Zenithal Highlighting: What It Is and How to Use It

What Zenithal Highlighting Actually Means

The word “zenithal” comes from zenith, meaning the point directly above something. So when people talk about zenithal highlighting, what they mean is this: you are treating the miniature as if the light source is coming from above — like midday sun, like a strong overhead lamp.

Top-facing surfaces get the most light, downward-facing surfaces get the least, and everything else sits somewhere in between. In practical terms:

• Tops of shoulders, helmets, heads, raised arms, and upper folds catch the most light
• Front-facing or outward-facing surfaces get some light, but less
• Undersides, recesses, and downward-facing surfaces stay darkest

That top-to-bottom light structure is one of the biggest reasons an object reads as three-dimensional in the first place. Zenithal highlighting lets you establish that early.

Why It Is Useful

The main reason people use zenithal highlighting is because it gives you a head start. If you put transparent or semi-transparent colour over a zenithal undercoat, the light and dark information underneath still influences the result. The shadows stay darker. The raised areas stay brighter. So instead of building all of that from scratch, you already have a guide built into the model.

It speeds things up

If you are using speed paints, contrast-style paints, inks, or thin layers, zenithal does a lot of the visual heavy lifting for you. You can get a solid tabletop result much faster because the miniature already has a readable light structure underneath.

It helps you understand form

This is a big one, especially if you are still developing your eye. Painting over a zenithal undercoat forces you to pay attention to what is actually facing up, what is in shadow, and how light falls across different surfaces. Over time that makes you better at placing highlights and shadows even when you are not relying on zenithal anymore.

It helps on busy miniatures

On models with lots of folds, armour trim, texture, and small raised details, getting that initial light structure in place early can save a lot of effort later. It gives you something to work with instead of starting from a flat colour everywhere.

The Basic Two-Stage Method

The simplest zenithal setup is very easy. You start with a full black prime, then spray white or grey from above.

Step 1: Prime the whole model black

Make sure the miniature is fully covered from all angles. This gives you your shadow base and ensures the deepest recesses stay dark.

Step 2: Spray white or light grey from above

Take your lighter spray and apply it only from above rather than from every direction. The goal is not to repaint the whole miniature white — the goal is to catch the upper surfaces and leave the deeper or downward-facing areas darker.

That is the important part people sometimes miss. You are trying to create a gradient, not just put a second full coat on the model. If it works, the miniature should have a clear dark-to-light transition from bottom and recesses up toward the highest points.

The Three-Stage Version

If you want a smoother result, you can add a grey step in the middle. That usually looks like this:

• Full black all over
• Medium grey from a higher angle
• White from a near-top angle just on the highest points

This gives you a nicer gradient and a more natural spread of values, which can show through especially well under translucent paints. It is not mandatory, but it does usually look better than a harsh black-to-white jump.

Other Ways to Do It

Spray cans are the most common method, but they are not the only one.

Airbrush

If you have an airbrush, zenithal gets easier and more controlled. You can place the transition more precisely, keep it smoother, and build it up in smaller steps. It is probably the nicest way to do it, but obviously not everyone has one.

Drybrushing

You can fake a zenithal effect with drybrushing if you do not want to use sprays. Start dark, then drybrush progressively lighter colours from above, with the brightest colour only hitting the highest surfaces. It is not as smooth as spray, and it is slower, but it works well enough to get the idea across.

What Happens When You Paint Over It

This part depends a lot on what kind of paints you are using.

Contrast and speed paints

These are probably the most obvious match for zenithal. They are translucent enough that the underpainting still affects the final result, so the light and dark structure underneath remains visible. That is why they work so well over a black-to-white or black-to-grey prime.

Inks and washes

Same general idea. They follow the surface, settle into recesses, and allow the lighter areas underneath to stay more visible. You still need control, but the zenithal helps.

Normal acrylic layers

This depends on how opaque you paint. If you put on thick, solid coats, you will cover the zenithal and lose most of the effect. If you work in thinner, more controlled layers, the undercoat still influences the result and gives you a built-in sense of light. So if you want the zenithal to matter, you need to paint in a way that lets it matter.

Common Mistakes

Spraying from too low an angle

If you spray white from straight in front of the model rather than from above, you are no longer simulating overhead light — you are just brightening the front. That gives you a different effect entirely. The light should come from above, not from eye level.

Using too much white

This is probably the most common mistake. If you go too heavy with the white, you flatten the whole effect and end up with something close to a white prime — then there is not much value structure left. You want the light coat to be selective, not overwhelming.

Expecting it to do everything

Zenithal highlighting is a foundation, not the whole paint job. It helps establish light, and it can do a surprising amount if you are using transparent paints, but it does not replace thoughtful highlights, colour choices, edge work, or clean finishing. It gives you a better starting point. That is the real value.

Is It Worth Learning?

For most miniature painters, yes. It is easy to try, it does not require much extra effort, and the payoff is immediate enough that you can see the value of it on the first few models. The barrier to entry is low, but the practical benefit is real.

If you have never tried it before, test it on something you are not precious about — a rank-and-file model, a speed-painted piece — somewhere you can just see how the undercoat affects the final result without overthinking it. Once that clicks, zenithal highlighting stops feeling like a special technique and just becomes another useful tool in the workflow.