First try and plaster of paris and paint!

[AllenB]

This actually turned out WAAAAAY better than I thought. I put some plaster of paris in wrinkled up foil and then stuck it to the side of some built up foam. Then used several colors of acrylic paints and finally dry brushing some white on it. Pretty good.
The only problem I have is that the base is an indoor paint. The acrylic paints would not stick to it for some reason. They did sit in the cracks for the most part but not much stuck to the main surfaces.

 

[UP2CSX]

You might want to try some washes with a mixture of isopropyl alcohol with a few drops of india ink per six ounces or so. Spray or brush it on and then let it run down the sides and dry. I may take several coats, but it will tone done the whitish color of the rock. The basic shape looks good, now you want to make it look more like rocks.

 

[jbaakko]

Looks ok, needs some more washes like Jim said. I think more greenery too, as the number of wrinkles would not be consistent with a solid rock formation.

 

[AllenB]

You might want to try some washes with a mixture of isopropyl alcohol with a few drops of india ink per six ounces or so. Spray or brush it on and then let it run down the sides and dry. I may take several coats, but it will tone done the whitish color of the rock. The basic shape looks good, now you want to make it look more like rocks.

Do you mean mix the acrylics with alcohol? Or wash the rocks first with alcohol and India ink? That India ink scares me...I hear it's VERY permanent if you get it on anything!

 

[Cjcrescent]

That India ink scares me...I hear it's VERY permanent if you get it on anything!

There now are washable India Inks that work just as well on scenery as regular permanent ink. It does come out of most cloth items easily enough.

 

[UP2CSX]

That's why you use just a few drops of india ink. It only takes a tiny bit to darken a surface. Start with way less than you thhink you'll need and build it up in layers until it looks about right. You can then start highlighting the rocks with different colors of acrylic washes and dry brushing. I've done all my rock work this way and I think it came out pretty good. The main thing is assume this going to multiple passes and don't try to get it all done at one time.

 

[ChevelleSSguy]

There are a lot of good videos on Youtube for doing this. I remember seeing a video of a guy in england that did all of his washes with a spray bottle.