YouTube script template

How to Script a Miniature Painting Technique Tutorial (5 Templates Across Skill Levels)

Published 2026-05-10 by Ahmed Khelifi

Five tutorial templates for miniature painting YouTube videos: beginner technique, intermediate recipe, advanced showcase, speed tutorial, and problem-solving.

How to Script a Miniature Painting Technique Tutorial (5 Templates Across Skill Levels)

Most miniature painting tutorials on YouTube lose viewers in the first 90 seconds. The creator opens with "hey guys, today I'll show you how to paint non-metallic metal," then spends two minutes priming a mini and explaining what paints they'll use, and the retention graph cliffs before the actual technique starts. The painting is strong. The teaching is strong. But the structure is not.

The tutorial templates below fix that. Five complete scripts covering different technique levels and situations: beginner technique, intermediate recipe, advanced showcase, speed tutorial, and problem-solving. Steal the one matching your next tutorial, then read the breakdown for the 4-part structure that produces viewers who actually replicate the technique instead of dropping off before you get to the first brush stroke.

Pick your tutorial type

Five distinct tutorial types, each with a different structure and pacing logic.

Beginner technique, teaching a foundational skill to newer painters (first edge highlight, first drybrush, first wash). Assume zero prior context.
Intermediate recipe, teaching a multi-step paint recipe. Blue armor, gold NMM, tabletop skin. Assume edge highlighting and basic technique already known.
Advanced showcase, teaching an ambitious display-quality technique. Freehand, OSL, wet-blending. Assumes real prior skill.
Speed tutorial, teaching a technique optimized for volume. "Paint a usable squad in 2 hours." Different structure from a proper teaching tutorial.
Problem-solving, teaching how to fix a specific painting failure. "Fix muddy blends," "Save a ruined mini." Reactive, not proactive.

The tutorial scripts

Each template below is a complete tutorial script, hook through close. Steal the one that fits your next tutorial.

Template 1: Beginner technique tutorial

For teaching one foundational skill to viewers new to miniature painting. Runtime 6-10 min. Assumes no prior context.

::::script :::hook This is edge highlighting. It's the single technique that makes a painted mini look painted instead of plastic-with-base-coat. I'll teach you how to do it in the next six minutes, and you only need two paints. :::promise By the end of this video you'll know what paints to use, how to thin them, where to place the highlight, and the one mistake that makes beginner edge highlights look chunky. Works on any mini, any faction. :::sceneshot Two finished shoulder pads side by side. Left: no edge highlighting. Right: edge highlighted. Close-up. Hold for 3 seconds. :::voiceover This is the difference. Same paint, same base coat, same mini. The left one looks like a toy. The right one looks like a model. One technique between them. :::note Materials: your base color, and a lighter version of that color (usually 1-2 steps up on the paint range). For blue: Macragge Blue base, Calgar Blue highlight. For red: Mephiston Red base, Evil Sunz Scarlet highlight. :::voiceover Thin both paints two-to-one with water. Load your brush with the highlight color. Pull the brush across the clean edge, not onto the flat surface. The paint should sit on the raised edge only. :::retention Here's the mistake most beginners make. They paint the whole raised area instead of just the edge. I'll show you the difference at minute 4. :::voiceover Minute 4. The wrong version: highlight on the full top surface of the pad. The right version: highlight only on the sharp edge. Side by side, the right version looks sharper because the contrast is concentrated. :::payoff Finished shoulder pad with edge highlighting, compared to the unhighlighted version. Same 5 minutes of work. Different league of result. :::closing Try this on one shoulder pad before committing to a full model. The pad takes 5 minutes; the mini takes an hour. Build the muscle memory on a small surface first.

Template 2: Intermediate recipe tutorial

For teaching a specific multi-step paint recipe. Runtime 10-15 min. Assumes basic technique already known.

