Christmas Brief

Day 1

Day 1 was for planning (as seen in previous post) and the creation of the islands due to the fact they would take over night to dry and harden as the material I used was mod-rock which uses water to soften the plaster of paris and then as the water evaporates the mod-rock hardens. then I can focus on the next stages. as well as the islands day 1 was used to start modelling the houses, being as though the walls were coated in grout they also needed over night to dry.

The island process

(photos in this segment are from a different module, the set is a larger island using the same process)

A base of foam board for rigidity, then built up layers of newspaper held down with masking tape to form the islands bumps and mounds

Then a generous coating of mod-rock to form the overall mountainous aesthetic I was looking for. I also coated it in plaster of Paris mixed with water to fill in the little square holes left behind by mod-rock that hasn't blended properly. and being as though its a miniature the details need to be very precise!

Then came a concentrated sprinkling of a pebble/sand mix to represent the dirt and other natural features of an island.

then came the black undercoat, do make the painting stage easier to get more detail using a dry brush technique which I have found to look very realistic.

I dont have an image but the last stage of day 1 was to start modelling the houses and coating the walls in grout to let them dry for day 2.

day 1 went very well considering I had to produce 5 of everything. it felt like I was creating a small production line in my own room. but the reality is ... I was!!