Doomies Terrain Thread - Updated March 21st with better pics and teaser shots

i'm awed: the theme, the scale, the already done. looks awesome

Wow, looking like a sweet project already! Will be following this one with great interest!
Where are those inspirational pics from btw? (one's from predator I think)

The pics are from the internet (deviant art, cghub, and google and yeah the corpses are from predator). Other inspiration I couldnt find pics for was predator, apocalypto, the Kummen scenes from Votoms, Lost Planet, etc. The plan is to make a really dense but still playable sci fi artistic interpretation of a jungle instead of the few palms and plants we usually see on the tale. For now Im using the old warzone board as a base but eventually Id like to make modular boards with crevasses and creeks etc. Thats still a ways off though. Plan is to have this done within the next 2 months or so.

Looks like this is gonna be a very cool project - look forward to seeing how this works out. How do you find the time to do all this? Very Jealous!

Ace inspiration

Laney

Too much

and too many


because sleep is so damn overrated

Update time and a small tutorial. First the update. I managed to finish painting all the earth areas today. I was expecting the small white chips and these areas will be covered by static grass. There was really no way around it as these are where the boards rubs. The static grass will be more resistant to this.








Sorry for the crappy pics in the real world the earth areas are a more dark. Painting was pretty simple. Started with a Raw umber/ black mix and worked my ay up to a final light drybrush of a light sandstone color (theres about 6-7 different shades in there. I may mix up a wash of really thin raw umber and go back over the areas.

OK now for the samll tutorial. Applying Static grass Doomies way. First up required tools of the trade:




I usually use a fair amount of static grass so I purchase the larger Woodland Scenics or Noch static grass containers in varying shades and mix it to get the color I want. As you can see I then keep that color in a large container. The wood stick is to break up any clumps that have formed. The grass will clump up in a plastic container due to static.

I use the Matte Medium in place of the normal PVA. Its alittle more pricey but trust me when I saw this stuff will hold. I have board I made three years ago that have been to numerous cons and not a single section has rubbed off. For those of you in the states this can be picked up at any art/ craft store. Michaels and AC Moore offer 40% off coupons every two weeks making it more affordable. You will go through a fair amount though.

First step is using a wet brush (I mean like wet as in right out of the water pot wet) and spread it in the areas you want to apply static grass


Then liberally apply the static grass using your finger to pat it down and spread it out as you go. Work in small sections so the medium dosnt dry on you. When done the grass should be damp to the touch. Dont rub your eyes at this stage as the grass will get in them and if you've worked with fiberglass you know how much this can suck...


Let dry thouroghly. When dry take a cheap spray bottle filled with a 50/50 mix of Matte Medium and water and spray the areas you have applied static grass. When dry it is there forever. I havent done this yet as I tend to do the whole board at once. The mix will kill the spray bottle after a few uses.

Very Cool!

Awesome tutorial!!!

Sweet update! Love to see the progress.
Here's a pic from some Apocalyptop jungle which might be usable (a link, because it's quite large):
http://www.hundland.org/hd/a/apocalypto1.jpg
Got the pic from "HD Screenscaps Archive", I check there everyone once in a while for useful pics, perhaps it's useful for you as well.
Like this one from "The Thin Red line": http://www.hundland.org/hd/t/ttrl28.jpg

Ok update time. I finished the first layer of static grass. When it was dry I went back with two other lighter shades that I randomly applied to break it up some. After that I sealed the whole thing with a 50/50 mix of medium and water. Pics suck today as the clouds just wouldnt burn off.

Anway heres the pics






I also made up three trunks which I will cast up to make the palm trees. Each is about 6-8" tall. No pics yet.

Excellent!!! I'm dying with anticipation!

Absolute win!

I have no idea what that medium matte stuff is, though. In fact, I don't even know what PVA really is. Sure, we call it woodglue here... but yeah. So what can us Euro's use?

Arachas wrote:

Absolute win!

I have no idea what that medium matte stuff is, though. In fact, I don't even know what PVA really is. Sure, we call it woodglue here... but yeah. So what can us Euro's use?

I use matte medium from Vallejo:

You can get it from various (online) shops in Netherlands.
Don't know if it's like the same stuff Doomie's speaking of.

I wouldnt recommend the Vallejo. It would work Im sure but youre going to go through a fairly large amount (The bottle I used is 473ml and I went through about 2/3rds of it). Im not sure what brands are available over there but Im pretty certain that if you go into any art store they will have Matte Medium in the acryllic paint section in. The advantage of matte over glue are that the matte dries completely clear with no residue or anything and it can be watered down into a spray without losing any of its properties. This means you can put it over painted or flocked areas without worrying about it affecting the paint job.