::::script :::hook This is non-metallic gold. I'll teach you the three-layer recipe I use on every gold detail in my Thousand Sons army. Works for tabletop and display, and you only need four paints. :::promise I'll cover the three paints you need plus the zenithal prep, exactly where to place each layer, how to thin each one, and the one step most painters skip that's the reason gold ever looks flat. :::sceneshot A Sorcerer's shoulder pad finished. Close-up on the NMM gold trim. Hold while voiceover plays. :::voiceover This is the finished result. Three layers, roughly 10 minutes of work per pad, and it reads as metal even though there's zero metallic paint involved. :::note Materials: Warplock Bronze for the base, Liberator Gold for the mid, Stormhost Silver for the top edge. You can swap in equivalent paints from Vallejo or Scale75 with minor recipe adjustments. :::voiceover Zenithal primed: Grey Seer over Chaos Black from above. The zenithal is doing 40% of the work before any paint lands. If you skip this step, the gold will look flat regardless of how you layer it. :::retention The step at minute 7 is what makes this recipe feel like gold instead of yellow. If your NMM ever looks like yellow paint, it's because of that step. :::voiceover Layer 1: Warplock Bronze, thinned two-to-one. Full coverage of the gold area. This sets the shadow. :::voiceover Layer 2: Liberator Gold, thinned two-to-one. Place this on the top 70% of each gold area, leaving Warplock visible at the bottom. The transition should feel like a gradient, not two flat colors. :::voiceover Minute 7. Layer 3: Stormhost Silver, thinned heavily. This is the step most painters skip or overdo. Place it only on the top 20% of each edge. The metallic pop comes from contrast, not coverage. :::retention Watch what happens when I land the Stormhost edge: the whole pad shifts from yellow to gold in one stroke. This is why the top layer matters. :::payoff Finished shoulder pad with the full three-layer recipe. Compared to a raw Liberator Gold pad with no shadow or highlight: the recipe version reads as a completely different material. :::closing Try this on one shoulder pad before committing to a full character. Ten minutes on the pad will tell you whether the recipe fits your mini's scheme before you commit an hour to the full model.

Template 3: Advanced showcase tutorial

For teaching a display-quality technique that assumes real prior skill. Runtime 15-25 min. Aimed at intermediate-to-advanced painters who want to push their work.

::::script :::hook This is wet-blending, proper wet-blending, not the "two thin coats with a prayer" version most tutorials call wet-blending. I'll show you the actual technique used by studio painters and commission artists, on a Primaris Captain's cloak. :::promise I'll cover the paint consistency that actually enables wet-blending, the brush load, the stroke order, the recovery move when a section starts to dry, and the retarder ratio I use when the studio is too warm. This is a technique, not a trick. :::sceneshot A finished Captain's cloak with a clean two-color wet-blend, red to orange. Hold on the blend zone. :::voiceover This blend took about 40 minutes. No glaze work, no layering. Wet-blend only. The transition is continuous because both paints were wet at the same time. :::note Prerequisite skills: you should be comfortable with layering, thinning paints properly, and basic edge highlighting. If you've never wet-palette painted before, watch a wet-palette tutorial first. This technique doesn't work without one. :::voiceover Paint consistency. Most tutorials say "paint like milk." That's too thin for wet-blending. You want paint like cream, thicker than layering, thinner than out-of-the-pot. The goal is paint that stays wet on the mini for 30-45 seconds. :::retention The move at minute 14 is the recovery technique. Every wet-blend session has a moment when a section starts to dry before you've finished blending it. Without the recovery move, that's the end of your blend. With it, you can save the work. :::voiceover Brush load: the brush should carry one color fully loaded. Not a wash of color, a proper load. Pull the brush to a clean point before each stroke, but keep the bead of paint on the belly. :::voiceover Stroke order: dark color first, mid color second, light color last, then mid back across the transition zone while both are still wet. Four strokes, in that order, without pausing. :::retention Minute 14. The recovery move. When your blend starts to dry mid-session: reload your brush with a thin glaze of the mid color, run it over the entire transition zone once, then continue. The glaze reawakens the surface and gives you another 20 seconds of working time. :::voiceover I'm adding Vallejo retarder at 5% into my thinning water during warm months. You won't find that in most tutorials because it's a commission-painter trick. Retarder buys you 30 more seconds of wet time per session. :::payoff Finished cloak. Red to orange, wet-blended, no glazes, no layers. The transition reads as a continuous gradient, which is what separates wet-blending from other blend techniques. :::closing Don't start wet-blending on a centerpiece model. Start on a shoulder pad of a trooper. The technique has a learning curve, and you want the curve to happen on a model you're willing to strip if it goes wrong.

