Scratch Building Trees: the Leaves and the Lichens

Continuing on from Monday’s post on sculpting roots and base details, today I want to share my new approaches to painting up and adding the foliage to our scratch built trees. 

I started out by priming gray, which saves a little bit of time because then I don't have to worry too much about coverage when I go to paint the tree boles. But any old primer will do, of course. 

The ground gets a treatment of chocolate brown, and the trees are base coated in a mixture of brown, green, and black. The ratio is something like 2:2:1, though I wasn't precise at all. I just mixed and added until I got a coolish, darkish, brownish green. The rocks, I just leave primer grey.

Now it's dry-brushing time. For this, I just add white incrementally to the base coats and give diminishing layers of zenithal highlights. You know, the usual.

When I know I have a lot of drybrushing of which I will inevitably get bored, I make sure to have some prep-work handy to rest my hand with:

After the drybrushing, it is now time for the mushrooms. I start by mixing an orangy kind of brown, similar to a flesh base.

I then highlight using thinned paints in layers up to a creamy yellowish white.

Once the mushrooms are done, I go in on the puddles. I've been using purples for these, which I understand may seem like a weird choice. The idea is that the puddles are reflecting a roiling, stormy sky - the kind which hangs over the Wyrdwold more and more during these days of the Derkening. But you should use whatever colors/methods fit your theme.

You can see above on the right how I start with a base of lightened purple. Then on the left you can see how, while the base is still wet, I go in with a couple of even lighter purples (I have them pre-mixed on the wet palette) and swirl them around a little to represent the roiling clouds. It only takes a light touch. It's important not to overwork the paint because then you'll just mix it all into a uniform purple and lose the swirls.

To finish off the puddles, I hit them with a little of the old Winsor & Newton Ultramarine ink (above). Then after varnishing, to complete the liquid effect, I will add some Triple Thick Gloss Glaze over the top. This stuff is magical, and great for any kind of shallow water effect. It doesn't flow the way a lot of water effects do, which means you don't need to worry about it running everywhere. You just brush it on. Not too pricey either, especially if you're the kind of person who gets coupons from Michael's (I do. It's where I get the craft paints I use for everything.)

Finally, I add some green and yellow washes, applied irregularly, to finish off the base. I've found here that it looks best to apply the green first, and then go and apply the yellow in the middle of the wet puddle of green. It will spread naturally in a very visually satisfying way.

Now I promised foliage, so you will have foliage. If you are anything like me, this is the whole reason you are here. It is easily the most difficult part of the tree making process, and this method is no exception. It is sticky and difficult and awkward. So much so that I couldn't take any pictures of the process. But don't worry, it's pretty straight forward and definitely worth it. But also sticky.

To represent the masses of tiny branches, I used a packet of assorted dried lichens I got from Michael's for about $4. These came in green and white. If I were to do it again, I would get the packet of all green lichens, because I find them more convincing now that they're actually on the tree. You want to select the biggest clumps with the smallest branchings so that you can 'skewer' it on the desired branch.

For the foliage, I decided to abandon my home-made, tea leaf variety. This tough decision was made in about .5 seconds when I saw that the local art supply store (Blick) carries packets of woodland scenics ground foam for about $3 each. I got one light green, one dark green and called it a day.

You want to use the tackiest glue you have, because you will need a lot of it and a lot of hold, and you don't want it to drip. I didn't have any tacky glue, so I had to settle for spot-gluing the lichens to the branches with superglue, prying my stupid fingers off the tree while praying not to take any paint with them, and then going back in with loads of PVA. You can avoid this mess by having a really tacky glue. Or, better yet, you cold use a hot glue gun to tack the lichens in place before going back in with some tacky glue.

Once the lichens are in place, let them dry. I mean DON'T TOUCH THEM. Just walk away, it's not worth the heartbreak. Believe me.

Once they are fully dry, I just dip each lichen clump a bit at a time into some watered down PVA, and then dip them in a little pile of mixed ground foam. Shake off the extra, and let dry again.

Finally, go back and brush some more pva over the foliage clusters, for extra hold. Once that's dry, varnish them and you're done! Throw 'em on the table with some Wealdsy-Aelfs and have a game.

That's that. I hope people find this even more helpful than my original tutorial series on the subject. Let me know whether you do in the comments below. I recommend tacking your comments in there with some hot glue and then slathering the whole thing in PVA. It's almost easier to just grow the damn things.

