Very nice pictures Wayne. Its always a treat to see your modeling.
Here in the Georgia Piedmont, its very woodsy. Sunlight strikes the trees from various angles. The sprinkling of lighter colors on the outside would help with that look.
You might think about geography too. Also down here, two days of a good rain causes the jungle to liven up again and you can get new growth. So some of the younger chutes can really happen mid summer or any time 8 months throughout the year.
- Douglas
If you go look at some real trees in a forest, rather than individual ones, you'll not only see greens, but many other colours that you wouldn't expect...blues, purples, yellows and orange, and even some red.
I use at least two or three versions of green, and often dust the tops of trees with an application of fine yellow ground foam, to create a suggestion of sunlight on the treetops...
Wayne
Early in the growth season, the tips of branches and the uppermost smaller branches will have the lightest greenery, and this goes for deciduous as well as conifer trees. But, that doesn't last long; eventually everything looks the same except that the tree has some kind of symmetry viewed in profile and from above.
Later, mid-summer and beyond, especially during the driest months, you'll see more yellow as older leaves die or succumb to a lack of moisture. Where I live in the PNW, mid-June to early September can be absolutely brutal, no rain whatsoever.
So, you kinda hafta pick a time, a type of forest, and go with that if you'd like to nail it pretty closely. The previous post about starting the lower and inner flocking with a darker colour and then getting progressively lighter as you go both outward on branches, near the tips, and higher where new growth also takes place, you would go with brighter greens. Joe Fugate even dusts his trees with a spritz of yellow spray paint, a very light pass, to get that look.
If you were to use multiple layers of foam, I think starting off with a darker color then moving progressively lighter, just a shade not extreme, would provide more depth.
I agree with MisterBeasley. If you look at a group of trees, or just one large tree, you will usually see a range of colors.
I tend to use lighter greens with some darker greens and even some light browns mixed in.
York1 John
I don't think specific colors are all that important. But, in looking at nature I see a lot of variety. When I put down static grass, each applicator strainer full is different, and I often mix colors with a strainer. I'm modeling stream beds and hillsides, not lawns and golf courses, so the more chaotic my static grass appears, the better I like it.
One thing I would recommend is using brighter, light colors for young growth, and darker colors for older growth. People don't see specific colors unless they are looking for a specific tree, but contrast in color really stands out.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Hi all.
I'm curious, what color trees do you all use for Appalachian mountain scenery? I'm interested in hearing everybody's opinions on what brands, colors, and textures of ground foam make the best Appalacian trees.
Specifically, I'm using super trees covered in Scenic Express Forrest Green and Green Grass coarse turf and Woodland Scenics Light Green coarse turf. I'm also thinking of using Scenic Express Summer Lawn Flock & Turf to give my trees some highlights. Just curious what everyone else's go-to's are. Post pictures too!
Matt