My first terrain pieces

[Herder of Cats]

A friend of mine recently gave me several boxes of Hirst Arts blocks he had casted for a project that he's never going to finish, so I decided it was time to finally make some terrain for RPGs and Skirmish games.

 

We've been playing Song of Blades & Heroes lately. Since my son loves to play evil liches, necromancers, and undead, I decided I'd start with a graveyard. I made some mausoleums and a sepulcher from the hirst arts website, primed them black, then drybrushed from dark to medium light greys. I put some various brown and dark green washes, then drybrushed up to light greys. Then I used some woodland scenics flocking, army painter tufts, and some birch seeds for leaves. I decided not to base them so I could use them on any type of terrain. I think they look pretty cool for my first try.

 

Next, I'm trying to figure out how to make gravestones and spooky, dead trees. Then maybe fencing and a ruined church.

 

Any advice on how to make any of the above? Any advice for the terrain I made and how to make it better?

 

Also, any ideas for a next project? I have the Dragons don't share ruins and was thinking of doing the Hirst Arts Wizard Tower next since I have all the blocks and it's said to be good for beginners.

 

Thanks!

[Chris Palmer]

Wow, those are great for a first terrain project!  

 

Roots from small shrubs or little trees make good spooky trees: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1309343

 

Fences can easily be cobbled together with strips of balsa.

 

For the ruined church, you may want to look at this building I made with cork for inspiration:  http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1265492 

Edited October 11, 2016 by Chris Palmer

[Herder of Cats]

Wow, those are great for a first terrain project!  

 

Roots from small shrubs or little trees make good spooky trees: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1309343

 

Fences can easily be cobbled together with strips of balsa.

 

For the ruined church, you may want to look at this building I made with cork for inspiration:  http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1265492 

Those look awesome. I'll definitely be using those for ideas. Thanks!

[Chris Palmer]

 

Wow, those are great for a first terrain project!  

 

Roots from small shrubs or little trees make good spooky trees: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1309343

 

Fences can easily be cobbled together with strips of balsa.

 

For the ruined church, you may want to look at this building I made with cork for inspiration:  http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1265492 

Those look awesome. I'll definitely be using those for ideas. Thanks!

 

 

 

Thank you!  There's a number of great terrain threads in this sub-forum that would be worthwhile perusing for inspiration and ideas.

[lowlylowlycook]

These look great.  I love who even with your first attempt you added extra little details like the leaves and grass.

[Jordan Peacock]

Wonderful Hirst Arts work!  The leaves and flocking/moss clusters work wonderfully to add spots of color to break up the gray.  (The gray, incidentally, looks wonderful as well, what with the nice contrasts between shadow and highlight, but I'm still partial to occasional color accents.  :)  )

[Arc 724]

I like those extra bits and bobs on these; the leaves and moss really add to the atmosphere you are trying to create! Well done!

[Crowley]

You're well on your way to a very nice graveyard! For cheap and easy gravestones, the rounded end of a popsicle/craft stick stuck onto a cavalry base works well too. Toss some putty on it to make a mound. 

 

And the wizards tower is an excellent starting project! 

Edited October 12, 2016 by David Brawley

[Glitterwolf]

Very good!

 

Love the buildings.

[Herder of Cats]

Thanks!

 

Wonderful Hirst Arts work!  The leaves and flocking/moss clusters work wonderfully to add spots of color to break up the gray.  (The gray, incidentally, looks wonderful as well, what with the nice contrasts between shadow and highlight, but I'm still partial to occasional color accents.  :)  )

 

Yes me too, I tried to get more color like you would see on old stone by using the brown and green washes, but they are very faint after drybrushing and hard to see in the photos. I also didn't want to apply them to heavily, but I might do that next time to get a better result.

 

 

You're well on your way to a very nice graveyard! For cheap and easy gravestones, the rounded end of a popsicle/craft stick stuck onto a cavalry base works well too. Toss some putty on it to make a mound. 

 

And the wizards tower is an excellent starting project! 

 

Great idea for the gravestones, I didn't think about that!

 

I also just realized I have access to a 3D printer at school and have found tons of cool statues and gravestones on thingiverse, so I'll be trying that too.

[Jordan Peacock]

 

Yes me too, I tried to get more color like you would see on old stone by using the brown and green washes, but they are very faint after drybrushing and hard to see in the photos. I also didn't want to apply them to heavily, but I might do that next time to get a better result.

 

 

 

For consideration for future experimentation: You might try thicker washes of dirty brown and green (and dark gray) to the point where it might look like too much ... but then cut back by applying dry-brushing with light gray, which I find can counteract that effect considerably.  That's what I did with my "Dragons Don't Share" terrain: I applied the washes messily and thickly, let it dry out, and then the dry-brushing of highlights helped to get it to what looked like a more reasonable look (but still leaving dark colors in the shadowed regions, so that monochrome gray wasn't too dominant).

 

Other ways to add bits of color (if necessary) would be to find some "props" to add to the graveyard pieces, depending upon what you have for "bitz" on hand.  For example, it might be a nice opportunity to use some spare pick axes or shovels if you have them ... or if you don't, you might FAKE a shovel with a toothpick (for the handle) and a tiny piece of non-corrugated cardboard (for a more archaic square head).  An odd lantern can look pretty nice, too, especially if it's perched atop a darkly-painted piece, so you have the opportunity to introduce some forced "lighting" effects (dry-brushing with white and yellow closer to the point where the lantern is perched).  Even such a cliched item as a skull or pile of bones can still add spots of color, if you make sure not to merely paint them bleached white, but instead to paint them a dirty yellow or leathery brown, before brushing with lighter highlights to bring out the details.