An Update on Scratch Building Trees: the Roots and the Rocks

Welcome to another chapter on what might fairly be called my obsession with scratch-built trees. Some of the most popular posts on this blog are the ones I did on building cheap, realistic trees.

I've updated my method since first writing those posts. For one thing, I noticed how good lichens look when used for foliage when I found Asslessman's Leadplague blog. For another, I started experimenting with Aves Apoxie Sculpt for making terrain. So what follows is a two part tutorial on those two changes in my process. First, we'll cover using the apoxie sculpt to make the root systems and other details on the base.

The tools: a size 0 color shaper, a homemade paperclip spatula, and a large, stiff-bristled brush. If you have none of these, a plain old pencil will do just fine.

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In my previous tutorial, I recommended using gardening twine and glue to make the roots - but that method doesn't give the kind of bulky, looming tree boles I decided I wanted. It's also very very sticky. So out came the Apoxie Sculpt and a few tools.

The nice thing about apoxie sculpt is that its water-soluble and works a lot like clay, so all you need to keep it from sticking to you is a little water. I keep some in a jar while I work. I just roughed-in and smoothed the putty with my dampened fingers  until I had the general shape of the root mass around the base of the tree. Having such big wads of root-mass has the added benefit of stabilizing the trunk. Apoxie sculpt cures hard, so the end result is quite sturdy.

Next I went in with my color shaper. I pressed in with the point to make the crotch of the root, and then dragged down to make the space between. I cleaned up the ends with the spatula tool. Finally, I used the stiff bristled brush in gentle strokes to make a barky texture. Again, if you're at budget on this project after buying the putty, then using a normal pencil will get you pretty much the same results.

I had some extra putty and some extra space on the CD, so I decided to add some rocks. This was as easy as smoothing the lumps of putty with my fingers and then texturizing with my highly specialized texturizing tool (a rock I found).

Finally (after the roots and rocks had cured), I added some mushrooms. I decided that I could go pretty crazy with these, as I imagine mushrooms are the only things that can really  thrive on the wyrdwold. I used green stuff because I had it and it's what I'm used to, but the Apoxie Sculpt will work for these too.

That's pretty much it for the roots. You can get as fancy or as simple as you want with them. Add mosses, ivies, skullz, the legs of rapidly-vanishing hobbitses, angry tree faces, whatever you'd like. You can see above I've added sand and some rocks, and I decided to leave some areas bare to become puddles later on.

Stay tuned next time for the painting and all the leafy bits. And let me know what you think below...if a keyboard is out of your budget, then a normal pencil will get you practically the same results, with the added benefit of personalizing your computer monitor.

Scratch-building Trees pt. II: the Foliage

So now you have an awesome tree trunk. What now? You could just leave it at that, especially if you are modeling a winter scene. But really the key to a convincing tree, the part that will make or break your original, lovingly scratch-built terrain piece, is the foliage.

This is also the part that provides the most problems for budget modelers, since the products out there for modeling foliage tend to be pricy, and to make your own tends to require special equipment (like a blender) and materials that are tricky to find (like cushion foam.) Foliage also presents problems in terms of durability, since delicately made trees will not stand up well to transportation, and will often scatter material all over the place if handled roughly.

I won't pretend that I've solved all of these problems. But my method does produce a tree that looks awesome, is reasonably sturdy (I mean, don't go, like, throwing it or anything...) and is extremely inexpensive. That way, even if somebody does grab it around the trunk and shake it vigorously until it falls apart, at least it didn't cost you 25 bucks to make.

Here's What You Need: 

• Polyfiber (Less than $5 at a Joan Fabrics or Michael's, and enough for 5-10 *ucking FORESTS. I got lucky when my boss gave me some for free. He gave me less than a quarter of his giant bag-- a whole shopping bag full!)

• Black Acryllic Paint

• PVA Glue

•  An old paintbrush

• Cheapo Hairspray (Mine was $1.25, cheapest on the shelf, works great)

• Magic Wash in a pump action spray bottle (A.K.A. 1 part Pledge Floor Polish With Future Shine: 4 parts water). The Spray Bottle will cost you around 3 or 4 dollars, but it's worth it, since spraying magic wash on things is a simple yet durable clear coat. Plus, you can put acrylic paint diluted with isopropyl  alcohol in there and you have a poor man's non-toxic spray paint-- great for terrain, especially for large areas of sand which soak up paint and destroy brushes. Also, it is illegal to sell spray paint in Chicago, so...

