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Comments
Thanks so much. I think i have it now. Between you and Karl I may make to the end. This chalk thing has been quite the hurdle for me. Can't wait to see what the next one will be. Appreciate your input. Shingle material should arrive in the next couple days. I plan to do the side buildings' roof with it. So, now back to the first floor with all this new info.
David
Tried y'alls advice. I think I am on the right track, but want y'all to weigh in and tell me. I practiced on a piece of a wall I had laying around. The first is before weathering, and the second is after I weathered with chalk ( I think I may have over done the weathering ). What do you guys think?
Thanks for your advice.
Stone work is a tough egg to hatch, this is due to the fact that there are regional differences in colouration of rocks and the fact that geology differs greatly from region to region. Someone from Wales for instance may be used to seeing slate coloured stone and cool grey rockwork whereas someone from Arizona may be more familiar with warmer reds, browns and tans.
I really like the last three pics and the evolution it shows from picture one to picture three. All of the progressions are working well and you are getting the results from each step that build upon the last. Nice work.
To my eye the basics are now accomplished and it's time to take this to the next level with some minor refinements... but, those ideas will need to wait until tomorrow as it is now 1am for me.
Great progress,
Karl.A
Next go round, try experimenting with the stone colors. Paint some of the stones the same gray, med brown, and light brown (just as it comes out of the bottle) but then mix them up a little: take a dab of light brown and a dab of gray. Mix it around on your work surface and color a few stones with that mixture. Then, try a dab of med brown and a dab of gray…swirl those 2 colors on your glass and paint a few stones with that combination. You'll end up with some stones that are just slightly different in tone than the ones next to it but still in the same family of colors.
Again, well done!
I feel like a kid in school. I am learning so much here. Grateful for the help I'm gettin', especially from you and Karl. Think I have another piece of casting to practice on before I tackle the first floor, again. Thanks for the kudos.
David
Couple suggestions for a little fine tuning:
-go lighter on the dry brushing. You want that color to be almost imperceptible. It's intended to replicate the way light hits the edges of objects; not be an actual color or portion of the object (the stone in this case). Too much and it looks like a hard frost set in. This technique just takes practice.
-make sure to still add the chalk. This step helps take away the "newness". It dulls down the colors and reduces the shine
-remember that all these walls and different castings are going to become part of a complete scene. With that in mind, don't let the colors from casting to casting (specifically the stones) vary too much or else you run the risk of having them appear out of place. You said this was another wall to practice on, but just in case I wanted to point this out: the latest picture looks to be a tan-ish wall with some black stones here and there, while the previous one appears to be a black-ish wall with accents of tan stones. Both look very plausible but see how the darker one looks very old? Now check out your most recent wall...the lighter more distinct colors make it look like it's been recently constructed.
Don't let my suggestions dampen your spirits. Take a moment and compare these two castings to where you were 48 hours ago. That's a lot of progress in a short amount for time!
Your input is most valuable. I appreciate what you're saying. Will try one more practice and then I'm gonna tackle that first floor. Just want to make Brett proud of another fo his great models. I have come to appreciate what every one says about them. Later.
David
Thank you for the kind words. And, yes Bill and Karl have been so helpful. Without their input I would be making an absolute mess out of this wonderful kit. Thanks for stopping by and for following along. Hope to make some good progress soon.
David
Karl.A
David
Options:
1)Use a soft old toothbrush with warm water should get most off. Respray light coat of primer.
2)Xylol will strip it all back off to bare resin. Respray light coat of primer.
Reasons for removal are a) the previous colours may effect the new finish. b)we don't want to fill in all that exquisite detail with layers upon layers. c)you will find it much easier to repeat the results in the future.
Only you can decide which way to go as you have the casting in your hand and can see what is on it, and how thick. A simple quick spray of primer over the previous work may be all that is needed to get back to your original starting point.
Keep up posted.....
Karl.A
David
As a side note I would like to say that you have taken a great approach to this project.
You weren't afraid to try something new, and admit to yourself you could do better.
You took the time to practice on some scrap to understand the technique and improve terrifically.
You're now confident enough to strip back the casting and start over with what you have learned.
Although some of the things we tried didn't quite work for this application they may work somewhere else, and now you know how to do them.
Once we have worked on this final stage you will have a great technique in your modeling repetoir that you can use in many places and adapt and evolve for yourself.
It sounds to me at a guess that your A/I may be too strong and/or the chalk application was too heavy. If that is the case then both of these are easily remedied with a little practice and trial.
You can quickly recolour one of your test walls and try out various degrees of A/I and or chalk in sample areas to see the differences. No need to be careful with the sample colouring you just want a rough approximation as a base to work on the final finish.
You tried a few things, you learned a few things and now you can build a few things.
The end is nigh....
Karl.A
David
Dave
The bonus is, now you know how to get that darker line along a waterfront wall without losing the base colours completely and also what to use for rising damp on a structure. Strong A/I.
Karl.A
Dave
You posted over on RRL that you were taken with the results and that it looked just like the stonework in your area. If that is the case and you have achieved your objective then that is a success.
As I said in the beginning stonework is different regionally, if you are happy then that is the point of the hobby.
I look forward to following along with the brickwork and the rest of the build.
Karl.A
Thanks for checking on the work.
Dave
Indeed much better, not holding back at all, just not pushing my own personal tastes onto your model. True, I generally would use more tans and browns as that is the colouration I am used to seeing.
Both interpretations are correct and fit our own taste/experience.
The wooden door and shutter in this shot look great. The only thing I would question on your wall is the lighter markings in the area marked below. They just seem a little heavy to me but really no big deal.
I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on the doors, windows and details.
Karl.A
Dave
I've been busy with work so I haven't checked in for a bit.
Here's what I see on the wall (specifically the area that Karl circled):
The gray color you selected is a good color, but I think the way it's been applied is what's causing the problem. Did you thin down the gray paint? If you did, try just using it straight out of the bottle--not thinned. Not even a little.
Load up your brush ( I use a flat "shader" brush). Dip the bottom third of the bristles in the paint. Next, remove almost ALL of the gray paint by brushing back and forth on a paper towel. Test the brush to see if you've removed enough paint by making a pass on the back of your hand. The correct amount will highlight the ridges of your skin and no more. If you start to get the feeling that you've removed too much paint, take off even a bit MORE. Better to have too little paint than to go at the casting with a brush that has too much.
Here's a picture of what I'm trying to explain. I'm using a gray-black color simply because it shows up better in the picture. Look closely and you can see that the ridges of my skin have the paint but the valleys or depressions do not:
Here is how much of the paint I scrubbed off:
When you drybrush the gray, apply it in the direction that the light would hit it. Better yet...just use strokes that go from top to bottom only (don't go back up). Very light applications. You can always go back and add another layer (or 3 or 4 or 5) but it's a chore to remove heavy applications.
I really think if you apply the last layer of gray much lighter (and using the little test above) you'll get a final result that will be closer to some of the work you see here on the forum.
Don't give up! You've made a ton of progress and this last step is the hardest to perfect. It's very commendable that you've stuck with it and redone as many times as you have. For dry drybrushing, it's a matter of "less is more" and practice practice practice.
Bill
Dave
I've already got a spot picked out on my layout where it'll be going.
So, do a good job!
(I'm kidding)
I'm paying a lot of attention to what's going on here because I am eventually going to be facing the same challenge. I admire your willingness to keep doing it over. How fortunate to have such expert people to critique our work.
John
Thanks for stopping by.
Dave
Dave