is basically just a foundation" **pulls out mini that looks better than what my finished product looks like** me: "well crap."
@Qwerty I guess to get a sense where the light should go. You zenithal highlight your miniature, make a picture from every angle and now you know where the light spots should be. Even though the acrylics cover pretty well you can still go back to the picture instead of theorizing where the light should go. :)
This is exactly what I needed. I didn't really understand how to do edge highlighting with the side of the brush, I think that will make it easier for me. It also helps me focus on basics to master before being drug into more advanced techniques I am not ready for. THANKS!
#6 tip no matter how terrible you are at painting and no matter how long you have been doing this hobby for the enjoyment should be your main goal unless you are trying to be 110% or a commission painter. I have a lot of respect for people who try to become the best at something and putting in the hours just to achieve that outcome but a lot of people are satisfied or should be satisfied with simply painting for the fun and zen feeling. go at your own speed and this will hopefully be a lifelong hobby.
Absolutely agree with you on wet blending which many people mistakenly think is an advanced technique. It’s definitely one of the fastest methods of painting I’ve discovered and complements layering extremely well!
This is where the word 'midtone' clicked for me. Prior, I'd just wash to get a transition. But this just makes sense now. Can't wait to try it out, thanks Squidmar!
When watching how to paint videos they don't really stick well but the way you explained everything and also showed how it went was great. Please pump more of these out!
Thanks for your channel and tips. I’m just starting to paint minis (or anything) I completed my first mini with your tips, I am grateful, and I think it turned out okay.
When dry brushing I usually start with a slightly damp brush, and this keeps me from ending up with a chalky look. Whenever my brush is too dry I seem to just get paint a fine layer of particulate everywhere. Not sure if I am doing this right or not.
I'm currently finishing my nighthaunts and I totally forgot to give them a good base coat! Never forget to base coat, guys. Otherwise you have thousands of little details to paint, slowing down your painting progress. I won't forget it a second time! ^^ Thank you for this amazing video! :)
Thanks for compiling all this info into one concise little video. No doubt it will become a 'go-to' video that inspires a lot of painters to improve their art. Cheers Emil.
I just painted my first two minis ever yesterday and I'm definitely hooked. It's funny how I took forever to paint and he threw a basecoat on in 30 sec and it looked light-years better than mine lol.
I recently started SLA printing and want to start learning to paint my models, bit I didn't know where to start. This is exactly what I was looking for! Some of these techniques were completely unknown to me before this video. Thanks!
On synthetic brushes I've started making use of the bent tip, using it to paint around angles and such. As long as the tip's still sharp it's perfectly usable, it just takes a slightly different technique.
I'm just starting out painting minitures but I'm having all kinds of troubles in just getting my paints thinned and loading my brush right. I admit I've just been trying on a couple figures but this is harder than I figured. Plus I'm a guy of 66 years trying something I've never done before. I'm going to stick with it and hopefully I'll get better. Can't get worse. 😂
Probably want to add that if you're layering or wet blending, your want to use very thin paint with very little paint on your brush. With dry brushing it's better to have thicker paint but still very little paint.
The things that I struggled with when starting were paint consistency (too thin, too thick) and knowing where to put the light and shadows. I still don't know where to put the light and shadows...
Thanks man, I just got picked up as a miniature painter for a new content creator but I had only painted one before. This video really conceptualized the effects I've seen on the store bought and custom figures I want to be competitive with. Also, dope sleeve man.
They scare me, I’ve tried the layering but up to now no luck with it. Wet blending no luck, but now knowing about not worrying about being neat with the base coat will be very helpful. Thank you and keep up the great work. Dennis.
Did one D&D mini and I am kinda happy with it as a first try. This video is definatly going to upgrade my next one. Just practicing on Nolzur d&d mini's before I start on my Khorne army.
So glad you made this because tabletop minions just did a video like 2 weeks ago scarring people away from this basic painting techniques. Hope people watch your video and stop being scared of doing things like wet blending or edge highlighting.
