I know this has been discussed before, but are some of the best methods for doing this believably in N-Scale?
Irv
Someone just bumped this thread the other day:
http://cs.trains.com/forums/1/1530405/ShowPost.aspx#1530405
It shows a backdrop with some of the best looking clouds I have ever seen before. I usually do not like clouds on a painted backdrop because they usually seem to not be quite right, and they seem to be way beyond my ability. However, after looking at that thread, I am going to give it a shot (after lots of practice first on scrap Masonite!). Jamie
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Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
These were done with acrylics and brushes. I like to keep the edges really soft so the clouds don't distract. With fast-drying acrylics it's important to have a very fine misting sprayer to keep the paint wet so you can blend edges. For clouds I often use my fingers to blend them into the sky.[not that you want paint all over you - wash off ASAP]
You'll get better blended edges if you hold the brush perpendicular to the surface of the board, and use just the end of the bristles. A light touch and soft brush required. Try to brush to the paint surface rather than through it.
I did these backscenes for my Dad's layout
and placed on my layout to see how it works.
Broke my chimneys getting it in there.
Mike
Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0
I downloaded a bunch of cloud pictures off the web and printed them out in the appropriate size. (fast B&W printing to save ink.) Printed them on some card stock and cut them out with an Xacto to make templates. Used $1/can flat white and grey spray paint. A little grey along the bottom of the template and rest with shots of white.
I have ZERO artistic talent. This method is real EZ to use. I need to practice blending them together though. I WISH I had the art talent that Jacon12 and Mikelhh have! Their's are GREAT!
It may sound obvious but practicing on cardboard or paper before attacking your backdrop makes sense. I think the big thing to avoid is a making your cloud with sharp hard edges; I have seen clouds that looks like bird splat on a blue rug and it just is not realistic.
The various examples given above are much superior to that.
For my own sky I wanted clouds but not puffy clouds, rather the streaky kind of sky known as cirrus clouds. I find them easier to make believable although I may have to change my mind after seeing how nice the clouds other guys have done can look.
Here is a prototype photo:
http://www.cruising.sailingcourse.com/weather.htm
Dave Nelson
I wish I had read this last week.
This past Sunday I got ambitious and decided to paint some clouds on the walls of the train room. I used Glidden white ceiling paint and a 1 1/2 inch sponge brush to stiple the wall while turning the brush itself in circles. It worked in some places but but not in others. It also trid to darken the bottoms of the clouds the show th shadows. Some of the clouds came out nicely but on two walls I need to do more work to ake them look better. I'll the same stipling technigue I used on Sunday but with a bristle brush this time. I'll also try using some of my Tamiya hobby accrylics to see waht I can do about imroving the clouds I've already put on the wall.
I am not interested in producing perfect clouds because I don't want the sky attracting attention away from my trains. I just want them to suggest to the viewers imaginations that the trains are running in the real world.
This is slightly, but not totally, off topic. My dentist has in his office the usual flourescent light fixtures in a suspended ceiling. But the plastic sheet panel covering the light tubes is, instead of clear or frosted, painted to look like a light blue sky with nice clouds. It may even be a silk screened photograph. The effect is fairly relaxing as you sit back and stare at a sunny blue sky. The sound of drilling in the next room somewhat ruins the effect but that cannot be helped.
The thought strucke me that not only could this idea be used for the ceiling of a train room, but I wonder about a backdrop of these sheets with lighting behind them so you would have a luminescent sky as a backdrop.
They come in 2x4 foot and 2x2 foot panels.
This website has the kind of plastic panels I am talking about:
http://www.fluorescentgallery.com/page/skies
I tried the method I read about in David Popp's book where I used sprayed a line of gray then sprayed little puffs of white above and over it. It makes a reasonable effect although on my next backdrop I will have smaller clouds lower to the horizon and more into the haze. The haze was just white airbrushed on, heavier on the bottom and fading out about 2/3 the way up.
You can take this photo as evidence for or against the method!
Chris
Mike,
Those background paintings are breathtaking! Truly wonderful!
