Essential tools for Miniature Painting

Due to the long preparation, difficult accessibility and toxicity of some natural pigments, I recommend using easily attainable, ready-made alternatives if a beginner to this practice. Traditional miniatures are completed using paints derived from minerals, earths and insects. Although ready-made watercolours and gouaches are not a perfect alternative, you will be able to achieve a similar result and finish using the recommended colours in the list below. 

Essential Tools and Materials for Beginners:

• Cowrie Shell burnisher: linked one here,
• Handover brushes series 33 (or any other good quality, Kolinsky sable watercolour brush) in sizes 00, 1, 2 and 6/8. 
• 00 Brush linked here
  Size 1 Brush linked here
  Size 2 Brush linked here
  Size 8 Brush linked here
  
  For synthetic alternatives, I recommend the following brands (I advise getting in the above mentioned sizes!)
  
  Escoda Versatil Brushes, 
  
  Princeton Neptune Synthetic Squirrel Brushes 
  
  
  
• A ceramic palette with large wells (linked here) or an old ceramic porcelain/china dinner plate
• 2B, HB and H pencil (0.3 if using mechanical)
• Tracing paper (A4 or 27 × 11.69 inches) linked here
• Ruling pen (optional) linked here
• Masking tape, linked here.
• Compass or geometry kit. For UK, please click here, For US, please click here
• Ruler, linked here
• Eraser / mono-eraser, linked here
• 300gsm hot pressed water colour paper, in A4 or A3, Linked here.
• A3 drawing board or hardback book. (A drafting table can be used.)
• Kitchen towel or old dish cloth
• Gouache and/or watercolour in the following recommended colours:
  Indigo 
  (Beginners indigo, click here. For recommended - click here) for watercolour, click here:
  Ultramarine.
  (Beginners Ultramarine, click here. For recommended - click here) for watercolour, click here.
  Cadmium or Lemon yellow 
  (Beginners Lemon yellow, click here. For recommended - click here). For watercolour, click here.
  Yellow Ochre,  
  click here. For watercolour, click here
  Alizarin Crimson, 
   click here. For watercolour, click here.
  Vermillion or Cadmium Red.
  (Beginners Vermillion, click here. For recommended - click here). For watercolour, click here.
  Titanium or Zinc white.
  (For titanium click here. For zinc - click here) 
  Black
  (lamp black or ivory black) click here
  Burnt umber or Red ochre or Sepia,
   click here
  Oxide of Chromium*
  (click here) 
  Watercolour set*
  Linked here
  Malachite (synthetic alternative), click here.
  
  * Not essential 

Other tools:

• For paper burnishing, I'd recommend this burnisher or for larger paper, this burnisher.
• For gold work, or burnishing small details, I'd recommend this burnisher
• Readymade, or hand-made gold
• For a small pan, click here
• For medium, click here
• For large, click here
  
  

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World-Wide Retailers:

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