Should you want to give it a try, I recommend Reaper Miniatures, they sell cool yet VERY cheap models and probably have a starter painting set as well. their brushes are kinda meh, but you could always spend the extra and get an actual good brush somewhere to complement Reaper's. Minipainting is such a delightful, relaxing activity ❤
I'm on a Facebook page for miniatures. There are some people who edge highlight absolutely everything and you're right, it does make it look cartoonish.
Hey Squid, love your videos. I'm very interested in getting back in to WH40K, painting and playing. I had a couple of miniatures way back, when I was like 10. Dark angels, me and a friend burnt them on dry tallbarr. Now I'm to become a father this august and thinking it would be a great thing to pick up again. Maybe watching the kid and painting is not a very good idea? The one thing keeping me on the fence is the steep "start up" costs, all the brushes and paint and then obviously the models. Anyway, keep doing what you do :)
Hi! love your videos, gave me some pro tips that i definetly needed. Have you thought also making a video about brushes type, when to use them and how to distinguish a good brush from a crappy one? maybe also an outlook on different brands from Top quality to amazon quality ahah
Remember, we have ways to strip the pain off of the miniatures. If you mess up, keep going until the whole thing is painted. Now that it's already messed up, go crazy! Try out something different!
Not sure if you're asking for advice here but drybrushing from the outside in goes a long way with the flat chitin panels. You can get some really cool, organic effects this way
Hi Squidmar, could you please tell me at minute 2:05 which brush brand is that above the Artis Opus brushes? Or please give me a link to these? Thank you for that.
Those D series Artis Opus brushes are hard to find! You can achieve some great results with them, their UA-cam channel shows them off really well. They have made me reconsider d-brushing as a serious technique!
On average, how many brushes do you have on the go at one time? I find some techniques hard to do because I can't just leave paint on my brush to dry out while I attend to other details. Especially if I'm batch painting.
Hey good man, I'm looking for a brush technique that will help with getting certain paint colors to cover better. I'm painting some Ogres up in Troll Claw( yellow/tan) and it's not basing over my black primer very well. I'm using a wet palette. I'm on about 4 or 5 coats right now and I'm just now getting coverage. After watching the beginning, I may be doing my base coating WRONG. I'm not using enough paint because I'm very afraid of muddling up details maybe. I'll try more paint on the brush and a little less water in my palette's tray. I really respect your work and thanks a ton for the great tips and advice.
With yellow and a wet-palette you should DEFINITELY start from white instead of black. Yellow paints and paint from a wet-palette have a tendency to be translucent: starting from white (or near-white) makes this an advantage instead of a disaster. Or barring a full white undercoat try doing a first layer with something bright which gets a strong colour easily: white or beige probably, depending on your paint range. It's possible you'll have to find a higher-pigment range for this.
YEAH! THa tspeckleyt hing drives me NUTS! How do I not do that? contrasts and speeds do it because of it all the itme. Is it small bumps on the model???
Question: What is the difference between the base coating and the priming? Why do you suggest to do both? (As I understood you overpainted the base coat as well during the layering. So why do we need an extra layer of paint between the priming and the outer layers?)
As i understand it priming is makes it so the paint you put on sticks to your mini properly, and the basecoating is purely to make your colors fill the mini correctly and support the highlights and layering that come after
We have made a brand new fantasy Universe with 10 amazing looking miniatures to paint! You can check out the campaign and support the channel - it goes live October 2022 here:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/squidmar/champions-of-sona-75mm-resin-miniatures
Squidmar remembers to add Updates to 2 year old videos, det respekterar jag
1) 1:28 = Base coating,
2) 2:39 = Layering,
3) 4:12 = Wet on wet,
4) 6:38 = Dry Brushing,
5) 9:05 = Edge Highlighting.
You're a legend
Thank you!
Thanks!
