Backdrops

[nucat78]

QUOTE: Originally posted by spidge

Any suggestions on how to paint clouds? MIne came out poor and would like to modify or repaint?

Somebody suggested painting a number of medium gray horizontal lines first. Smudge those out a bit and then add smudgy white on top for cumulus clouds. The idea is that in daylight, the bottoms of the clouds are shadowed so they should be darker than the tops. You might want to cut in a little gray over the white to add depth and shadows also. Make sure your sky is darker blue as you look higher.

Now if you want storm clouds, I have no clue aside from lots of gray.

[jeffers_mz]

I've been thinking about using photographs for a backdrop. I climb a lot in the area we're modeling, and I have numerous 360 degree (about ten wide angle pictures) panoramas from summits in the area.

Wal-mart will make a poster sized enlargement from a 35mm negative for $16, but most of my panoramas are digital. I found a local printing company that will make a 24x36 enlargement from a digital file for $50, so far that's the lowest price I've found.

Potential problems include stitching the adjacent prints together (easy in Photoshop, not so easy with a hardcopy print), fixing the prints to the backdrop structure without destabilizing the photo or having the adhesive bleed through, and dealing with middle distance transitions from 3D terrain to distant ridgelines.

I've used rubber cement to make large mosaic black and white prints on quarter inch plywood, but I oly had them aboput a year so I don't know how that glue will affect the print over longer periods.

I'm also thinking about masking off intermediate ridgelines and hand painting those areas, but haven't figured out how to do so in a reversible way, so that I can undo the masking whenever I need to.

It's still early on, I'll post up as progress is made.

[ClinchValleySD40]

Sheet metal (flashing) sold in rolls of 50' long by 24" high. Pretty easy to use, but takes a couple of people to hang it.

[pcarrell]

Graphic arts supply houses have rolls of styrene for sale. I got one that was 2 feet tall and 100 feet long. It's one continuous roll, so there's no joints to fill.

[spidge]

donhalshanks, very nice. thanks for the inspiration.
I especially like the cleanliness of the layout space. I drive my wife crazy cleaning and cleaning again as my layout is in the garage.

[donhalshanks]

Jeff: Styrene sheets were 4' x 8'..... not 4 inches by 8'. Having a bad keyboard night!

Hal

[donhalshanks]

Jeff: Dates in prior pictures were not set correctly in camera. Backdrop was finished a couple months ago and pictures taken then.

Hal

[donhalshanks]

Jeff: I used .06" (4" x 8') sheets of styrene glued to untaped drywall over studs, curving the corners with simple plywood corner frames. Gives a very smooth surface and easy for painting. Used four colors bands of latex blue (dark to lighter) top to bottom, blending each band into the next one before it dried. Haven't decided where and if I'll place clouds yet. Here are three pictures:







Good luck, and have fun!

Hal

[Anonymous]

Here's a how to on painting simple backdrops. http://www.2guyz.info/Content/pa=showpage/pid=26.html

[spidge]

Some people use masonite but the seems tend to crack, if its in the corner or behind a mountain or orther obstruction it should be ok. I used it on a small layout and had one coninuous curved backdrop, looked good.

[nbrodar]

I used light blue craft paper:


While not as realistic as many painted backdrops I've seen, it's easy, inexpenisve, and very effective.

Nick

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Those cut out Backdrop work great. Here's the link to thier website.

http://allscalebackdrops.com/siteindex.htm

That's where I copied mine from. Being coies, they were a bit grainy but at a distance they look pretty good, after all, detail diminishes with distance.

If you buy them from the manufactuer, They look real sharp, but then you don't get that felling of distance. Still looks great though.

[spidge]

Any suggestions on how to paint clouds? MIne came out poor and would like to modify or repaint?
I put in wall board and painted everything above the benchwork and plan to add some cutout comercial backdrops.

[Anonymous]

Well, down with the old and up with the new.[:D]
My last layout did not have a backdrop so I looked at a poured concrete wall in the basement.
I am currently constructing new benchwork and want to put up a backdrop before I get to far into scenery.
What is the best and worst to use for backdrops?
What about commercial backdrops, good or bad?
I will probably make some kinda support for the backdrop as I dont want to drill into the poured wall.
Thanks in advance,
Jeff