Template 4: Speed tutorial

For teaching a technique optimized for painting volume, not quality ceiling. Runtime 6-10 min. Aimed at painters building armies or batch-painting.

::::script :::hook Ten minutes. One shoulder pad. Tabletop-quality blue armor that looks clean at gaming distance. Here's the whole technique, no wasted steps. :::promise I'll show you the three paints, the thinning ratios, the exact number of strokes per step, and the one step you can skip when you're batch-painting 20 models but shouldn't skip on a character. No artistry, just speed. :::sceneshot Five finished shoulder pads in a row, all tabletop quality, all painted the same way. Quick pan across. :::voiceover Five pads, ten minutes each, painted the same way. This is the recipe for batch work. Good enough for the table, fast enough for a squad. :::note Paints: Macragge Blue, Calgar Blue, Drakenhof Nightshade. That's it. No third highlight, no glaze, no weathering. Speed is the whole point. :::voiceover Step 1: Macragge Blue, thinned two-to-one, two coats. Don't be careful. Coverage over finesse. :::voiceover Step 2: Drakenhof Nightshade over the recessed areas. One pass. This is your shadow. No wash, no pin wash, just a glaze into the recesses. :::voiceover Step 3: Calgar Blue edge highlight. One stroke per edge. No second highlight. The contrast between the base and this highlight is all the dimension you need at gaming distance. :::retention The step I skip on troopers but not on characters: I'm not adding a second highlight. Gaming-distance eyes won't see it. If you're painting a character or a commission, add Fenrisian Grey on the top 10% of each edge and you've upgraded this to a full character recipe. :::payoff Finished pad. Ten minutes exactly. Compared to my three-layer character pads: close enough at arm's length, far enough to finish an army in under 40 hours. :::closing The tradeoff is real. This recipe won't win painting competitions. It will finish armies. If you've been stuck on model number 15 for three months, swap from your character recipe to this one and see whether the army actually gets painted.

Template 5: Problem-solving tutorial

For teaching how to fix a specific painting problem. Runtime 8-12 min. Reactive content for viewers who have a model or habit that's not working.

::::script :::hook Muddy blends. If your wet-blending or layering ever comes out looking grey-brown instead of clean color-to-color, I know exactly what's causing it, and I can teach you the fix in 8 minutes. :::promise I'll show you what muddy blends look like and why they happen, the three specific causes, how to diagnose which one is hurting your work, and the fix for each. Bring a model you've already ruined; this technique can usually save it. :::sceneshot Two shoulder pads: one muddy, one clean. Same base color, same highlight color, different blending outcomes. Close-up. :::voiceover Left pad: muddy blend. Right pad: clean blend. Same two paints. The difference is technique, not materials. :::problem Three causes produce muddy blends. Unwashed brush between strokes. Paint too dry mid-blend. Wrong mid-tone color between the two ends. Most painters hit at least two of these on every blend. :::retention The fix at minute 6 is the one most painters don't know about. It saves blends that are already starting to go muddy without having to strip and repaint. :::voiceover Cause 1: unwashed brush. Every time you switch colors, your brush carries the previous color into the next one. The solution is a clean water cup used before every color change, not just at the end. This alone fixes 60% of muddy blends. :::voiceover Cause 2: paint too dry. You're trying to blend, but the surface you're blending into has already set. This creates a smear, not a blend. Use a wet palette and work in sections small enough to finish before the paint dries. :::voiceover Cause 3: wrong mid-tone. When you blend red to yellow, the natural mid-tone is orange. But if you blend with a green-shifted yellow (like Averland Sunset) into a blue-shifted red (like Khorne Red), the mid-tone is brown. Match the undertone of both paints, not just the hue. :::retention Minute 6. The save. If your blend is already going muddy but hasn't dried yet, apply a single thin glaze of the mid-tone color across the entire blend zone. This "resets" the blend by adding a unifying layer. It won't produce a perfect result, but it will save the mini from needing a strip. :::payoff The two shoulder pads again. The muddy one: corrected with the mid-tone glaze. Not perfect, but now readable as a blend instead of a smudge. :::closing If your blends have been muddy for months, try the clean-water-cup fix first. That single habit fixes most muddy blends without changing anything else about your technique. If it doesn't, work through the other two causes in order.