• Newspaper, or other surface on which you can smear paint

• Some colored flock or ground foam. The tea-leaf flock I made is designed specifically for this purpose, and is super-cheap to make.

   

   What to do with all this crap: 

  
  

  Step 1: Preparing the Polyfiber

  First off, pull of a small lump of polyfiber, maybe about twice the size of a ping-pong ball.
  
  
  Got that? Good. Now here's a picture of what you're not going to do:
  
  
  
  
  
  DO NOT just go sticking on giant clumps of polyfiber in the hopes of making a gloriously verdant tree. And for the love of god do not continue to do so as pictured below:
  
  
  
  
  This was my first experiment in foliage making, and it turned out horribly. Pictured is just the dry-fitting stage (not necessary in the correct procedure I outline here). I had to then try and color these giant puffballs all the way through--which proved impossible; then I had to try and glue them to the tree in a secure way-- which also proved impossible; and finally I had to try and adhere the foliage to the puffs without weighing them down so much that they would fall off-- which proved the most impossible. I eventually had to cut these guys off, leaving a residue of white fuzz covering the branches and nearly ruining my tree.
  
  INSTEAD what you want to do is take that little lump of polyfiber and tease it into a thin sheet. I actually divided my lump into three and made three different sheets, as it made coloring them easier.
  
  Once that's done, put a squidge of black paint on your newspaper. add a squirt of water or Isopropyl alcohol to thin it a little. Then take one of your poly-sheets and smear it around in the paint. You're trying to get it entirely coated in pigment, while avoiding clumps where possible. Repeat until all of your sheets are colored. Note that this is messy, and if you don't like having paint on your hands, you should wear gloves. Also note that you may have to rearrange your fiber into sheet form, as the smearing process can cause them to ball up.
  
  Set these aside to dry. Maybe make some flock while you're waiting.
  
  

  

  Polyfiber sheets drying.

  
  

  

  A close up of the same. Notice how the paint causes the fibers to stiffen and gather together, making them appear twig-like. We will use this to represent the difficult-to-model fine twigs which typically support foliage. This will also strengthen the polyfiber so it can accept the foliage.

  
  

  Step 2: Dressing the Tree

   Once your fiber is dry, use a pair of scissors to cut out a 1-2 inch square section. Tease this tiny portion of fiber out as much as you can without causing it to fall apart. I am talking SUPER wispy. The wispier the fiber, the more convincing it will be as small branches.
  
  
  
  
  Take your junk paint brush and apply some PVA glue to the first branch you want to dress. Make sure to apply it all around the branch, but in a thin coat that won't drip on your base.
  
  Carefully place your teased-out polyfiber onto/around the branch. It won't take much to get it to hold, but just in case I like to give the fiber a quick pinch into the glue. You can also wait about 5 minutes for the glue to get tacky before applying the fiber. Both work.
  
  Repeat these steps until your entire tree is satisfactorily covered in fiber. I cannot emphasize enough  that less is more here. It looks more realistic to have small bunches of twigs around the branches than huge masses, and it makes the flocking process much smoother.
  
  

   Step 3: Adding the flock

  Make sure to let the PVA glue dry THOROUGHLY. If you do not, you risk having your polyfiber fall right off the tree under the weight of the flock.
  
  Once the glue is dry, gather your flock and your hairspray.
  
  

  

  Autumnal red, my favorite.

  
  
  
  Now, turn your tree upside down by the base. Spray the under-side of your polyfiber branches liberally with hairspray. I'm talking enough to cause the sprat to bead slightly. Then, making sure to hold the tree over some kind of container, sprinkle your flock generously over the fiber. Gently shake off excess.
  
  
  
  
  Turn the tree over and repeat the process with the tops of the branches. Between each layer, make sure to brush off any leaves that are sticking to the trunk with a soft paint brush. Be careful not to touch the trunk with your fingers as the hairspray will stick to them and they will pull the paint right off. 
  
