I was trying to create a realistic and good looking wall lately and this is my last result (you've might seen it in the 'scratchbuilt' section of this forum):



I've been thinking about a color scheme or possible techniques that I could use when painting this piece. Usually I use a lot of grays and start with a black base color. I drybrush a piece using darker gray and slowely add small ammounts of white to the mix. It's fairly easy to do, but looks a bit unrealistic. What would you suggest?? I'm trying to achieve a medieval kind of look for the wall, so if anyone has some good suggestions or tips I would be more than grateful. Also if you know any good techniques for aging it a bit or weathering it, it would be helfpul. Gimmy anything you have:)

And of course a BIG thank you in advance,

cheers,
dsc.

This topic was first published in the paint forum, but there where no replies.

Both Tom and Me thought it would be better to ask the diorama boys and girls ...... They should be able to give proper ideas and thoughts !

I'm doing a rocky/stone wall at the present time, haven't taken photos yet though. I started by airbrushing a coat of black in between the stones, then used various shades of grey, spraying the darker greys from the bottom, and the lighter greys from the top, using light dustings. Along the bottom, I applies a wash of a dirty greenish color to represent mold, trying to keep it along the lower, bottom edges of the rocks along the ground. A little light dry brushing of earth color on the rocks, varying between them, added a little life, and contrast to the mostly grey rocks.

when I see that wall, I don't know why, but it always makes me think of the big, damp stones of a very old structure, like a castle.

The rocks on those were always a mish-mash of dark greys, black and greens, with some unusual coloured mould sprouting wherever water would run down and pool on the surfaces. The rain would almost certainly have rounded the stones off, but they still seemed to be almost porous.

Nice wall! To me they look like granite block. This while time comsuming to paint, can have a stunning effect. Is the wall once piece, or seperate blocks?

There are many types and colors of granite, from green to pink! The standard building granite here is Barre Grey. To paint this I base coat with a light gray color. Then i apply dots using an old toothbrush by dipping the brush into the color, then running my thumb along the bristles, trying to aim the splatter onto the target! The colors that I splatter on start as a medium gray and end in black. Usually 3-4 steps. I then blend the colors with a white wash - yes WHITE!



HTH

You may toss in a bit of tan into the paint mix to get a variation of toupe/beige.

Also don't stop with just the paint - add a wash or two to the pain when you're done. This will liven up the whole wall and add a lot of flair. I love to use oil paints and terpentine for my wash. I'd go with burnt umber/dark brown wash, maybe a bit of green to add a touch of mold/fungus.

Hi guys,

I knew that I could count on you when it comes to advice. That's why I wanted to move my subject from the painting section here. You are all so helpful:)

Before any replies appeared I've already finished my test piece, you can see it below:



It's not very complicated when it comes to painting. A black base color, drybrushed using various shades of gray and light beige. After that a light drubrush of brown on the edges of the rocks and some dark green to add some weathering and breake the gray color. I'm still trying out different schemes, so if you have any advice or ideas on how to improve this feel free to post:)

@Grumpy: suprisingly our techniques are pretty similar. I'm thinking about using different shades of gray for the first drybrush layer, to make the stones color varied.

@BigJon: this is going to be a medieval tower wall. I still have to add different shades of gray to make the "mish-mash" you are talking about. Also some dark green washes might come in handy.

@Sticky: that's a cool technique you're talking about. I will have to give it a try. The wall that's visible in my original post is made from two wall panels, that were built using some home made stones. If you want more info, you can check out the scratchbuilders section.

@Scott: yup, I've also thought about using some tan to change the gray color a bit. I will also use some washes, to make the wall more realistic.

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it!

cheers,
dsc.

PS. the picture might be a bit too light, in reality the wall is not so "white'ish".

As far as weathering with oils goes I use three primary colors, burnt umber, black and white. A fourth color is burnt sienna.

I use oils for weathering and dry brushing.

Some tips throughts etc on using oils
I put spray a gloss coat over my base paint job. This give the oils a nice smooth layer to 'flow' over.

I have a 'rig' for washes that is a piece of styrofoam that holds an old plastic Coffee lid (1" thick nice and deep) at about a 45 degree angle. The top of the rig is where I place a blob (1/2 a peanut size) of the color of oil paint. I fill the base (recess of the lid) with a nice quantity of paint thinner. This allows me to 'pull' down a bit of paint into the thinner. I am a firm believe is less is more. Start with a thin wash you can add more as you go.
With the wash mixed I use a thin 1/4 long brush and drag it along all the creases. For creases I don't always wait to add more.
If I want to cover a large area I use a 1/2 wide flat brush. With a large area I let the terp dry fully before adding more layers.

If you get to much on you can use a qtip or towel and wipe away the excess. If you get it to dark you can add some termp directly and loosen it up and wipe away the excess.

Thinner is better until you get a nice comfort level with oils.
I'll post pictures of my 'rig' later