I like the look you get when you don't thin your paints. I want my miniatures to look like they are melting with almost no detail. For this I like the dip technique: take the lid off your pot and coat your models by dropping the miniature into the pot: this gives quick full coverage.
I just throw em in acetone. Gives a nice globby and waxy look
@@thefantasticdrill788 I will have to try this more advanced technique, thank you!
I've always been partial to blasting contrast paint at my space marines through a firehose, myself. You can also repaint your car, the side of your house, the neighbour's dog and a multitude of other things with this method too, often at the same time. It's really, really handy!
@@Darkknightzoey Not to mention cheap!
Look at artist materials: a heavy body acrylic and various texture pastes should allow you to obscure detail in a slower and more expensive way, good for characters.
As someone who is returning to painting miniatures after 25 years I feel like I am coming at this like a beginner. Even when I was at my best as a kid I still didn’t do most of these - such great advice 💪🏻
I'm in the same boat. I'm surprised he didn't mention washes though, I've yet to use them but from what I've been seeing they seem like a super easy way to shade and give depth to a piece.
Any else here have the wierd habit of watching everybody's begginer tips video's even though you've been painting minis for years?
It really don't hurt to get reminders :) I do too
PossessedFiend yeah, and I still feel like a total beginner.
I'm still a very basic painter, so watching all of these videos helps hammer home different techniques. Still not very good at highlights or transitions/wet blending.
Yes. And not just painting. Crafting, terrain and DIY's. I get done watching and go, "I knew that". I think it's more youtube addiction. Plus I do enjoy some people's video content and it's always helpful for a little re-confirmation of my own skills.
I think a lot of us do that, and to me it often has to do with how different people approach or use different techniques. We've all learned these basic techniques but not in the same order or with the same applications.
I actually learn a lot from these videos despite painting minis for 15+ years now :)
This is the video I wish I'd had when I started painting 3 years ago. Literally my exact list of most valuable techniques since I started, and very clearly explained. Awesome job, Emil!
I'm just getting in to the hobby with my husband, but it seemed so overwhelming. Your videos have been incredibly helpful and I'm excited to try my hand at it! Looking forward to more videos. Also, hope you feel better soon!
Awesome video, always good to revisit the basics. You've laid this out really well and I'll be sending this over to my nephew who has just started painting, and my brother-in-law who has just got back into it after not painting for 15+ years. For them this video has been released at the right time!
"oh yeah just use a big brush, this is basically just a foundation"
**pulls out mini that looks better than what my finished product looks like**
me: "well crap."
Gotta practise them base coats :D
@Qwerty I guess to get a sense where the light should go. You zenithal highlight your miniature, make a picture from every angle and now you know where the light spots should be. Even though the acrylics cover pretty well you can still go back to the picture instead of theorizing where the light should go. :)
Squidmar: “edge highlighting”
Me: *everytime Scott said edge highlighting simultaneously playing in my brain*
This is exactly what I needed. I didn't really understand how to do edge highlighting with the side of the brush, I think that will make it easier for me. It also helps me focus on basics to master before being drug into more advanced techniques I am not ready for. THANKS!
#6 tip no matter how terrible you are at painting and no matter how long you have been doing this hobby for the enjoyment should be your main goal unless you are trying to be 110% or a commission painter.
I have a lot of respect for people who try to become the best at something and putting in the hours just to achieve that outcome but a lot of people are satisfied or should be satisfied with simply painting for the fun and zen feeling.
go at your own speed and this will hopefully be a lifelong hobby.
Absolutely agree with you on wet blending which many people mistakenly think is an advanced technique. It’s definitely one of the fastest methods of painting I’ve discovered and complements layering extremely well!
Thanks so much for the tips! I just started the hobby two weeks ago and you have saved many of my models from beginner mistakes! Mahalo! 🤙
This is where the word 'midtone' clicked for me.
Prior, I'd just wash to get a transition.
But this just makes sense now.
Can't wait to try it out, thanks Squidmar!