  
  
  
  Work gradually. Rather than risk a surplus of flock at one time, allow a layer to dry before adding more. This will let you build up a good volume of foliage without deforming the polyfiber too much. Here too, less is more. Actual trees are not solid masses of leaves, but have lots of empty space. Make sure to leave some fiber exposed as it will add to this impression.
  
  You may notice that some of your foliage flock has stuck to the base due to overspray from the hairspray. Allright! Automatic natural leaf-scatter!
  
  
  
  
  Now for the most crucial step in making your tree as sturdy as possible. Fill your spray-bottle with magic wash, set it on the finest mist setting it can manage, and give your tree a good spray down, all over. This will help fix down your foliage as well as seal and protect your paint and your basing material. When that dries, spray it again. And when that dries, spray it one more time. Continue doing this until no noticeable foliage falls from the tree when you shake it gently. And then spray it again.
  
  This will make the tree slightly shiny. I don't mind this since I coat all of my figures and terrain in magic wash, since it's one of the most durable clear-coats available. However, some people don't like the shine. If your one of those, just go over the top with testor's dull-cote. I hear that does the trick.
  
  Once it's sealed and dry, it might be a good idea to go back with a pair of scissors and trip any wayward wisps. I haven't yet, since I'm still basking in the glow of my tree, but these things can detract from the realism (see last picture. Case in point.)
  
  And that's it. Not so bad, right? And crazy good looking, too. I have yet to see the commercial product to rival it. Here are some pics of the finished product with my color test Bloodbowl orcs for scale reference:
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
  

  

  ----"Blimey... wot's dis prufoud feelin' uv peece warshin' over me?"                     ----"...'Arvy? Oi fink its dis tree.... dis byoooootiful tree..."

  
  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  I swear one of these days I'll make a backdrop.

  
  Sites that were helpful/inspiring in designing this tutorial:
  
  http://pmrr.org/Articles/Scenery/GenericForegroundTrees.htm
  
  http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?96067-Making-Poly-Fiber-Trees-Quickly-Part-1
  
  http://jehubbard.com/hobbies/tree_tips.htm 
  

Scratch-building Trees: A Tutorial (pt. I)

Even though I don't yet have a gaming mat or a warband to use for playing Skulldred, I decided on a whim a couple weeks ago to try building a tree for my anticipated Rangers of Quickthorn warband. I immediately started looking up material on how to scratch-build model trees for as little money as possible. The process I came up with was the result of a lot of different sources (listed at the bottom of the post) as well as a lot of experimentation, but I am pretty happy with the result:

Sorry if the pictures aren't very clear. I swear I will set up a totally blank background soon.

(Note that the tree I made is pretty large scale, standing approx. 1 foot tall. I wanted it to be  a more realistic height compared to 28mm figs than most store-bought trees tend to be. However, my method can be adjusted to any scale.)

 For this first part of the tutorial, I will just cover making the trunk, branches, and base of the tree. I will cover the foliage in the next post.

What You'll Need:

• Some branchy looking twigs (washed and dried).

• Paperclips and clippers to cut them with.

• 1 Pin vise with a drill bit that's the same diameter as your paperclips. (I think this is the most expensive part of the project, but it's worth it if you plan on making several trees/ if you like converting minis.)

• Superglue

• White glue

• 1 Steel fender washer

• 1 old CD that you don't mind sacrificing for awesome scenery.

• Epoxy or some other form of filling putty (I used Kneadatite Blue/Yellow: perhaps the second most expensive part of the project, but it has many uses and you only need a small piece for the tree-- also there are a number of cheap alternative materials such as modeling paste or woodfiller. I sculpt though, so I have a bunch around.)

• Used coffee grounds or sand (a couple of spoonfuls, no more)

• Natural Fiber Gardening twine (about 2 USD per spool)

• Some grass flock or other ground cover.

The Procedure:

Step 1: Assemble the Trunk Section.

First arrange your twigs. You should make sure to have one thicker twig for your trank and several smaller, branchier twigs for... well, your branches.

The twig in the center is my trunk. Note that I actually had to find more branches than this. Make sure to have plenty.

Select your trunk twig. Using plenty of super glue, glue your fender washer down to the thicker end of the trunk. This will serve as a base weight while you glue the tree to the CD, and will also cover the hole.

Leave this to set for at least a half an hour. A mug or teacup can be helpful to keep the base elevated at this stage. Since the trunk is unlikely to have a flat base, the join probably won't be very strong, but that's okay. We'll be reinforcing it later.

