This Mini Colour paint review cuts through the hype for D&D painters. If you’ve been anywhere near the miniature painting community in the last few months, you’ve seen the Mini Colour name. The joint paint range from Artis Opus and Cult of Paint raised over $510,000 from more than 2,000 backers, and with late pledges still open as of today, it’s still generating serious conversation.
The reviews from Goonhammer, Tale of Painters, and Spikey Bits are broadly positive. But they’re written for experienced painters. If you’re painting D&D minis and wondering whether this is worth your money, the answer is more nuanced than the headline numbers suggest.
Here’s our mini colour paint review — everything you actually need to know before spending your money.
Mini Colour Paint Review: What Is It?
Mini Colour is a joint project from Cult of Paint and Artis Opus — two of the miniature painting scene’s most experienced companies, specializing in class teaching and tutorial creation. Behind it are Andy Wardle and Henry Steele from Cult of Paint, and Byron Orde from Artis Opus.
It’s a genuine labor of love — Byron first showed early prototypes to reviewers back in 2022, and it took several more years before the team were truly satisfied with the formula.
The result: 63 colors in 17ml dropper bottles — 60 colors plus two blacks and one white — designed to work equally well with a brush or airbrush, on both dry and wet palettes, with a medium to long working time and high durability.
Transparent dropper bottles give you a clear look at the color inside, come pre-drilled for easy use, and have minimal labeling so you can quickly grab the right hue mid-project. The paints dry to a finish that sits perfectly between matte and satin — durable without muting the color.
The Case For It
The pedigree here is genuinely impressive. Artis Opus make what is now the consensus best brush for miniature painting, and Cult of Paint are behind some of the most-watched painting tutorials on YouTube. These aren’t people launching a paint range for a quick cash grab.
The range was deliberately reduced from 80+ colors down to 63 — designed so painters can buy the full set confident that every paint is worth having and usable in all ways. That kind of curation is rare and genuinely useful for beginners who don’t want to end up with a collection of colors they never reach for.
The education component matters too. Both Cult of Paint and Artis Opus are building tutorials specifically around Mini Colour. For a beginner trying to learn technique alongside product, that’s a real advantage over buying a generic range with no accompanying instruction.
The Honest Caveat for Beginners
Here’s where TMW has to be straight with you, because the enthusiast press glosses over this.
Goonhammer’s reviewer noted that Mini Colour’s paints excel at thin layering — but that the slightly longer working time and variable coverage might trip up novice painters more used to ranges where consistent one-to-two-coat coverage is prioritized.
That matters if you’re coming to miniature painting from a D&D background with no prior hobby experience. Ranges like Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 and Citadel Contrast are specifically engineered to give good results fast — one coat, wash, done. Mini Colour isn’t that. It rewards patience and technique.
If you’re a complete beginner who just wants painted minis on the table for your next session, the Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 Starter Set is still the faster path to results — 10 colors, a brush included, and genuinely forgiving for first-timers.
If you’re a beginner who actually wants to learn to paint — to build the skills that let you improve over time — Mini Colour is built for exactly that journey. The longer working time that could frustrate an impatient beginner is the same property that gives you more control as you develop your eye.
What It Costs
Before we get to the number, it’s worth noting that this mini colour paint review is one of the few covering real USD pricing — most coverage is UK-focused.
The full 63-color Mini Colour core set is priced at £185 (approximately $249 USD at current exchange rates), plus shipping. Late pledges are still available through the Kickstarter pledge manager, and that’s currently your only way in — there’s no confirmed retail release date yet.
Late pledges: artis-opus.pledgemanager.com
One thing to factor in: international shipping from the UK to the US will add to that $249 base. Worth checking the pledge manager for a shipping estimate before you commit.
Worth pairing with: If you back Mini Colour, budget for Artis Opus Series S brushes alongside it. The range is designed to work with quality brushes, and the Series S is what the Cult of Paint team actually uses in their tutorials. Picking up a $10 budget brush set and expecting Mini Colour to compensate is setting yourself up for frustration.
Mini Colour Paint Review: The Bottom Line
Mini Colour is a high-quality paint range from two of the most credible names in the hobby. It’s not the fastest path to painted D&D minis, and it’s not trying to be. It’s built for painters who want to learn properly and are willing to invest in doing that.
If that’s you, it’s worth backing before the late pledge window closes. If you want quick results with minimal learning curve, the Army Painter Speedpaint 2.0 Starter Set is the smarter starting point — and we’ll have a full guide to beginner paint sets coming soon.