When watching how to paint videos they don't really stick well but the way you explained everything and also showed how it went was great. Please pump more of these out!
Awesome paint job on that demonic blademaster mini!
Thanks for your channel and tips. I’m just starting to paint minis (or anything) I completed my first mini with your tips, I am grateful, and I think it turned out okay.
Perfect timing because I'm new and I'm getting the miniature kit from Draw With Jazza. Good practice for me.
Same
Welcome 😊 I considered buying it too. But in the end I didn't. Because I already have the most basic things.
Hope you will have fun with it.
Make sure to check out the Facebook communities, they're great for support as a new hobbyist
Ooh yeah! I’m getting it too! I’m hella hyped for it 😁👍👍👍
Hell yea
2:30 After the base coat.
That’ll do me - already better than anything I’ve ever done lol
I'm just about to start painting minis I'm so nervous but also so excited
When dry brushing I usually start with a slightly damp brush, and this keeps me from ending up with a chalky look. Whenever my brush is too dry I seem to just get paint a fine layer of particulate everywhere. Not sure if I am doing this right or not.
I'm currently finishing my nighthaunts and I totally forgot to give them a good base coat!
Never forget to base coat, guys.
Otherwise you have thousands of little details to paint, slowing down your painting progress.
I won't forget it a second time! ^^
Thank you for this amazing video! :)
Thanks for compiling all this info into one concise little video. No doubt it will become a 'go-to' video that inspires a lot of painters to improve their art. Cheers Emil.
1:30 dat fine detail brush tho 😮
The edge highlight explanation was on point. I never got it to look good but now it does
As someone who is just getting into painting minis - this video is going to be a lifesaver
I just painted my first two minis ever yesterday and I'm definitely hooked. It's funny how I took forever to paint and he threw a basecoat on in 30 sec and it looked light-years better than mine lol.
I just started as well and his base coat looked better than my finished minis lol
I just learned what a base coat is...
Exquisite gagging sound at 06:03 - what a treat for people who don´t skip the ads :D
Thanks! just started painting minis and this helps a lot!
I'm a beginner and this is super helpful! Thank you and subscribed! ❤❤
you have helped my painting skills grow so much, thank you. you are the only person i watch.
I recently started SLA printing and want to start learning to paint my models, bit I didn't know where to start. This is exactly what I was looking for! Some of these techniques were completely unknown to me before this video. Thanks!
The technique I have yet to learn, not bend the tip of my fine detail brush....
That’s synthetic for ya, I have the same problem but my GF won’t let me buy sable brushes😅
If you use a natural hair brush and brushes soap that should stop. All synthetic brushes will eventually bend it's just inevitable.
On synthetic brushes I've started making use of the bent tip, using it to paint around angles and such. As long as the tip's still sharp it's perfectly usable, it just takes a slightly different technique.
@@PhilAlm92 Why do you need your gf's permission to buy them?
@@PhilAlm92 just buy them? Grown man doesn't need permission to buy brushes.
such a great vid thanks for explaining how to use the brush and get it super dry was worried about that and couldnt find detailed edvice
I'm just starting out painting minitures but I'm having all kinds of troubles in just getting my paints thinned and loading my brush right.
I admit I've just been trying on a couple figures but this is harder than I figured. Plus I'm a guy of 66 years trying something I've never done before. I'm going to stick with it and hopefully I'll get better. Can't get worse. 😂
That's the spirit!
Helped me a Lot with my Nighthaunt Army i started to Paint couple of days ago, with Ur technices it Looks fantastic 🙏🏻
What an incredible piece of work.
Probably want to add that if you're layering or wet blending, your want to use very thin paint with very little paint on your brush. With dry brushing it's better to have thicker paint but still very little paint.
Been building model cars for years, bout to start my miniature obsession.
Theres so many minis to pick from. I went with 40K and Bolt Action 2
Thank you so much, when i started i couldnt find a video like this and this would have helped alot.