Why most miniature painting tutorials fail

Five specific problems kill tutorial retention. Most channels hit three of them per video.

The prep dead zone. The tutorial opens with priming, explaining materials, and setting up the mini. Viewers came to see the technique; you've scheduled the interesting part for minute three. Fix: show the finished result in the hook, then jump directly to the first teaching beat. Prerequisites go in a quick 30-second beat, not a two-minute opener.

Teaching without visible change. The creator explains wet-blending for 90 seconds while the mini looks identical on screen. Viewers lose the thread because there's no visual anchor to the explanation. Fix: every verbal explanation needs to pair with a visible on-screen change within 5-10 seconds.

Over-explanation of basics. The tutorial addresses a specific skill (edge highlighting), but the creator spends the first two minutes explaining what paints are. Viewers who came for edge highlighting already know what paints are; they leave. Fix: match the tutorial's explanation level to the tutorial's topic. A wet-blending tutorial assumes the viewer knows what thinning is.

No replication path. The viewer watches the tutorial and has no idea what to do next. The technique felt impressive but unconnected to their own painting. Fix: every tutorial needs a "try this on a single shoulder pad before committing" close that gives the viewer a concrete starting point at lower commitment cost.

Recipe hiding. The creator uses specific paints but doesn't say which ones, or lists them in a blink-and-miss text overlay. Viewers can't replicate the technique because they don't know the materials. Fix: recipe visible on screen during relevant sections, spoken aloud at least once, and pinned in the comments for later reference.

The tutorial structure, part by part

The 4-part structure behind the templates above. Three variations per part for different situations.

Part 1: The result-first hook

Every tutorial hook shows the finished technique in the first shot. Not teased, not hidden, fully visible. Viewers need to know what they're learning toward.

Hook variation A: The direct comparison hook

Use for foundational tutorials where the before-and-after is dramatic. Works best when the technique produces a visible difference even on simple subjects. Names the technique in the first sentence (SEO signal), promises the runtime, and filters the audience by skill level implicitly.

Hook variation B: The aspiration hook

::::script :::hook This is non-metallic gold. I'll teach you the three-layer recipe I use on every gold detail in my Thousand Sons army. Works for tabletop and display, and you only need four paints.

Use for intermediate-to-advanced tutorials where the technique itself is aspirational (NMM, OSL, wet-blending). The "works for tabletop AND display" framing widens the addressable audience without diluting the aspiration. Names the technique's context (Thousand Sons army) to ground it in a real project rather than feeling abstract.

Hook variation C: The problem-reframe hook

Use for problem-solving tutorials. The "if you've experienced X" framing filters in exactly the audience who needs the fix. Viewers who've never had muddy blends leave (fine, they're not the audience). Viewers who have stay with high intent. Filtered audiences produce higher-quality comments and better conversion to subscribers.

Common mistake: starting with "hey guys, today I'm going to teach you how to paint non-metallic metal." That opening burns the hook on meta-narration. The viewer already knows you're going to teach something; they pressed play. Lead with the result, not the announcement.

Part 2: The prerequisites beat

The 15-45 seconds where you name what the viewer needs to know or have before the tutorial works. Most channels get this wrong by either skipping it or letting it sprawl into 2 minutes of filler.

Prerequisites variation A: The materials-only list

::::script :::note Materials: your base color, and a lighter version of that color. For blue: Macragge Blue base, Calgar Blue highlight. For red: Mephiston Red base, Evil Sunz Scarlet highlight. Thin both paints two-to-one with water.

