Painting table with bases in progress. Various dropper bottles, spray cans and brushes sit on the table.

Drybrushing Depth: Bringing Miniature Bases to Life

Anarky Creations
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A good paint job can make a miniature sing, but a well-painted base? That’s the stage it performs on. Too often the base is left as an afterthought, yet it’s the first thing your eye hits when a model hits the table. It grounds the figure, tells part of the story, and—done right—makes your paintwork look even better. In this guide, we’re taking a straightforward but seriously effective approach: prime, drybrush, repeat, with the occasional speed paint wash to bring it all together. No complicated blends or hours of fiddling—just quick, textured layers that make details pop.

We’ve got three sets of bases to show, and by the end, you’ll have a few new tricks for getting rich, dimensional bases without slowing your painting queue to a crawl.

The Core Technique

  • Priming – priming matters for paint adhesion and tone, and using a coloured primer means no need for base coating.
  • Layered Drybrushing – building depth and texture with progressively lighter colours.
  • Speed Paint / Wash – optional step to enrich colour and add shading between raised areas.

Set 1 – Frozen

A set of ice floe themed bases. Perfect for arctic adventurers.

  1. Primer: Colour Forge Tempest Blue. I wanted to use a base coat that would be visible through the dry brushing to give that effect of ice.
  2. First layer drybrush – a medium blue mixed with white. Roughly 50:50
  3. Then a new layer where the mix is 20:80
  4. Finally a plain white drybrush over the top
  5. Finish the base with a black rim.
Paints Used
  • Colour Forge Tempest Blue
  • Vallejo Game Colour Magic Blue
  • Vallejo Gamev Colour Dead White
  • Vallejo Game Colour Black
  • Citadel Purity Seal Matt Varnish

Set 2 – Wooden

A set that works for the interiors of inns or harbours or on the decks of boats. Ideal for those pirates and rogues you have waiting to be painted.

  1. Primer: Colour Forge Trench Brown. The darker brown gives a great base coat for wood..
  2. Pick out the details (Plague Brown for the rope, gunmetal for the metal parts)
  3. Wash using Agrax Earthshade to get into those nooks and crannies
  4. For the rope a plain white drybrush over the top, followed by more Agrax
  5. Finish the base with a black rim.
Paints Used:
  • Colour Forge Trench Brown
  • Citadel Agrax Earthshade
  • Vallejo Game Colour Plague Brown
  • Vallejo Game Colour Gunmetal
  • Vallejo Game Colour Dead White
  • Vallejo Game Colour Black
  • Citadel Purity Seal Matt Varnish

Set 3 – Medium Grit

A good all-round base, slightly textured and ideal for adding your own embellishments to. Here I was attempting a sci-fi vibe, ideal for a squad of space marines on an alien world.

  1. Primer: Colour Forge Reliquary Red.
  2. First layer drybrush – a dark Vallejo Gory Red
  3. Second layer drybrush – brighten it up with Vallejo Bloody Red
  4. Final drybrush – a red and white mix at 30:70
  5. Finally Vallejo Xpress Velvet Red
  6. Finish the base with a black rim.
Paints Used:
  • Colour Forge Reliquary Red
  • Citadel Agrax Earthshade
  • Vallejo Game Colour Gory Red
  • Vallejo Game Colour Bloody Red
  • Vallejo Xpress Colour Velvet Red
  • Vallejo Game Colour Dead White
  • Vallejo Game Colour Black
  • Citadel Purity Seal Matt Varnish


Three sets of bases, three different looks, one simple technique. Whether you go for subtle tonal shifts or high-contrast drama, drybrushing gives you a lot of “wow” for very little effort. A smart primer choice sets the stage, each drybrush layer builds depth, and a quick wash or speed paint ties it all together like magic.

The best part? Once you get the hang of it, you can knock out a whole batch of bases in an evening—and they’ll look like you spent days on them. So grab your brush, pick a colour scheme, and start experimenting. Your miniatures will thank you every time they step onto their freshly painted stage.

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