The things that I struggled with when starting were paint consistency (too thin, too thick) and knowing where to put the light and shadows. I still don't know where to put the light and shadows...
Thanks man, I just got picked up as a miniature painter for a new content creator but I had only painted one before. This video really conceptualized the effects I've seen on the store bought and custom figures I want to be competitive with. Also, dope sleeve man.
They scare me, I’ve tried the layering but up to now no luck with it. Wet blending no luck, but now knowing about not worrying about being neat with the base coat will be very helpful.
Thank you and keep up the great work.
Dennis.
Key bits of advice you gave? Be brave! Fear of ruining a mini has held me back before. Be brave.
theres a podcost called paint bravely the podcast, great place to listen while painting
Don’t worry about ruining it honestly there are always ways of fixing
Love your ink bro. Can't say I'm surprised looking at your miniatures. You got an eye for good art
Did one D&D mini and I am kinda happy with it as a first try. This video is definatly going to upgrade my next one. Just practicing on Nolzur d&d mini's before I start on my Khorne army.
He looks like he's always on the edge of bursting out into laughter lol
Still struggling with wet blending, great video Emil!!
Haven't tried it yet myself, waiting for some action piece, like a flaming sword or muzzle fire to do it on
Love the video! Edge highlighting and me are still battling. It's definitely a learning process for sure.
The only one I’ve not used is wet blending. Going to give it a go now I’ve seen it explained in a simple manner
I learnt how to wet blend by using the new contrast paints. Now im able to use those same techniques with regular GW/Vallejo paints.
Zjisod. O
So glad you made this because tabletop minions just did a video like 2 weeks ago scarring people away from this basic painting techniques.
Hope people watch your video and stop being scared of doing things like wet blending or edge highlighting.
Returning to the hobby after a 15 year hiatus - thank you for making it less daunting Squidmar!!
Diddo, maybe a little longer. I've been back at it again for a few weeks. Sure is nice to just sit down and put paint on a mini again
So
#1. Priming
#2. Painting
- base
- layers
- acrylic
#3. Finalising
- dry brush
- edges
Man, you're base coating looks better than some of my final products, I have a lot to learn
Superb. Thank you so much.
Thanks again, another fantastic tutorial, looking forward to getting creative.
🌟😎🌟
Your base coated mini looks better than my finished ones!!! Great video!
My thought exactly! :D
Wow!! Thank you so much! This is definitely the best beginner tutorial I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot). Cheers!
I love watching your videos, yet I've never painted minis before. Wish I could, but I haven't, yet! Great work, man 👍
Should you want to give it a try, I recommend Reaper Miniatures, they sell cool yet VERY cheap models and probably have a starter painting set as well. their brushes are kinda meh, but you could always spend the extra and get an actual good brush somewhere to complement Reaper's.
Minipainting is such a delightful, relaxing activity ❤
@@dvlm1376 Thanks! I'll look into it
Great tips!! Super helpful
Can't wait for your brushes to try!
Great video as always. I've learned a lot by watching your channel. Feel better and thanks for all the great info.
Might have to attempt some of these with my Squidmar Kolinsky brushes when they arrive.
...except the drybrushing :P
Great work.
love all your vids man, so helpful for me, im past just starting but i learn slow and these vids are super helpful
Emil, thank you for your content man! Love the videos! They are so helpful!
Fantastic papa squid💯💯
I'm on a Facebook page for miniatures. There are some people who edge highlight absolutely everything and you're right, it does make it look cartoonish.
Hey Squid, love your videos. I'm very interested in getting back in to WH40K, painting and playing. I had a couple of miniatures way back, when I was like 10. Dark angels, me and a friend burnt them on dry tallbarr. Now I'm to become a father this august and thinking it would be a great thing to pick up again. Maybe watching the kid and painting is not a very good idea? The one thing keeping me on the fence is the steep "start up" costs, all the brushes and paint and then obviously the models. Anyway, keep doing what you do :)
Hi! love your videos, gave me some pro tips that i definetly needed.
