Maiden World/lush grass basing help

[WarriorFish]

I have some of the old GW lush type grass and want to use this in developing a very grassy basing scheme - not the more patched affair you usually see but rather predominately grass, something you might imagine on a Maiden World. Obviously it can't be 100% grass as that will look weird, I have some 6mm flowers to spread around and can look at little stones and the like for rocks to spice it up - I'm stumped on what goes under the grass.

 

I don't want it to be completely flat or look lazy by going straight on the base, but I can't figure out what will work. I've thought about some modelling sand but it might make the grass appear too high next to the model? Or should I be looking at one of the texture paints?

 

Any help would be appreciated, all the more so with examples and such

[Firedrake Cordova]

I'd be tempted to give the base a coat with one of the Vallejo texture paints thinned a bit as they're a bit sticky (they have a finer texture than the GW paints, and can be used to make the base "not flat"), and then look at the Woodland Scenics range of flocks to simulate moss and the like, and apply the static grass over the top.  You could also do patches of other grass into it - War World Scenics in Wales produce a few nice ones to add variety (i.e. make it not look like a lawn).

 

Is this the kind of effect you're after? https://youtu.be/dug-ffEhqZU (skip to 12m for how to do the grass)

 

Or this: https://youtu.be/8FWCD_MMD_M?t=542 ?

Edited June 26, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[WarriorFish]

Thanks this is very useful, I forgot what I was there for with the first video after a bit though Yes this the kind of thing I'm looking for - maybe not quite so fancy though the applicator thing always looked interesting to get the grass sticking up. Which of the texture paints were you thinking of? I will look at getting some of the smaller grass as that seems like a good base layer (2mm), which makes sense now I've seen it.

 

With the exception of the odd larger bases there isn't going to be huge tracts of land to be worrying about, so it sounds like a thin texture base with a primer and layer grass should be a good compromise between looking good and effort involved?

 

I will see about an experiment this weekend with what I have to hand, try out the idea and see how it feels but of course any more ideas and help would be welcome :)

[Firedrake Cordova]

I forgot what I was there for with the first video after a bit though

Heh ... Mr Towan is that annoying combination of very talented, and quite easy to listen to.

 

Which of the texture paints were you thinking of?

If you want an undulating effect, I'd go with either Vallejo Dark Earth, or Vallejo Brown Earth (alternate video).  Mine are quite "sticky", so I find I have to thin them a fair bit, otherwise they'll stick to the brush/applicator as you lift it off, and make "meringue peaks".  An alternative would be Stirland Mud or similar (the Vallejo has a finer grain).

 

If you want a more muddy texture, there's the Vallejo Thick Mud range.

 

With the exception of the odd larger bases there isn't going to be huge tracts of land to be worrying about, so it sounds like a thin texture base with a primer and layer grass should be a good compromise between looking good and effort involved?

Yes.  I'd recommend making the grass a little patchy, with some of the ground showing through in a few places, and using a couple of colours of static grass, just to prevent the army looking too uniform, and make it look a bit more realistic.  The "coarse turf" step can be omitted, and just used for detailing large/character bases (might also be worth considering "toning" the soil near rocks with Athonian Camoshade or similar for the more fancy bases).

 

++EDIT: How does this look: https://youtu.be/5fk6jYzQWrA?t=886 ?

Edited June 26, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[Lord Marshal]

As someone who's tried doing 'pure summer grass' for their A Song of Ice & Fire stuff, it did look pretty terrible. At the very least, I would add a little patchiness in places to break up the sea of perfect green as even if you apply a basecoat of brown/earthy texture it's very difficult to see it at a glance. Flowers are definitely a good idea and some stone or little rocks do a lot to break things up too.

 

Another thing you could do is apply a brown/yellow layer of dying grass and then the more lively, green grass atop that (again, with patchiness in places).

Edited June 26, 2020 by Lord Marshal

[Firedrake Cordova]

Another thing you could do is apply a brown/yellow layer of dying grass and then the more lively, green grass atop that (again, with patchiness in places).

Drybrushing the static grass with a cream (Bleached Bone/Bonewhite/Menoth White Highlight/Screaming Skull) also helps. :)

[WarriorFish]

I've done a bit more looking around, Stirland Mud equivalents look like the right sort of texture and colour. Unfortunately I'm a bit limited on what I currently have but a bit more experimentation isn't so bad, especially when it is more the concept I'm trying out.

Started with Astrogranite which I turned into a decent enough mud with a quick bit of painting, then applied some grass. I added a bit more to see how a second round looks but I don't think it did much, being limited with only the one type of grass currently. After that was some careful application of some flowery bits, I think it turned out quite well considering (picture quality aside):

With greater variation in exposed mud and some rocks here and there (maybe even water features on the largest bases?) there should be plenty of scope to keep things interesting and avoid a sea of green so at the least I have something serviceable here. Once I get the right supplies that is, a darker mud and base trim would work better I think. I have darker browns so I might repaint the side tomorrow quick and see how it looks.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Looks like a good start. :)  Don't forget to leave some voids in the grass away from the edges of the base.  Grasslands can be patchy (just leave some small gaps in the PVA), and grazing animals will typically make tracks as they travel, so you can have lines of exposed soil (possibly crossing or forking where multiple paths meet), and things like that.

 

You can add further variation to your static grass by applying a second lot to some areas of the base, so it's denser in some patches (when I was messing around with mine some time ago, I put PVA down, pushed grass onto it, tapped off the loose fibres, didn't think it looked dense enough, pushed more onto the still-wet glue, tapped off the excess again).

[WarriorFish]

Thanks, I was expecting my first experiment to be much worse I watered the PVA down a bit to try and keep it in certain areas but I ended up getting more on that I had planned but I will be more careful next time. I think it did help overall though, thinner PVA meant less clumping which means I can return for a second run for some denser patches. I think I gave up too soon on the second application here because I couldn't gauge how much it was working but now I have reviewed it again I can see it was Better that it is more subtle too, easy enough to return and add to later if I want more!

 

That's a good idea on the paths, for larger bases I could create some eroded lines or some churned/worn ground for wheels and the like With the odd rock and water this should be plenty of variety (and maybe even skull, who knows? ).

 

Since we're here, any tips for the basing colour for water effect if I want it to look really clean and nice? I thought a lighter brown might be worth a try?

[Firedrake Cordova]

Since we're here, any tips for the basing colour for water effect if I want it to look really clean and nice? I thought a lighter brown might be worth a try?

I've never used water effects, but as a guess for "clean" puddles, maybe lighten the underlying ground slightly, and apply the water effect pure (instead of adding brown/green to it to suggest dirty water)?  I think the convention for larger bodies of water is blue-green, but obviously, that's unlikely to be appropriate for bases.

 

Apparently this was some gloss varnish over a regular dirt colour: https://youtu.be/02Rt8If7Qes?t=656

 

Dunno if that's any help..?

Edited June 28, 2020 by Firedrake Cordova

[WarriorFish]

Seems almost too good to be true :P Maybe I'll see what happens when using both. Coating the water effect with some gloss varnish could give a nice effect, or painting the base with the varnish first even I'll see what happens :tu: