Ola

Here I am again with my wierd bark imitation extravaganza:) This is my third try to imitate bark, below you can see my two last attempts:

1. first try, just some plasticine stuck to a wire; tools used: knife and a brush (simple:) )



2. second try, again plasticine used; tools: different kinds of dental tools, a brush, some synthetic wool, a toothpic



and here is my last try:

3. this time I used some air hardening clay (which can be used to make pots or mugs), which is much less smooth (which is ok, cause bark isn't smooth); tools: a bigger brush, dental tool, big soft brush, a rock.





and to show size:



I was using this picture as reference:



I know it's not great and amazing, but at least it resembles it a bit:)

So Cheyenne, last time you were not satisfied with my tree bark try, how's is it now??:)

Stiil looking to improve, so feel free to comment or criticise.

Cheers,
and thanks for looking,
dsc.

This rougher look's much better, Tom. In your ref pic, you might notice some small horizontal cracks in the vertical segments. Any chance of carving this. I know it's a nitpick, but it'll add to the dry feel.

Gday Tommyboy
The comparison between the last and the second last attempts are like the comparison between crisp resin and cheap injected plastic figures... The difference is quite noticable and has improved plenty... As david said, some of the opposing cuts would look good, and give the feel that you could just 'break' off little rectangular sections...
HAve been watching this with interest, as a tree of my own could be on the cards...Jolly good show!
Cheers
Brad

Hi Tom

Have you seen this post on HFM about sculpting a tree? Sculpting a tree

Rudi

Ola

Sorry guys for not responding I was quite busy lately and had no time to pop in.

David:




No my friend, details are the most important thing:) you are of course right that this piece lacks horizontal lines, but it's damn hard to make them. Well making them is not hard but making them look good and realistic is the real pain. I'm still thinking about it.

Bradley: yes yes, start working on your tree, maybe we will have a chance to exchange ideas and techniques:) I wish you luck on your tree journey:)

Rudi: thanks for the link my friend:) the tree looks really good, but unfortunatelly only when seen from a large distance. The zoom shots show too much horizontal lines and the whole thing looks like burned out wood and not a normal tree. But hey good to know that I'm not the only one who has trouble with horizontal lines:) The overall scene is nice and if watched from distance or if watched by someone who is not really into hardcore realism it should work great:)

I guess I need some break from the whole tree bark imitation frenzy. See you in another tree bark topic in about a month:)

Cheers,
dsc.

Thomas in 1/60th scale it's beautiful !!
Sorry about the detraction on the orig. pic. posted I thought it was 1/35th, your doing a fine job and it looks excellent as is.
Now make a whole tree and stop being like me worring about everything being perfect [ that's not a bad thing ].
Build on man, go for it, all your work looks just fine.
Cheyenne

Ola Cheyenne

Glad you like it mate:) the thing is that sometimes I can't see some flaws or mistakes I made and other people can help me with suggestions or questions or some other form. The more people see something and comment on it (constructive criticism, ideas for improvement etc.) the more it helps to see that something is done correctly and other stuff is just plain wrong. Sometimes when I look at a piece I just made I think: "hmm it looks good, but something is missing, I'll ask the guys at Armorama" and usually you find the thing that was wrong and I can further improve my works:)
Plus I'm a detail maniac:)

So again thanks for all you replies and hints/suggestions. They are more than helpful for me:)

Happy building everyone!
Cheers,
dsc.

Tom, at that scale your 1st pic. is the best representation at that scale you're building.
The first attempt is the best representation of a tree.
I admire your Felix Unger qualities, I have them myself.
Go for your first mock - up, that's the ticket !
Get - er - done !! [ Larry the cable guy ]
Cheyenne

Ola Cheyenne

I also like the first one, but it's a different kind of plasticine then the second piece. It was a bit harder and that's the main reason the test piece came out is it did. I will still try to come up with some easy technique to create bark and will have to work with some hardening clays.

Cheers mate,
dsc.