Have you thought also making a video about brushes type, when to use them and how to distinguish a good brush from a crappy one? maybe also an outlook on different brands from Top quality to amazon quality ahah
Remember, we have ways to strip the pain off of the miniatures. If you mess up, keep going until the whole thing is painted. Now that it's already messed up, go crazy! Try out something different!
Is there already a video with the advanced techniques like feathering and glazes?
Thank you , Squid .
This video was so helpful thank you so much Emil!!!!!!
You've never painted any tyranids and I'd be interested to see how you deal with the flat carapace panels and rounded muscles.
Not sure if you're asking for advice here but drybrushing from the outside in goes a long way with the flat chitin panels. You can get some really cool, organic effects this way
@@dvlm1376 thankyou ☺️
Hi Squidmar,
could you please tell me at minute 2:05 which brush brand is that above the Artis Opus brushes?
Or please give me a link to these?
Thank you for that.
I ordered from wish, can't remember. Cheap no name brand
@@SquidmarMiniatures THX
What about glass pallete? I keep seeing that i use wet and i like it but the water and clean up is the adhd killer
Geezer here...
Great vid... Thanks.
Game on.
Really useful, wet on wet is very nicw
Great video Emil, thanks!
Nice. More videos like this would be amazing
Cool! I'm looking for a good tutorial to send to my niblings, since I can't be there to teach them myself. This looks like a good candidate.
Those D series Artis Opus brushes are hard to find! You can achieve some great results with them, their UA-cam channel shows them off really well. They have made me reconsider d-brushing as a serious technique!
On average, how many brushes do you have on the go at one time? I find some techniques hard to do because I can't just leave paint on my brush to dry out while I attend to other details. Especially if I'm batch painting.
Coś pięknego Uwielbiam oglądać i uwielbiam wdrażać to w moje modele
Bruh that wet blending looks like some high level stuff.
wished you would still tackle what primer is :'
am really new, but i will pause and try to find explanation on it first
How could anyone give a Squidmar video a thumbs down?
Haters gonna hate * shrug *
Hey good man, I'm looking for a brush technique that will help with getting certain paint colors to cover better. I'm painting some Ogres up in Troll Claw( yellow/tan) and it's not basing over my black primer very well. I'm using a wet palette. I'm on about 4 or 5 coats right now and I'm just now getting coverage. After watching the beginning, I may be doing my base coating WRONG. I'm not using enough paint because I'm very afraid of muddling up details maybe. I'll try more paint on the brush and a little less water in my palette's tray. I really respect your work and thanks a ton for the great tips and advice.
With yellow and a wet-palette you should DEFINITELY start from white instead of black. Yellow paints and paint from a wet-palette have a tendency to be translucent: starting from white (or near-white) makes this an advantage instead of a disaster.
Or barring a full white undercoat try doing a first layer with something bright which gets a strong colour easily: white or beige probably, depending on your paint range. It's possible you'll have to find a higher-pigment range for this.
When do you apply your washes? After base coats? Or after the first few layers? Or do you just go without?
99% of the time I go without
Nice video ...again!...keep the gloriousness!
What's the name of the channel where he paints a mini using only drybrushing? He says it at about 6:50 but I cant hear what he says properly.
Artis opus
Great video! Thanks!
His base coats are better than my finished product.
This was excellent…. Thanks so much!
Did you ever do a video of the other, more advanced techniques?
YEAH! THa tspeckleyt hing drives me NUTS! How do I not do that? contrasts and speeds do it because of it all the itme. Is it small bumps on the model???
Great video mate!
Question:
What is the difference between the base coating and the priming?
Why do you suggest to do both?
(As I understood you overpainted the base coat as well during the layering. So why do we need an extra layer of paint between the priming and the outer layers?)
As i understand it priming is makes it so the paint you put on sticks to your mini properly, and the basecoating is purely to make your colors fill the mini correctly and support the highlights and layering that come after