natural materials

[electricwolf]

Has anyone ever used natural stuff in their basing and/or scenery and if so how did it turn out?

I've been thinking of using small branches for trees and larger ones for logs but i was wondering if others have tried it.

[Colonel Marbi Chora]

Do you mean materials like slate or tree bark? You can use those to make rocks. As another, if you take twigs and cut them at that bulge that they all have, it can make an interesting stump. This site here has a good tutorial on stuff like that...

Necrotales -- Painted Miniatures, Galleries & Tutorials

Hope i've helped!

[crimslain]

I use slate all the time, I never pay for the base material, why would you when its free. Ive never used twigs before, but Ive seen it done, when used properly, it looks awesome. I usually get my "sand" from washed out/filter dirt near sewer drains or at the bottom of my driveway. That way its ready to use and you shouldnt have to pick anything out of it.

[crimslain]

If you live down south, a good alternative to slate is Pine tree bark. It really looks cool when painted up. I know when I lived it Florida, it was all I used as slate wasnt an option.

[Rellik]

ive used small rocks for numorus things which work out really well.

[Colonel Marbi Chora]

Personally, I use the GW basing material because it seems to work better for me. Sand just never cut it out for me, perhaps i'm just an overzealious capitalist

[Lord Commander Erus]

If you use wood, just make sure to soak it in warm (depending on type, salt can be added) near boiling water and to seal it almost immediately after with some sort of sealant so nothing can infest it like wood lice, termites, etc..

Don't laugh, i've heard of it happening, and the results SUCKED.

[Sir_Servo]

In my personal experience you must re-paint "real life" items when you put them on your base. Bassically my friends and I think of it like a scale. On one extreme you have real life looks, on the other side you have the effect of painting things to look like real life. Technically speaking you shouldn't have to highlight things because the light in a room creates shadows on its own, but because of the scale that we are painting on in order to get a more "realistic" look we have to highlight in order to create the illusion of shadow.

So when you introduce a real item into something that you have painted to look real it ruins the illusion and looks shody. However if you aplly the appropriate ammount of highlighting and inking it will help blend the looks together and give you a great looking base.

I will see about getting a Tut of that up in a few days and see what you all think.

That is my two cents,
Servo

[Templar Mikeel]

Originally Posted by Sir_Servo

In my personal experience you must re-paint "real life" items when you put them on your base. Basically my friends and I think of it like a scale. On one extreme you have real life looks, on the other side you have the effect of painting things to look like real life. Technically speaking you shouldn't have to highlight things because the light in a room creates shadows on its own, but because of the scale that we are painting on in order to get a more "realistic" look we have to highlight in order to create the illusion of shadow.

So when you introduce a real item into something that you have painted to look real it ruins the illusion and looks shoddy. However if you apply the appropriate amount of highlighting and inking it will help blend the looks together and give you a great looking base.

I will see about getting a Tut of that up in a few days and see what you all think.

That is my two cents,
Servo

I think Servo just hit the nail on the head. You could try adding natural stuff for bases, but really, they fit in much better with the model if they're both painted.