I can't believe


wilson44512

Newbie RRDER
How much I suck at painting. I tried to paint it gray then i didnt like the way it looked so i painted it back to brown.


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Here i glued some rocks i made. waiting for it to dry so i can finish the edges
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You are rushing and you lack self-confidence about this part of the layout. You are taking shortcuts that only serve to help to continue the cycle of self-doubt.

Why did you not mask off the tunnel portal? Why didn't you experiment with some lighter shades and and test them under the lighting first?

For what it's worth, I have two observations: First, the lighter colour is much more realistic in the first photo. You could try a light blend of light grey and some lighter tan and see if that works better for you. The lighting also has an impact. Secondly, your painting doesn't seem bad to me, only your approach to it...at least, I say so because of your expression and what I see in the images.

You need to take a deep breath, step back, admit that you must re-think your approach, and understand that nothing you have done so far is cast in concrete. You can change all sorts of things with more paint, cutting out something and addind a new shape inserted in the gap, and you could even fiddle with your rails at this point if you decided that it was the best thing to do.

Slow down, don't take shortcuts, take the time to properly prepare a site for painting, and do experiment with mixes of paints and lighter shades by painting small areas, sprinkling a bit of ground foam, stacking a locomotive and a 'tree' there, and taking a photo. Does it look okay under the lighting? Then you have your paint mix and can continue.
 
If your anything like me...you are your worst critic!..lol..looking good so far and alot more will be added to hide all what you think are bad spots...nothing we can't fix, cover, or re-do!...Don't be so hard on yourself..once black washed to highlight details and what Cradell said , it will be fine.....
If not .....have some beer ready like LoudMusic said...LOL
 
I've messed up plenty learning how to do something. The next try gets better (most of the time) so keep at it.

A single heavy coat of paint never looks correct. What I've done is layer on washes instead of a single heavy coat of paint. This is easy and turns out very well. Do some googling about painting scenery and also look on YouTube. Woodland Scenics has some good videos and the techniques work even if you do not use their products.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/index.cfm
 
Even Rembrandt started out finger painting and drawing stick figures. Don't get frustrated. The good news is that so far it is only paint and you can go over it. I use a light tan latex for the base coat and let the ground cover scenery bring it to life. For dirt areas that I want to appear damp like on a pond edge I use a darker tan and hide the edge next to the lighter color with grass, pebbles, weeds, etc. Another tip is to use flat colors and not semi gloss or gloss finish. The color on the rock castings looks good.
 
I am at the same spot you are.. I hate that I have no artistic ability!!! DCC, electronics, construction ect I can do, but not scenery....
 
Take your time. Study up on methods and techniques, move forward to completion. All artists work within the realm of mistakes whislt not hiding them......
 
Hue variation would help a lot. But not having defined division lines between the hues and colors is key. The rocks you have glued have a variety of hues, but only in the gray and tan colors. You can simulate this.

Take your gray and your tan, add some white and black to each. That would give you four colors to work with. Add some tan to the gray and some gray to the tan, and that would give you two more. You only need about two tablespoons of each color, since you have already painted the whole cliff.

Put more of the lighter colors on the parts of the cliff that stick out, and the darker colors in the crevices. Push the paint brush onto the cliffs, rather than washing the paint on. Dabbing the brush rather than stroking it leaves little spaces where the base color pokes through, rather than covering it all up. They do make brushes for this application, the're round and kind of look like make-up brushes women use to apply powder, but you can use any brush. And you only need a small amount of paint on the brush. Use too much paint and it'll cover everything too uniformly.

The good thing is that you can practice, and just keep dabbing over it if you don't like something. Also, wait for sections to dry. Dabbing wet colors into wet colors will tend to make everything the same color again.

And your first sense was right, the rocks are more gray than tan.
 



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