Use for beginner tutorials where the viewer's prerequisites are mostly materials-based. 15-25 seconds. Name the paints, give one or two faction-specific substitutions, state the thinning ratio. Don't explain what thinning is; that belongs in a different tutorial.

Prerequisites variation B: The prior-skill callout

::::script :::note Prerequisite skills: you should be comfortable with layering, thinning paints properly, and basic edge highlighting. If you've never wet-palette painted before, watch a wet-palette tutorial first. This technique doesn't work without one.

Use for intermediate-to-advanced tutorials where prior skill matters more than materials. Explicitly names the skills assumed and points viewers to prerequisite content. This filters the audience and avoids the "comment sections full of 'I don't understand'" problem that plagues advanced tutorials without proper gating.

Prerequisites variation C: The workflow prep

::::script :::note Setup: wet palette loaded, thinning water at hand, good lighting. The blend happens in 30-45 seconds per section, so have everything ready before you load the brush. This is not a technique for a cluttered workspace.

Use for tutorials where the technique's success depends on workflow setup, not just skills or materials. Wet-blending, OSL, freehand. Name what the workspace needs to look like before filming starts. This beat saves viewers from mid-tutorial failures caused by poor setup.

Common mistake: using prerequisites as filler. If the technique genuinely only needs two paints, don't expand the beat to 45 seconds of extra information. A 15-second prereqs beat is better than a bloated one.

Part 3: The step demonstration

The main body of the tutorial. The 4-10 minutes where you actually teach the technique. Three variations matched to different technique types.

Demonstration variation A: The paired-explanation beat

::::script :::voiceover Layer 1: Warplock Bronze, thinned two-to-one. Full coverage of the gold area. This sets the shadow.

Use for step-by-step recipes where each step has a defined action and outcome. Short sentences, one instruction per sentence, the "what" and the "why" in the same beat. This is the most common demonstration style and works for 80% of tutorials. Match the voiceover to what's visible on screen at that exact moment.

Demonstration variation B: The technique-then-explanation beat

::::script :::voiceover Brush load: the brush should carry one color fully loaded. Not a wash of color, a proper load. Pull the brush to a clean point before each stroke, but keep the bead of paint on the belly.

Use for advanced technique tutorials where the action is subtle enough that the viewer needs verbal scaffolding to see what's happening. Three-sentence structure: state the technique, describe what it looks like, name the specific move. Works for wet-blending, freehand, and anything where the visible action is small but the explanation is load-bearing.

Demonstration variation C: The fast-paced instruction beat

::::script :::voiceover Step 3: Calgar Blue edge highlight. One stroke per edge. No second highlight. The contrast between the base and this highlight is all the dimension you need at gaming distance.

Use for speed tutorials where pace is the value prop. Short numbered steps, clear action per step, no extra explanation. The viewer is following along in real time, so the voiceover needs to match the tempo of speed painting itself.

Common mistake: over-explaining micro-technique. If the step is "thin the paint two-to-one with water," don't spend 30 seconds on the history of paint thinning. One sentence of explanation per step, then move to the next step.

Part 4: The one-mistake beat

The single move that separates good tutorials from great ones. Somewhere in the main body, the creator names the specific mistake beginners make when attempting this technique. This beat does three things at once: signals authority (you've taught this before, you know where people struggle), retains viewers (they're now checking whether they made this mistake), and produces comments (viewers who made the mistake comment to thank you).

Mistake variation A: The forward-pointer mistake

::::script :::retention Here's the mistake most beginners make. They paint the whole raised area instead of just the edge. I'll show you the difference at minute 4.

Use when the mistake is visible and you can show it on screen in the main body. The forward pointer ("at minute 4") creates a curiosity loop that holds viewers through intermediate content. This is the highest-retention version of the mistake beat.

Mistake variation B: The diagnostic mistake

::::script :::retention The step at minute 7 is what makes this recipe feel like gold instead of yellow. If your NMM ever looks like yellow paint, it's because of that step.

Use when the mistake is about a specific missing step rather than an incorrect technique. The diagnostic framing ("if your X ever does Y, it's because of Z") turns the beat into a self-check that viewers can apply to their own past work. Produces comments in two categories: viewers thanking you for the diagnosis, and viewers naming other problems they want diagnosed.

