Colour

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Z

zoegraf

Craftsman at heart
I would like to mix up some paint to achieve the colour, which is seen on the drier rocks in this photo.
Can anyone help me identify the colour and suggest where I could start.
 
That's going to be a trial and error chore; looks like there is some light tan and a light gray, you may be better using a wash rather that actually using straight paint.

Jim
 
Okay, AMERICANA by DecoArt. DA03 Buttermilk
DA257 Bleached Sand

Use Burnt Sienna in tiny amounts to darken. Make a light wash and build up
 


I took a picture of a nearby river to the local Home Hardware and they matched the color perfectly, could try something like that?
 
Rico said:
I took a picture of a nearby river to the local Home Hardware and they matched the color perfectly, could try something like that?
Click to expand...

Never thought of that, Rico. Thanks. I have a piece of bristol board with sky on it I'm saving to take to a paint store to match for the walls of the room of my future layout.
 
Here's another colour I'm going to try to achieve on riprap and a link to the project I'm working on. I really like that pinkish colour in the riprap and hopefully I can get my grey ones to look like that. I'm going to experiment on some left over rocks. I think a wash might not work because it will remove the white highlights of the rock. Maybe flecks of chalk dust sealed with dullcote??

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28448&page=6
 
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From building military models, I learned the combined techniques of washes / drybrush. After painting your model, you apply a wash to simulate shadows. That is followed with a drybrushing of a slightly lighter tone of your base paint to simulate highlights.

Sometimes I struggle with both... and sometimes, I feel like I've gotten it exactly right. The latter times are the ones I really enjoy!

I'm assuming you are familiar with both washes and drybrushing. If not, it's easy to find plenty of references all over the Internet. And don't limit your searches to model railroading -- sometimes seeing how another segment does their models will teach you just what you need!

Regards,
Tom Stockton
 
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tomstockton said:
From building military models, I learned the combined techniques of washes / drybrush. After painting your model, you apply a wash to simulate shadows. That is followed with a drybrushing of a slightly lighter tone of your base paint to simulate highlights.

Sometimes I struggle with both... and sometimes, I feel like I've gotten it exactly right. The latter times are the ones I really enjoy!

I'm assuming you are familiar with both washes and drybrushing. If not, it's easy to find plenty of references all over the Internet. And don't limit your searches to model railroading -- sometimes seeing how another segment does their models will teach you just what you need!

Regards,
Tom Stockton
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info. I'm familiar with dry brushing, but never applied it to scenery. And I'm new to washes and have been experimenting.

In this shot, I dry brushed the small rocks and gravel between the roadbed and riprap on my diorama and they came out nicely.
 


Zoegraf,

Very nicely done -- and thanks for posting the pictures!

I love working with scenery; in most cases, the precision needed to finish an engine, a piece of rolling stock, a building, etc. is not needed for scenery. Most of Mother Nature's works do not have straight lines or a specific, distinct color -- which makes it easier for me to get it "right".

Regards,
Tom
 
One thing to remember is that whichever paint you elect to use, or washes, they won't look the same in sunlight as they will indoors under various types of lighting. That means your photos won't look the same, either. If the diorama is strictly for outdoors photography, then make sure your paint choice looks the same as the photo does outdoors.
 
I'd like to point out that 'matching' to a mixed color (pre-mixed paints) does not give the final results a realist look. For scenery and weathering effects I mix the paints on a palette as needed during the painting so the color varies in shade and hue. I show a little of how I do this in my build thread.
 
tomstockton said:
Zoegraf,

Very nicely done -- and thanks for posting the pictures!

I love working with scenery; in most cases, the precision needed to finish an engine, a piece of rolling stock, a building, etc. is not needed for scenery. Most of Mother Nature's works do not have straight lines or a specific, distinct color -- which makes it easier for me to get it "right".

Regards,
Tom
Click to expand...

Your welcome and thank you for your comments.
 
Selector said:
One thing to remember is that whichever paint you elect to use, or washes, they won't look the same in sunlight as they will indoors under various types of lighting. That means your photos won't look the same, either. If the diorama is strictly for outdoors photography, then make sure your paint choice looks the same as the photo does outdoors.
Click to expand...

Good point. This diorama will be for photographing outdoors and is why I am working on it in natural light.

Here is an example of the diorama so far in natural light and artificial light. The colour seen in the artificial light shot is the colour I will try to achieve when viewed in natural light. I got a lot of colour eating and painting a head of me to do.
 
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Depending on whether you have actual access to the rocks you are trying to replicate .... the best match you will ever get is to just use the real thing ! Most times, you can find smaller rocks in the same area.

Sounds crude, but most rocks will break down with a heavy handed hammer under a towel to keep them confined. A lot of rocks have almost a three-dimensional coloring that is almost impossible to replicate with any kind of paint.


Mark.
 
Mark R. said:
Depending on whether you have actual access to the rocks you are trying to replicate .... the best match you will ever get is to just use the real thing ! Most times, you can find smaller rocks in the same area.

Sounds crude, but most rocks will break down with a heavy handed hammer under a towel to keep them confined. A lot of rocks have almost a three-dimensional coloring that is almost impossible to replicate with any kind of paint.


Mark.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the rocks I want to match on on the other side of the continent. The next time I visit, I'll put a few in my luggage and smash them up the way you mentioned and use them on a future layout.

Cheers
 


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