Tools, Techniques & Innovations

Miniature painting innovation has come a long way and 2025 is shaping up to be another exciting year for hobbyists. Whether you’re a seasoned painter or just starting – staying ahead of the trends can help you try new techniques, refine your skills and have even more fun. At Anarky Creations, we’re always looking toward the future. And, with a spacecraft engineer on board, we’re inspired by cutting edge technology and innovative design. Let’s dive into the biggest changes and innovations shaping miniature painting this year. We love exploring future possibilities: hypothesising, predicting and drawing inspiration from cutting-edge engineering technologies. Here is our miniature painting trends and predictions runup for 2025 and beyond.

1. Speed Painting is Getting Smarter

Speed painting has always been popular for gamers who want beautifully painted armies without investing hundreds of hours. But in 2025, efficiency is reaching new heights thanks to:

• AI-assisted colour schemes: More apps and tools now analyse your miniatures and suggest optimized colour palettes based on contrast, theme and lighting. Apps like PaintRack (Courageous Octopus) and MiniPaints (Christophe Garreau) help miniature painters organise their colours and experiment with different schemes. PaintRack for example, tracks your collection using database with over 25,000 paints from over 65 brands!
• Pre-shaded and tinted primers: Coloured spray primers create natural built in undershading, making it easier than ever to achieve depth with minimal effort. Products like The Colour Forge primers(rattle cans) and Vallejo Surface Primer (airbrush/brush on) simplify the undershading process.
• Next-gen contrast & speed paints: Paint manufacturers are refining contrast and speed paints, making them smoother, more controllable and more vibrant. Brands like and The Army Painter Speedpaints and Games Workshop’s Contrast Paints continue to lead the way in this space.

2. 3D Printing Miniature Painting Trends

3D printing has already changed terrain and custom miniatures, but in 2025, it’s expanding into everyday painting tools and even influencing design approaches:

• Customisable brush holders and paint racks are easier than ever to find. Etsy offers many options for IKEA pegboards and hobbyists can 3D print their own from a growing library of STL files. We’re jumping onboard this miniature painting trend and designing our own IKEA pegboard compatible storage – stay tuned!
• The global 3D printing market is booming, with an estimated value of over $20 billion in 2023 and a projected annual growth rate of 23.5% through 2030. This rapid expansion is making high-quality 3D-printed hobby tools more accessible than ever.
• Innovative dry palette designs, like our very popular original textured dry palette, continues to improve how painters mix and control their paint.

3. Metallics and Special Effects Paints Are Hotter Than Ever

Expect to see even more specialised paints hitting the market:

• New-generation metallics provide smoother, more reflective finishes, mimicking true metal effects. Brands like Vallejo Metal Color and Turbo Dork are leading the way with ultra-fine pigments and high-shine effects.
• Chameleon and colour-shift paints are becoming more affordable and easier to apply. Options like Green Stuff World’s ColorShift and Turbo Dork’s color-changing paints offer stunning multi-tone finishes.
• Glow-in-the-dark and reactive paints are gaining traction for sci-fi and fantasy minis, adding an extra level of creativity to painting. Green Stuff World’s Glow Paints for examples bring new dimensions to miniatures.

4. Content is More Interactive

Social media and online communities continue to change how people learn and engage with miniature painting:

• Live painting streams & video workshops are more common, allowing real-time interaction with experts. Hobbyists can learn directly from professionals through video subscription services like the Duncan Rhodes Painting Academy. Visual learning that brings new techniques to life.

5. The Future – Translatable Paint Innovations

Advancements in material science and technology are paving the way for exciting new possibilities in miniature painting.

• Peelable paints: Removable paints could allow terrain painters to very quickly change larger landscapes from water to dessert, and back again! We have seen it on cars. Matt Pack for example have been wrapping high end vehicles since 2012, using products such as FullDip, AutoFlex Express™ AFX and Plasti Dip. On a small scale, this could translate to the domestic market. Rust-Oleum are already doing this, by bringing their B2B auto offering to their B2B market. With ‘Rust-Oleum Peelable’. Miniature paint manufactures could take this a step further more industry specific colour palettes. For wargame scenery, peelable paints could revolutionise battlefield design, allowing hobbyists to apply faction appropriate insignia to building and vehicles without having to strip and repaint from scratch!
• Eco-friendly materials: Could become commonplace. Vallejo actively considers waste disposal, stating that “only materials which can be recycled are used.” Replacing PVC with plastics less damaging to the environment. All products bear recycling symbols. Learn more about their fully transparent r-PET (recycled/recyclable) plastic bottle here.
• Solar paint: Sounds impossible? The technology is here. This emerging technology could lead to innovations in miniature painting and perhaps, illuminate bases, power cases, and spotlight intricate details of of terrain. Combine this with chameleon paints and WOW – suddenly your landscapes really do come to life. Anarky Creations are predicting this to hit the modelling sector first, with applications such illuminating scale railways.
• Ultra-blacks: Inspired by Vantablack, ultra black and more sophisticated/complicated black paints could emerge. To enhance shadows and depth like never before. Driven by the combination of material science and colour theory.

The Future – AI Innovations

Actually not as exciting as material science – largely due to AI’s market penetration these last few years. But there is still a place for it here. We have identified two exciting propositions.

• Augmented reality (AR) tutorials: Interactive learning. Overlay techniques onto your own miniatures for guided practice within an AR space.
• AI-assisted feedback: Brushwork analysis. AI-driven visual analysis could easily shape creative industries and hobbyists. Advice on using manufacturers systems, for example choosing the appropriate Citadel colours for the figure in question.
  

What’s Next?

With these changes, one thing remains the same – miniature painting is an ever evolving art form, where creativity and innovation go hand in hand. Whether you’re upgrading your tools, trying out the latest paints, or learning new techniques, 2025 is full of miniature painting trends to level up your hobby. 🎨🚀