Ok the sun actually came out today so I was able to take a better pic to show off the colors of the table and grass. Im thinking about applying another shade or two of static grass around some of the edges to represent dried grass areas ( I would use a yellow gold sprinkled with brown grass). Im not too sure yet as when the pieces are finished the may obstruct too much of it... I will more than likely wait until I have more of the pieces done and see then.


In order to get an idea of how the table will look I set up some of the pieces to get an idea. The pieces are not done. All will get larger bases and additionnal details, foilage, and plants. I have also figured out how I plan to do the vines and moss that will be hanging out of the larger trees. The rest of the trees will have to be assembled and will be mostly palms and bamboo type trees. I also have the components necessary to make some elephant grass fields. Each of the driftwood pieces will be done up in a larger water base and be used as a mangrove kind of tree.







Other features I plan to include in the table are a large overgrown gothic plantation or church type building and a crashed valkryie up in the trees with a playboy bunny painted on it with some dead crew ala Apocalypse Now. If anyone else has any other ideas that they think are cool or would like to see Im open to suggestions. At this paint Im fairly certain I can have the table done within the next 2 months.

I am speechless, this is fantastic!

Looks awesome already and the ideas some really cool too!

Look forward to it

Laney

If you claim this is done... EVERYONE would say it is one of the best 'natural' tables. AMAZING WORK! More pics!!!

Mordheimer wrote:

If you claim this is done... EVERYONE would say it is one of the best 'natural' tables. AMAZING WORK! More pics!!!

Not even close bro... more pics to follow as more gets done.

Arachas wrote:

Absolute win!

I have no idea what that medium matte stuff is, though. In fact, I don't even know what PVA really is. Sure, we call it woodglue here... but yeah. So what can us Euro's use?

We call it that too in Sweden!

Arachas wrote:

I have no idea what that medium matte stuff is, though. In fact, I don't even know what PVA really is. Sure, we call it woodglue here... but yeah. So what can us Euro's use?

PVA is Polyvinyl acetate. Also known as Elmers white glue, Glue All, school glue, wood glue, blah blah blah etc etc etc. The only difference is how much the manufacturer thins it down reducing its effectiveness. Ive found that Aieleens Tacky glue is the best, the new quick set one is awesome (I think thats in the states only). Elmers Glue all or Wood glue are also very good (also cost more but can be purchased in bulk at DIY stores). Basically the cheaper it is the more its cut with something else (water usuallly) reducing its effectiveness.

Matte Medium is a pourable acrylic polymer medium...basically liquid plastic that can be thinned with water. Much more useful for this kind of project but I would not use it to glue pieces of foam or whatnot together as it will not work. Use whatever white glue you use for that kind of project. The advantage when gluing down scenics such as flock or static grass is that it completely saturates the area creating one hell of a bond (especially when lightly sprayed on after teh first coat dries) without that glue sheen or color distortion. Note do not spray on multiple coats as it is effectively a semi opaque and will begin to lighten the colors.

I looked for you Euro types to find a brand over there with no luck (then I thought to myself WTF I thought these people invented art or something or so I was told in school ). Its readily available online (Amazon, Ebay, etc.). If you buy it online look for the brands Gloden or Liquitex. The Woodland Scenics scenery glue is also a matte medium but cost more ala GW policy of using someone elses product and repackaging at a higher price.

Hope that helps.

This looks like the stuff Doomie's talking about.
Don't know if the pricing is similar though.

GAST! Veel te duur...

I'm telling the Tooth that he should find a cheaper Dutch alternative for us.

Gatlag Stonetooth wrote:

This looks like the stuff Doomie's talking about.
Don't know if the pricing is similar though.

Thats one of the brands and since it translates to about $20 US thats about retail. Mind you that is a big bottle (473 Ml which is about somewhere around 200+ bottles of Vallejo ). I also use it when painting as well. Here in the US we are lucky as the 2 biggest art stores offer a 40% off coupon every couple of weeks.

Arachas wrote:

GAST! Veel te duur...

I'm telling the Tooth that he should find a cheaper Dutch alternative for us.

Mwah it's not that expensive, here a small calculation:
1 bottle of Vallejo Matte Medium (17ml) is 2,10 euro.
1 bottle Golden polymer medium mat (473 ml) is 17,60 euro.
To have about the same amount of ml you need 28 bottles of Vallejo (not 200+, Doomie was a bit too optimistic ) which will cost about 59 euro!