Good thing I was drinking tea.

While your waiting for the washer to dry, begin drilling pin holes in your branches. One at a time, drill a paper-clip-sized hole into the branch where you want it to meet the trunk. Then apply a dab of superglue and insert a length of paperclip. Set aside to dry.

Note: Be careful not to drill too deeply into some of the smaller branches, or you may split the twig. But also don't worry too much if this happens, since you can just super glue it together and fill it with putty later. It just won't be quite as sturdy.


Once the superglue is dry on the washer, it is time to glue the trunk down to the base. Run a bead of super glue around the hole in the CD (make sure to use the shiny side. Also, it wouldn't hurt to rough up the surface a little with sand paper.)

When that glue has set, reinforce it with a healthy coating of elmer's PVA glue. While you're waiting for that to dry, start attaching the branches to the trunk. Simply drill holes in the trunk wherever you want to put a branch. You can then dry-fit the different branches until you find one you like for that spot on the tree. Once you have a spot for each branch, glue the pins in place with some more super glue. Don't worry if the joins don't look 100% natural-- we'll be going back and filling them later. You now have an assembled trunk!

Here the tree is about half way through getting 'branched.'

Step 2: The Roots

This next bit was probably my favorite part of the whole project, in terms of what I learned-- making the roots.

I had read some vague accounts of using twine and PVA to make realistic roots, so I gave it a shot.

Here's what NOT to do:

To achieve this lovely effect, I simply chopped off a few pieces of twine and glued them down. It looked awful.

What you ACTUALLY want to do is cut a few pieces of twine in varying lengths, from maybe a half an inch to two and a half. Then, unbraid the twine so that you have individual bundles of fiber which can easily be spread.

Next, arrange your twine in a varied and twisty fashion around the base of your tree, such that one end is spread flat against the base (so it can be covered with basing material,) and the other end is twisted into the trunk of the tree in a natural manner. I did this one at a time using undiluted PVA to get the strands to stick down. It was also helpful to use the wooden end of an old paintbrush to help shape the roots, since the twine tended to stick to my fingers.

Have patience, and stick with it. The results of this simple technique are stunning.

Should come out something like this. Sweet, right?

Step 3: Sculpting details

 This part might discourage people from this method, as it involves some basic sculpting. But I insist that it is extremely simple. Whether you use green stuff or some other material, the necessary sculpting can be achieved with toothpick.

First, make a ring of putty around the gap, as shown below.

Next, smooth out the putty with your fingers. Make sure to keep them lubricated. Water works well. I simply use a stick of lip-balm from my portable sculpting studio.

Finally, scratch some lines into the putty to imitate the grain of the bark. That's it! Your tree will now look smooth and organic when its painted.

If your feeling inspired (I was) then you can also use the putty to add further details. I made some shelf mushrooms (above.) These are really simple. I just took a ball of green stuff, cut it in half, and then stretched it into place on the trunk so it would have the proper contour. I then removed the mushroom and reattached it with a drop of superglue. 4-5 of these little guys really add some character to the finished product.

Step 4: The Base and the Paint

After your done with the putty, coat the base in a mixture of 1:1 PVA to water, and sprinkle on either finely ground (used) coffee, or else some basing sand. Be careful not to disturb your carefully shaped root systems. Now set the whole mess aside to dry/ cure over night.

 

When you wake up in the morning, everything should have dried solid. Now slap a coat of black paint on there.

To paint the tree, mix up a cool greenish grey and dry-brush progressively lighter and dryer coats onto the bark and the roots.

For the ground, do the same thing with a warm, earthy brown.

 

 For the mushrooms, I began with a base-coat of yellow ochre mixed with a tiny bit of brown and a tinier bit of red. I then highlighted up to 1:1 yellow ochre and white, before hitting it with a black wash. I then gave it a final highlight of pure white just along the edge.

For the final step, apply your grass flock. Do so liberally if your tree is to be standing alone in a field, more sparsely if it is in a forest or bog. Here's a tip: don't bother applying leaf scatter at this stage. I did, and it came out looking kind of silly, as though s miniature gardener had raked the leaves into piles. The leaf scatter will happen naturally when you put foliage on your tree, which I will cover in detail in part II.
  

So until then,
Peace!