Mistake variation C: The recovery move

::::script :::retention The move at minute 14 is the recovery technique. Every wet-blend session has a moment when a section starts to dry before you've finished blending it. Without the recovery move, that's the end of your blend. With it, you can save the work.

Use for advanced tutorials where the technique has a failure mode that's recoverable. The "save your work" framing is aspirational for viewers who've abandoned models because of this exact failure. This beat often produces the highest rewatch rate in the tutorial because viewers come back when they hit the failure themselves.

Common mistake: hiding the one-mistake beat in the FAQ or the comments instead of the main body. The beat is a retention tool; putting it off-video loses the retention benefit.

How to handle recipes and documentation

Recipes are the single most important piece of a tutorial and the single most-asked-about thing in comments. Three rules for handling them.

Show the recipe on screen during the relevant step. Not once at the start. During. When you're applying Layer 2, the recipe overlay should name Layer 2's paint and ratio. Viewers often rewatch specific steps; they need the recipe at that step, not buried in the intro.

State the recipe aloud at least once. The text overlay is for viewers watching silently (on public transport, at work, in bed). The spoken version is for viewers listening without looking (while painting). Tutorials that work in both modes reach a wider audience and perform better on watch time.

Pin the recipe in the comments. The full recipe should appear as a pinned comment within the first hour of upload. Viewers who came back a month later to check something need it findable. Buried recipes in video descriptions get ignored.

On the workflow side: writing the script, filming the tutorial, and documenting the recipe for the pinned comment are the same project, not three separate tasks. I use Influencer Notes for this because the tutorial script, the recipe in a teach-friendly format, and the pinned-comment version all live in the same document. No copy-pasting between apps, no risk of the recipe in the video differing from the recipe in the comment (which happens more than you'd think, and viewers notice). Whatever tool you use, keep the recipe source-of-truth unified across script, on-screen text, and pinned comment.

FAQ

How long should a painting tutorial be?

Depends on the type. Beginner technique tutorials: 6-10 minutes. Intermediate recipe tutorials: 10-15 minutes. Advanced showcase tutorials: 15-25 minutes. Speed tutorials: 6-10 minutes. Problem-solving tutorials: 8-12 minutes. Shorter than these ranges and you're cutting explanation that matters; longer and you're losing viewers to unnecessary content.

Should I show my face or just my hands?

For tutorials specifically, faceless (hands-only) works as well as or better than face-on-camera. Viewers are looking at the mini, not the painter. If you want to include a face-cam, limit it to the hook and close. During the main demonstration, full-frame mini beats split-screen every time.

What's the best camera angle for painting tutorials?

Overhead shot directly above the painting surface, angled 10-15 degrees toward the viewer for dimensional perspective. Not top-down flat (looks clinical) and not side-angle (loses the detail on small surfaces). Every serious mini painting channel has converged on this angle because it shows the brush, the surface, and the mini simultaneously.

How do I handle different paint brands?

Name your specific brand (Citadel, Vallejo, Scale75, Army Painter) in the recipe but include equivalents for the other major brand at minimum. "Macragge Blue, or Vallejo Ultramarine Blue if you use Vallejo." This doubles your addressable audience without bloating the tutorial. Don't try to list equivalents for every brand; pick one alternative and move on.

The short version

Five tutorial templates: beginner technique, intermediate recipe, advanced showcase, speed, and problem-solving. Pick the one that matches your next tutorial. Show the finished result in the hook. Keep prerequisites tight. Pair every verbal explanation with a visible on-screen change. Include a one-mistake beat in the main body.

Pick your next tutorial. Open the matching template. Write the hook and the one-mistake beat before you touch the camera. Film the demonstration, then record voiceover to match the cut.

If comments shift from "nice technique!" to viewers asking specific recipe questions and reporting results from their own attempts, the tutorial is teaching, not just showcasing. If not, the fix is usually in Part 2 (prerequisites too thin) or Part 4 (no one-mistake beat). Fix those first.