Board games · Gloomhaven
Paint your Gloomhaven miniatures without a plan going in
Gloomhaven's box has a fixed cast, not an army — a dozen or so characters and monsters, not two hundred. That's a real weekend project, not a lifelong hobby commitment, and the method that gets you there is different from painting a Warhammer squad one model at a time.
No card. Upload a photo of one figure and see it painted first.
A worked example of the card PaintMini generates — leather, cloak, armor and trim mapped to colors before you open a pot.
Painting Gloomhaven miniatures is finishing the fixed roster of character and monster figures in the box — typically a dozen to two dozen models, not an open-ended army. Because the count is known in advance, a full paint job is realistic in one weekend using the same batch techniques wargame painters use on a squad.
Why bother painting a board game you already own
The models work unpainted. Nobody's stopping you from playing Gloomhaven straight out of the box, primed grey or not primed at all. But a painted table changes the game night itself — you can tell your character from the monster group at a glance, and the box stops looking like something you're still assembling three campaigns in.
It's also a genuinely finishable project, which most miniature hobbies aren't. An army for a wargame is an open commitment — you can always add another unit. A Gloomhaven box has an end: once the roster's done, it's done. That's the appeal for a painter who wants one complete thing, not a shelf of half-started grey plastic.
The batch method: paint the box, not one figure
Treat the roster as a production line, not a series of individual showpieces. Group figures by what they share — cloth, leather, metal trim — and do that step across every model before moving to the next color. It's faster than finishing one character at a time, and it keeps your palette consistent across the whole set, which matters more for a shared game table than any single model looking perfect.
- Prime the whole roster in one pass. A grey or black spray primer covers a dozen figures as fast as one.
- Basecoat by material, not by figure — every cloak first, then every piece of leather, then metal.
- Wash the whole batch to pool shadow into the recesses at once.
- Pick two or three figures — your own character, a favorite monster — for a highlight pass the rest of the roster skips.
That last step is the real trick: not every model needs the same attention. Your own character earns the extra ten minutes. A generic monster figure that dies in one encounter usually doesn't.
What PaintMini adds to that process
See it before you commit
Upload a photo of one primed figure and get a rendered painted preview back — on that exact model, not a stock example.
Use paints you already own
Save your collection and filter every scheme to those colors, so the suggestion is something you can actually paint that afternoon.
A printable guide comes with it
Every render includes a step-by-step guide and a PDF, so the plan survives past your phone screen and onto the workbench.
PaintMini vs. guessing at the table
The real alternative to a planned scheme isn't a better plan — it's picking colors as you go and hoping the roster reads as one set by the time you're done.
| Approach | What you get | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Pick colors as you go | Free, familiar | Roster looks mismatched by figure 8 |
| Copy a photo you found online | A finished look to aim for | Rarely matches your figure's sculpt or your paints |
| PaintMini render, free tier | A scheme on your exact model, one credit | Still your hand doing the painting |
The honest questions
What does it cost
One free credit, no card, for your first render. After that, credits start at $5 for 5 (a Starter pack) and there's no subscription — you pay once per figure you render, not monthly for access.
What you need before you start
A photo of a primed, unpainted figure. PaintMini renders onto what's actually in the picture, so a bare grey plastic model with no primer, or a blurry phone shot, gives it less to work with. See how to prime a miniature first if you haven't yet.
Who this is wrong for
If you want someone else to physically paint the figures for you, this isn't that — PaintMini generates a scheme and a guide, not a finished commission. And if you're set on painting purely by instinct with no reference at all, a generated plan will feel like a constraint, not a help.
How it works
-
Upload one figure
Start with your own character — the one you'll look at most across the campaign.
-
Pick your paints
Filter to a saved collection, or let it suggest from any suitable brand.
-
Get the render and guide
A painted preview, a step list, and a PDF — one credit, no account needed to see it.
-
Repeat down the roster
Reuse the same palette across the rest of the box for a scheme that reads as one set.
Questions painters ask
How many miniatures come in a Gloomhaven box?
It varies by edition and expansion, but the base roster is a fixed, known set — typically a dozen or more character and monster figures, not an open-ended count you keep adding to like a wargame army.
Do Gloomhaven miniatures need to be primed first?
Yes, the same as any plastic or resin miniature — paint needs a slightly rough surface to grip. A spray or brush-on primer works; see the primer guide linked above for the tradeoffs.
How long does it take to paint the whole box?
Batch-painting the full roster over a few sessions is realistic in a weekend for a simple beginner scheme — closer to a week of evenings if you're adding highlights or picking a few figures for extra detail.
Do I need painting experience to start?
No. A basecoat, a wash, and a light drybrush is a complete, tabletop-ready result for a first attempt. Save the advanced techniques for your favorite figure once you've finished a few.
How much does a PaintMini render cost per figure?
One credit per render. The first is free with no card, and packs start at $5 for 5 credits with no subscription.
See your first Gloomhaven figure painted
Upload a photo of your character, free, before you decide whether it's worth a credit.
No subscription. Credits only, starting at $5.