Realistic Clouds

[Anonymous]

Those clouds look awsome guys! Can anyone tell me how ( or if there even is a way ) to get similar results without using spray paint, and using a brush-on type paint instead? The spray paint sounds like a really good way to do it, and the results look great, but I really don't want to put all the fumes from spray paint in the house. Thanks

[Marty Cozad]

Joe , those really do look good.
I gave up making "real" clouds long ago.[V]

Now


Also keep in mind, clouds look more real based on the lighting to give them affect.[8D]

[Anonymous]

Wow, I had almost forgotten about this thread. Thanks for all the compliments guys![:D]
I still have to make an insert section for the backdrop to cover the gaping hole of a closet. When I get around to that I will post it if you like.

[Anonymous]

Looks great, thanks for the tips.............

[jecorbett]

I have my paint mixed at Walmart and they have a shade they call Cornflower. I think it looks just right. Not too blue.

[Anonymous]

NICE CLOUDS jpm335. Can you do it with a bru***hough? My parents wont let me spraypaint inside.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAX-trains

NICE CLOUDS jpm335. Can you do it with a bru***hough? My parents wont let me spraypaint inside.

Thanks max, this method of cloud making uses spray paint. Thats just how it works. Other people however have come up with ways to make clouds using a brush. Maybe you should start a topic asking about cloud making.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MAX-trains

NICE CLOUDS jpm335. Can you do it with a bru***hough? My parents wont let me spraypaint inside.

Thanks max, this method of cloud making uses spray paint. Thats just how it works. Other people however have come up with ways to make clouds using a brush. Maybe you should start a topic asking about cloud making.

[darkstar974]

Wow cool idea i got a gallon of costa rican blue left over from painting the bedroom and a real light white called lavender ice that i used to paint the trim i think i'm going to use them to paint my back drop thanks for sharing

Dark

[AntonioFP45]

Forgot to mention earlier.

Most of us use Latex (water based) paints for home interiors and exteriors, however, for those that still prefer to use oil based paint, a word of cautiion:

If you paint an interior with oil based paint, DO NOT spray lacquer based paint on top of it as you can get a pretty nasty reaction which often results in the paint softening or wrinkling.

It's amazing but there are still a number of people that want nothing to do with latex paint even though the quality has improved greatly over the past 2 decades.

I'm so glad that our society has switched over to mostly Latex paints for homes. I do not miss the smell of oil based paints ( My late dad was a carpentar and used that stuff left and right back in the 70s! )

[DALCruiser]

JPM335

Great looking Sky and Clouds! [bow] I once did the ceiling in my kithcen with a Sky & Cloud paint design, just for kicks. It actually came out OK using a natual sea spounge. Learned this from one of those Home Dec programs on TV. You dab the spounge lightly into the paint and blot it before applying the paint to the surface. You can control the build-up and color bleed-thru by over lapping spounge applications. This gets around the smell & airborn particles and the bru***echnique is not as nice a result as the spounge. You get about the same result as the spray technique.

Do post some more pictures as you progress with this wok. Keep up the good work!!!

Dave

[Anonymous]

Very nice clouds. good job.

It's better than what my son did to his wal. He painted it black & red! Not just black & red it is Mickey pants red and Mickey ear black! I'll never get his room to have white wlls again.

[Anonymous]

I painted my backdrop with a brush.


#1 Pick a nice blue color. I mixed some really dark blue paint with white to get a lighter color.

#2 Paint the backdrop blue with a brush or roller. The key is to get a lot of paint on.

#3 While the blue is still wet take some white and paint it on the bottom with a brush and blend it in as you go up. Don't blend more than halfway up though.

#4 While the blue is still wet stipple the clouds w/ the brush. Stippling is when you just tap the end of the brush on the board. Don't make your clouds a perfect shape.

#5 For the wispy clouds a quick swoosh of the brush will do a good job.

#6 After the blue and white has dried Paint the hills using a small brush. I picked up some inexpensive acrylic paint at Pamida.

#7 After the hills have dried (acrylic paint dries VERY fast) paint the trees. This methoed is for evergreen trees- stipple them using a small paintbrush. Don't have trees all the way across. On my backdrop the trees on the right are supposed to be off in the distance and the trees on the left are close (that's why they're bigger)

and there you have it. It's easy and lots of fun.



dingoix

[Anonymous]

Just a bump in case anybody wants to see my cloud method[:)]

[pcarrell]

Bump

[Anonymous]

I ought to just post that as a thread soemtime.

[Anonymous]

Love the stencils from the manufactuer in San Antonio and they have a great video.

[mikesmowers]

I read this thread yesterday and thought "I can do that" Went to the store and bought several cans ot spray flat whith and one can of primer gray. Since my walls in traintown were already sky blue It didn't take but a couple of hours and was done. I still want to paint some clouds on the ceiling since it is blue also. I was very impressed with what I had done. Iwould send some pics but havent figured out how to do it yet. Thanks for all the info. Mike

[racertwk]

I use artist chalk. Go outside on a partially sunny day and take some photos of the type of cloud cover that pleases you. Take several pics and use them as a guide for shading and the texture of the clouds. Notice how they get smaller and lighter as they fade into the horizon. Use your backdrop as a big blue chalkboard and if you don't like your first cloud, use a soft cloth for an eraser and start over. One thing about chalk is to not press hard as it will get a little shiny on a painted masonite backdrop. Use a cotton ball to blend in the chalk to get that fluffy appearance. There are also several inexpensive blending items for chalk in the artist supply stores. I did my clouds over five years ago and they still look the same without any dullcoat or fixing agents used.
Visitors remark about my realisitic clouds as soon as they enter my basement
trainroom and notice the small diecast DC-3 in the sky. Some have said that you don't want your backdrop detail to take away from your layout and scenery. I think the sky is the first thing they will notice and if it is done well...they will be impressed with the detail of everything else. I even have a brewing thunderstorm approaching on the opposite side of the room, with a few lightinig flashes all done with chalk. That section is not finished, but the plan is to have thunder sound, a flashing background light and wet streets etc. This is my first reply to the forum and if there is any interest , I can provide some photos. (first I have to see if I can get this reply sent) TED IN INDY

[ukguy]

[#welcome] to the forum Ted, yours also sounds like a great method and I for one would like to see the results.