 

For mausoleums (such as the one with the cowled figure on top), some weapons could provide an excuse for a pop of color: either a rusty old shield that has been laid atop a mausoleum, or one that actually still bears its coat of arms.  Or, if you have multiple copies of a shield from a miniatures set, you might try painting them "verdigris green," and then dry-brush with bronze or copper, glue them onto the side of a mausoleum piece, and optionally make little "streaks" of verdigris running down from the shield along the sides.

 

For a graveyard where there are occasionally still visitors, I find it useful to add beads that look like vases (I'm not sure what the things are called -- I'll have to find some pictures of them in use, but there are a few that are heavily embossed and lend themselves nicely to being repainted, or even look passable as-is when glued into a scene), with something to pass for flowers (still in bloom, or wilted).  Or, a big cluster of melted candles (I made such a cluster simply by taking a bunch of paper clips and cutting several "candles" of random length and gluing them all together in a big mass, painting them white, darkening the "wicks" of wire that protruded beyond the plastic coating) for a shrine.

 

Anyway, just brainstorming.  Graveyards are fun to work on.  I can get away with using lots of crumbled Hirst Arts pieces, because, hey, it's a crumbly old graveyard!  :D  And disused minis can become statues, and I can delve into my "bitz box" for various decorations.

[TGP]

 

 

Wow, those are great for a first terrain project!

 

Roots from small shrubs or little trees make good spooky trees: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1309343

 

Fences can easily be cobbled together with strips of balsa.

 

For the ruined church, you may want to look at this building I made with cork for inspiration: http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/65327-chriss-frostgrave-terrain-efforts/?p=1265492

Those look awesome. I'll definitely be using those for ideas. Thanks!

Hardware Cloth might work as fencing. Bamboo cocktail skewers are a good material.

[Chaoswolf]

Excellent terrain!

[chaoshead]

If you wanted stone fences you could use fishtank gravel and pva glue, mix thoroughly then poor into a form made from lego that you have lined with parchment paper.

 

I know it sound weird but it works and I think they look pretty good.

[Herder of Cats]

 

For consideration for future experimentation: You might try thicker washes of dirty brown and green (and dark gray) to the point where it might look like too much ... but then cut back by applying dry-brushing with light gray, which I find can counteract that effect considerably.  That's what I did with my "Dragons Don't Share" terrain: I applied the washes messily and thickly, let it dry out, and then the dry-brushing of highlights helped to get it to what looked like a more reasonable look (but still leaving dark colors in the shadowed regions, so that monochrome gray wasn't too dominant).

 

Other ways to add bits of color (if necessary) would be to find some "props" to add to the graveyard pieces, depending upon what you have for "bitz" on hand.  For example, it might be a nice opportunity to use some spare pick axes or shovels if you have them ... or if you don't, you might FAKE a shovel with a toothpick (for the handle) and a tiny piece of non-corrugated cardboard (for a more archaic square head).  An odd lantern can look pretty nice, too, especially if it's perched atop a darkly-painted piece, so you have the opportunity to introduce some forced "lighting" effects (dry-brushing with white and yellow closer to the point where the lantern is perched).  Even such a cliched item as a skull or pile of bones can still add spots of color, if you make sure not to merely paint them bleached white, but instead to paint them a dirty yellow or leathery brown, before brushing with lighter highlights to bring out the details.

 

For mausoleums (such as the one with the cowled figure on top), some weapons could provide an excuse for a pop of color: either a rusty old shield that has been laid atop a mausoleum, or one that actually still bears its coat of arms.  Or, if you have multiple copies of a shield from a miniatures set, you might try painting them "verdigris green," and then dry-brush with bronze or copper, glue them onto the side of a mausoleum piece, and optionally make little "streaks" of verdigris running down from the shield along the sides.

 

For a graveyard where there are occasionally still visitors, I find it useful to add beads that look like vases (I'm not sure what the things are called -- I'll have to find some pictures of them in use, but there are a few that are heavily embossed and lend themselves nicely to being repainted, or even look passable as-is when glued into a scene), with something to pass for flowers (still in bloom, or wilted).  Or, a big cluster of melted candles (I made such a cluster simply by taking a bunch of paper clips and cutting several "candles" of random length and gluing them all together in a big mass, painting them white, darkening the "wicks" of wire that protruded beyond the plastic coating) for a shrine.

 

Anyway, just brainstorming.  Graveyards are fun to work on.  I can get away with using lots of crumbled Hirst Arts pieces, because, hey, it's a crumbly old graveyard!  :D  And disused minis can become statues, and I can delve into my "bitz box" for various decorations.

 

 

Those are a ton of great ideas, thank you! Do you have a link to your Dragon's Don't Share terrain? I'm planning to do that after the graveyard.

 

If you wanted stone fences you could use fishtank gravel and pva glue, mix thoroughly then poor into a form made from lego that you have lined with parchment paper.

 

I know it sound weird but it works and I think they look pretty good.

 

I remember seeing someone make stone fences that way and they came out really nice. I have a ton of hirst arts field stone blocks and plan to make stone barriers and fences with those.

 

For the graveyard, I was thinking more like iron grate fences and gates.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Herder of Cats