Jim
mikelhh wrote: These were done with acrylics and brushes. I like to keep the edges really soft so the clouds don't distract. With fast-drying acrylics it's important to have a very fine misting sprayer to keep the paint wet so you can blend edges. For clouds I often use my fingers to blend them into the sky.[not that you want paint all over you - wash off ASAP] You'll get better blended edges if you hold the brush perpendicular to the surface of the board, and use just the end of the bristles. A light touch and soft brush required. Try to brush to the paint surface rather than through it. I did these backscenes for my Dad's layout and placed on my layout to see how it works. Broke my chimneys getting it in there. Mike
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Some really nice work here, and also in the other thread.
Luckily, my wife has taken interest and agreed to do my backdrops. She has some artistic talent IMO, and I think she's best at landscape painting, fortunately. Way better than I am, for sure.
The simpler backdrops are nice, and still quite effective, but artist's work, like mikelhh's for example, take it to another level! Beautiful work.
Please keep posting examples, guys.
kcole4001 wrote: but artist's work, like mikelhh's for example, take it to another level! Beautiful work.
but artist's work, like mikelhh's for example, take it to another level! Beautiful work.
Yep. Makes me want to spit on mine.
Thanks fellas for the comments. Painting is my only strong suit. When it comes to tracklaying, layout design, benchwork, electrics [aaaarrrgghhh] etc you have it all over me!
Anyway I thought I might post a couple of step by step pics of how I go about it. Maybe someone will find it helpful.
My materials - cheap brushes, cheapish tube acrylics and a very fine mist sprayer [old pump action air freshener]
Blue high sky [blue + white] and paler and warmer low sky about to be blended.
For the low sky I started with a big puddle of white [acrylic primer works well] and carefully added tiny amounts of yellow and red to it.
If the blue has dried before you're ready to blend the two, you give it a good spray of clean water with the mist sprayer. I can't get by without it when using acrylics. Blend the two together with a soft big brush
Mix up some slightly stronger warm colour and add vague clouds down low, with maybe some whiter edges
Blend the edges away, using a soft brush - the one I used for this job was about 1 inch wide - and using more fine mist if needed. Fingers do a good job too, but as I said earlier, wash ASAP.
Last job on the sky was to reintroduce some blue back into the clouds. This helps them to settle down into the sky because they share the same colour.
Seeing as this thread is about sky I'll stop there. For what it's worth, when I get around to painting my backscene for my New England layout I might post a step by step in case someone finds it useful.
Mike, that's some great work and it's always helpful when 'how to' pictures are included.
Thanks for taking the time to do that!
Jarrell
Thanks for the tutorial, Mike! I've bookmarked this thread for reference.
What great cloud examples on this thread!
One thing I might add -- if you're not artistic (like me), don't let it scare you off. Work from a picture of some simple sky shots, and grab a brush or spray can, and JUST DO IT. I was astounded when I finished that it didn't come out half bad -- and if it does, paint over 'em with your blue and JUST DO IT again. So much of this hobby comes down to just getting in there and getting your hands dirty.
I use regular whit paper and rip the bottom to look like clouds. I then keep the template about 2" away for bacdrop and spry 1.00 white flat spry paint for, yes Walmart. Fip th template over and spry a bit under the cloud to create depth.
loathar wrote: kcole4001 wrote: but artist's work, like mikelhh's for example, take it to another level! Beautiful work. Yep. Makes me want to spit on mine.
Yours look pretty darn good, too! I certainly didn't mean to knock anyone's work, just pointing out that professional-level artists will be able to outshine the rest of us easily. I have next to zero artistic talent, all I can do is try to copy someone else's technique until I can achieve an 'OK' result.
The variety of approaches is very interesting, all do seem to have merit.
The step by step how-to's are very insightful, so keep 'em coming.
Just like others have said on this thread and subject of clouds. Don,t be afraid to try even if you can,t draw a stick figure. When I first tried to draw a cloud it was awful. I tried brush, sponge, spray can, stencils, air brush, you name it. my combination of colors were wrong as well as shapes and sizes. I studied the clouds when ever we had some out here in the desert to look at. I bought a few art books and read everything I could find on how to make clouds. I found that whats behind your clouds is very important. Just keep practicing and it will come to you.
This is where I am now. This backdrop only has 3 colors in it . blue, off white, and white. All done with brushes. I am not an artist, I paint houses for a living. all I did was practice.
glenn