Have fun & be safe
Karl.

[gear-jammer]

Here is a spring cloud in western Washington.

My husband, Larry, is the artist.

Sue

[jacon12]

Here is a spring cloud in western Washington.

My husband, Larry, is the artist.

Sue

Sue, if you don't mind.. I'd like to borrow Larry for a few days.  It's only a 3000 mile drive, give or take a few hundred.

JaRRell

[gear-jammer]

JaRRell,  I know.  He only paints one color at a time, so it takes several days to complete each scene.  He drives truck and some weeks if they are efficient he might do 2500-3000 miles.  I am lucky if he is home for the whole weekend.  We will probably work on the layout together some on  Sunday, but we usually spend most of the weekend getting him ready to take off again. 

Sorry,  not to share.

Sue

[beegle55]

I thought about that idea, but my "layout area" is a metal building and the walls have rivits and it would force me to put up sheetrock which would break the budget, but I might eventually get a room of my own to put the layout in my house!! (Wishful thinking, most likely). Nevertheless, it really looks great, good job.

 beegle55

[gear-jammer]

I thought about that idea, but my "layout area" is a metal building and the walls have rivits and it would force me to put up sheetrock which would break the budget, but I might eventually get a room of my own to put the layout in my house!! (Wishful thinking, most likely). Nevertheless, it really looks great, good job.

 beegle55

beegle55, 

Ours is on the sheetrock.  We used 1 x 2's to fir out the plywood to which the landscaping is attached.

Everything is screwed into the wall in case of dismantle at some future date.

Sue

[AggroJones]

Bump!

[SteamFreak]

Bump again.

[bogp40]

Yes, and you can simulate the lighter horizon by using white spray paint to lighten the horizon like I do on the Siskiyou Line:



I have tried this using store-bought cans of flat white spray paint but I just about passed out from the fumes within a few minutes of trying this ... and it took the better part of a day for the smell to dissapate.

I've since found that modelflex flat white works well, and doesn't smell at all. I just use my aribrush, fire up my compressor, and spray away. Modelflex is non-toxic and water based. In fact, the Badger guys tell me the suspended paint that doesn't land on your painting surface dries mid-air and falls to the ground as fine colored "dust" -- and is about as toxic as dust, too.

The other thing you can do if you have access to a better art supply store is you can buy acrylic paint ready to spray in an airbrush. This stuff works quite well also, and you can get it in other colors depending on your needs. It does cost more than modelflex however, and may be harder for a modeler to find.

I agree with Joe's recommendation. The fumes from solvent paint, whether airbrushed or can, can be overpowering. Once I used Floequil, never again, even though the layout room is huge it took hours and many fans to clear it out. One other thing to remember, solvent overspray will settle on anything uncovered, even areas you thought safe. Acrylics, unless very close, will not travel as far and if residue is found it can be dusted off or cleaned easily.

When doing the scenery at this spot the backdrop was not really finished. Note the background trees to the right are fogged, then the forground/against backdrop trees were placed. Some of the forground painted trees were masked while spraying using a small piece of cardstock. The blue hill to the left needs some finishing. Was rushed for a show and finished the scene. The hill needs some green/ gray blending, painted background trees and fogging with "Acrylics"-this time....

This is another spot that the backdrop was not ready, but scenery finished up to it. Not a problem as the spot is being redone anyway.

This is what happens when areas are rushed and not finished, this was readied for a show 2 years ago. Must be part of Murphy"s Law.

[HHPATH56]

When using commercial backdrop pictures, I stipple on clouds at the transition to hide the change in color of my painted blue sky and the commercial picture blue sky. I use a round ended brush and start with the grey flat bottom of the clouds.  Progressively, I add whiter stipples to show the upper part of the clouds.  Your airbrush clouds look great. Be sure to  make the horizon sky whiter than the sky higher up.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I guess I'll have to slip my party crashers in here. These clouds are very simple to make, especially if you're good in art. Using standard 8 1/2" x 11" paper I cut out a shape that I find to be satisfactory. What type of cloud? Cumulus? That would be kind of like a heap. You'd see these in fair weather conditions. Stratus? they look like they're made in layers. Cirrus? They look like curls of hair. Nimbus? These are the ones you see when a storm is developing. Cumulonimbus? These look like piled up heaps. They're your really big storm clouds. Are the clouds going to be high level? Low level? Mid level? High level types include: cirrus and cirrostratus. Mid levels types are alto cumulus, alto stratus. Low level types include: nimbostratus and stratocumulus. Do you want clouds with vertical development? These include: fair weather cumulus and cumulonimbus.  Go to this site to learn about the different types of clouds. http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml I then decide what color ranges I'll use. Is it going to be an almost all white cloud? Flat white above with maybe just a hint of off-white/buff white below. Is it going to be a rain/storm cloud? Off-white above graduating to shades of gray below. This is where I have to have someone else look at them because I can't differentiate between shades of gray. I hand paint all my clouds with water base acrylics, stippling in the darker colors as needed. When the cloud(s) is/are dry, I attach them to the backdrop with a thin layer of white glue. If too much is used, the paper will wrinkle.