Getting good color into your rocks and cliffs.

[jwar]

This method works well for either the Geodesic Foam Scenery (Bragdonet.com) or drywall, hydorcal type scenery. I first paint on a coat of Gesso and let dry, its the white paint that an artist uses to prepare his canvas. Why...this is the reason an artists does it, the Gesso will reflect from under the light intensity giving a better depth of color. If your plaster or whatever your going to wash has any detail, like rocks, cracks, ridges. Apply black powdered tempera with a stiff 1 inch brush. Then wet sponge the tempera, soaking it into the cracks, and sponge the rest off,rensing sponge several times in the process, leaving a slight grey look and black in the cracks,then let dry. For darker rocks you leave more tempera on, a greyer tone. If the scenery is flat and somewhat smooth. One can gesso or use a flat laytex and use the following wash coats. More to follow. Kilz can also be used instead of gesso and work better for an out door inviorment or solid sunlight from a window. John

[jwar]

Ok.. now is thae fun part and you dont need to be an artist at all to wash rock colors on the gesso. Note the small dab of paint, use less if possable, dab a minute amount on a few brisles, then wet brush in a saucer, and brush on your scenery in a camo effect about the size of a hardball or softball. doesnt matter where (Yet) its brushed on, but is a very transparent film of paint wash. Use an artist type acrylic paint concentrate or paste. (not the wally world 44 cent acrylic paints, we'll do those later) After it drys start another coat, not over the same colors, but overlapping or on top of another coated color. This and more coats is the key here, to much paint in a thick coat, we lose the effects.Im using raw sienna, yellow oxide, burnt umber, burnt sienna, paynes grey and hooker green. Walmart sells a color wheel to determen what the overlaping colors will be, nice to have as these few colors give a wide spectrim of various colored rocks. Dont be alarmed, the first coats are ugley, You think you messed the whole layout up and ya gona make a big bonfire, hang in there you will be surprised as the third and more coats take shape.Getting closer to to what I want. I first wanted a granite look a few years ago, and found the grey a bit much, gessoed it out and reworked into various colors I like, so dont worry about if ya dont like it, it can be redone.If you over color by applying to many washes you can wipe some off with alcohol, this can also give a sun faded effect, keeping the crevices darker....John

[ereimer]

nice tutorial !  thanks

[jwar]

This is just around left side side of the helix, behind the right and center truss. The steep area to the right and above the Cat skidding the log is straight drywall over alum screen, Gesso and thin washes. May be a good spot for a dirt slide to be glued on, jurys out for now. Anyhow back to these thin tranparent washes, here there are four, I can always come back later and darken it. However this was where I quit for the night and came back the following morning, with that first cup of coffee, and liked it.The skid trail under the cat was washed more with paynes grey ,burnt umber and hooker green. Any know grass area get more green, I think it also livens up the grassy areas. Please do not mis-understand me. I am not saying nor implying this is the only way, but is how I achieved what I think is pretty decent looking scenery, not perfectely suited to the Feather River Canyon, but to my layout under its lights. Anyhow I thought I would share what little I know and hope you enjoy the hobby as much as I do. Take care, Will do the latex tomorrow, ....John

[joe-daddy]

John,

Your work is just fantastic!   Thanks for these beautiful pictures and your informative words!

 

Joe 

[Mr Milkman]

man, your cliffs look amazing! Not just your painting, but also the details of all the cracks and so on. Did you use casting molds or did you hand carve?
Did you use plaster of paris? I wanna know all about
how you made those cliff faces! They look awesome! Thanks for the tute!

[jwar]

Milkman... Thank You for your kind words...most of rock area are from a process called Geodesic foam scenery. Bragdonnet.com has tons of info and the latex molds. Basicaly it's a two stage mold process, the niffty thing is you take the molded scenery surface out of the large latex mold, and turn, tweak, and place it exactley at the angle and area it looks best and hot glue in place. A plaster type mold go's directley on the surface and then the mold is peeled off in place and one takes his chances of what it will look like. This type of scenery is expensive to say the least, a friend and I went in on four large molds to save. Each mold is different, but closley compliment each others falt line, then used at several angles. This is why there is no overlap, and seams are extreamely hard to see and no repeats. As it cures it hardens. To afford it I passed on the expensive locomotives and such and concentrated on the mountain scenery. These molds have excellent detail, cracks and such. Somtimes I take a fine tipped brush and highlight the cracks, but I have to be in the mood, soft jazz, just let the trains run slow, paint a bit, watch the trains, paint, and just mellow out. As you can see I enjoy this type of scenery and somtimes I just sit and look at it, what the heck...this is just a hobby, where one can do so many different things. Sorry I cant paragraph, have to use a HTML source editor. Perhaps this month I get my computor fixed and a couple of carpal tunnels done....take care...John

[jwar]

Joe...Thanks for the kind words...the check is in the mail LOL...Take care my friend....John

[Greg H.]

jwar,

If you would be willing to send me all your info from this thread, I'll put it into one continious PDF file that you can pass around.

Let me know and I'll send you my e-mail.

[mikelhh]

  Very nice work John. Good pics too.

 I too use gesso - it's an ideal base for accepting stains. It also makes good concrete.

 

 Mike 

[ShadowNix]

For depth, I find that using a was of india ink and IPA gets in the cracks and works well...  Do it just prior to dry brushing and bam...

Brian

[gear-jammer]

John,

Great blending of the colors on your rocks.  The contrast is very realistic.   

Sue

[loathar]

GREAT WORK! You make that look EZ!