First Time using "Scenery Black" for a Rock Wall

Very nice work!

I don't know about the "scenery" part, but undoubtedly the very best way to paint cliffs (and most other outdoor scenes) is to begin with a coat of pure, flat black. You have to think like an oil painter--you paint the deep shadows first, and apply the illuminated surfaces on top of it. For this purpose, the blacker the better. Of course this requires a heavy coat of the desired dominant color over it, but this is the only way to get the very deep shadows that you see in real life on a sunny day. It perfectly complements the "pure white" dry brushing that we all finish with.

This technique was (to my knowledge) first introduced by the great Troels Kirk, whose day job is that of a fine-arts painter. Having tried it, I will never go back. 

very nice

Donald,

I am totally new to scenery. Have read the current edition of Dave Frary's book from cover to cover, but not yet ready to jump into scenery. Still working on roadbed for upper level.

Question: What material did you use to create the retaining walls that project from the corner?  I am especially interested in the one on the left in the photos.  I will have something similar for the upper level, but must be thin for clearance issues. 

Thanks,

Michael

    Better than pure black, is black with trace amounts of every color in your pallet. I'd even go so far as to say the black should be fine pigment and the colors large pigment.  YOU likely can't tell, but your brain can.  A couple of my artist pals can tell right off.

In nature, there is very little in the way of pureness in colors. 

Michael Pags posted:

Donald,

I am totally new to scenery. Have read the current edition of Dave Frary's book from cover to cover, but not yet ready to jump into scenery. Still working on roadbed for upper level.

Question: What material did you use to create the retaining walls that project from the corner?  I am especially interested in the one on the left in the photos.  I will have something similar for the upper level, but must be thin for clearance issues. 

Thanks,

Michael

Hey Michael.

To answer your question about the retaining walls that look like stone, they are foam castings. They are available from Scenic Express. Scenic Express is a forum sponsor and I usually buy most all my scenery products from them. They offer an OGR discount too! Check out the posts at the beginning of the scenery section.

I also use Scenic Express concrete retaining walls that are visible on the upper right side.  

The foam wall castings are only around 0.5" thick so they work great in tight spaces. Make sure you follow the NMRA guidelines for clearances or you may have problems running certain equipment in tight spaces.

Finally, I build my own out of 0.25" and 0.5" MDF. I rip it into strips and sheets and use pics as a guide to construct. See pic below.

Hope that helps. 

My suggestion......buy some materials and start having some fun. I have found over the years that building scenery is one of the most enjoyable parts of layout construction. If you are not happy with your results, start over. Most of the time all you are wasting is a little paint and a little white glue!  Just follow Dave's examples in the book and you should be fine.

Donald

Donald,

Thanks for the helpful info.  I am familiar with Scenic Express, but did not know they had walls that high, nor did I know there is an OGR discount.  I will certainly look into that. 

And thanks for the upbeat suggestion about scenery. Guess I had a taste of that when I added clouds to my backdrops. Read lots and viewed videos, then gave it a shot on text panels in my garage.  After that moved onto the real backdrops...and even painted over sections I did not like, then made better looking clouds. In the end I was pleased with the outcome.  I know there will be a learning curve to scenes on the layout.  Will probably follow the same pattern of preparing, testing, doing...and redoing, if necessary.

Thanks again,

Michael