Honestly, best results I've seen so far on rock carving. Straightforward technique that allows to model most rock face types as exactly as you really need in a diorama.
Love it. Been looking for a tutorial on carving foam rocks and yours are pretty cool. Very realistic. I’ve carved stone walls for theatre before, but never anything so small or detailed the cragginess of your model is what I’ve been looking for. I hurt my back in October last year and started model making and painting while I’m laid up. It’s kept me from going completely round the bend. It sure is addicting. I subscribed to your channel. Will look for more videos. Thank you so much.
Thanks for posting. Fun to watch and great information. I made a layout years ago using a serrated steak knife and no plaster between foam layers. Ha! What a joke that was! Now I know how to fix it. Thanks again for sharing your technique.
Just used your technique and I can not believe the results it looks fantastic . I am not an artist and I was dreading doing the scenery on my layout but now I am looking forwards to get cracking on it. Thank so much
Your video on how to paint styrofoam rocks was extremely helpful,thank you for taking the time to post this! By the way,I work on movie sets,and your work is as good as,if not better that the work us artist get paid good money for!
Wow, great looking rocks. I have been casting rocks with Paster of Paris in rubber molds... But yours look way better and you don't have deal with repeating shapes.
Just a super job. Fast, and easy, and with a little care, a more practiced eye, and a bit of experience, we could come up with things almost a good as you. I tend to also use a thin boning knife, and an old steak knife, depending on the type of rocks I'm shooting to recreate. I also tend to keep a picture of the kind of rocks I'm after, which helps me to get details, strata, about the right size? If that makes sense. Lastly, I find that well worn jungle rock, the stuff that's almost black, and almost like large and rounded, fairly smooth blocks of granite, I use a big sheet of course sandpaper over a large drywall sponge to help with some of the shaping and smoothing. Again, Ruphe, this is just a super job. I can only assume it's true of others, but I learn so much from being able to watch skilled and clever craftsman and hobbyists, that it really is impossible to thank you guys enough.
Thanks. I've been using plaster and rock molds for decades but I'm so happy with the results I'm getting with foam, I might never go back. I agree about the repeating shape comment, I can look at some of the rock outcoppings on my older scenery and say... Oh, rock mold # 2, and that one is # 6.
This is a GREAT tutorial! I'm wondering if you have a similar tutorial on "snow-capped" mountains and/or what your technique would be (dry brushing?). Can't wait to try this for my village layout this year!
Thx I will try denatured alcohol on a test piece first. If that's too strong I will use the isopropyl. Every auto part, paint, hardware, and liquor store looked at me funny and gave me the "I've never heard of that" line. Thanks for the great videos!
Nice tutorial, a good result delivered with a sense of humor, if i may be so bold as to give you a tip it would be to not drybrush with a pure white, always tone it down with the primary color, that will get you a softer edge.
Right you are Claes. I usually don't use pure white for dry brushing, it's quite often a very light version of the local colour. Although, I find on the Styrofoam rocks the dry brushing colour very quickly soaks into the base colour so you need to apply a great deal of white before it acually starts to look white. It blends well. Truth be known, I usually dry brush these sort of things with a big ole' 2.5" house painting brush. A good quality, soft brush and just a whisper of paint... you can cover a lot of surface area fast.
My container just says Methyl hydrate on it, I know of no "brand name" as such. Any paint store should carry it, It's a fairly common solvent. One of it's uses is to prevent gas lines from freezing, but products designed specifically for that purpose have other additives included that may affect the paint. Isopropal (rubbing) alcohol would probably work but it's much more exspensive.
I haven't tried mineral spirits. I'm sure denatured alcohol would work, even though haven't tried it because it is almost impossible to get in Canada. It's fairly similar to Methyl hydrate I believe. Isopropyl alcohol works too.
By far one of the finest tutorials Ive ever seen and Ive watched a lot! Really excellent. How well do the paints you use work in a wet situation such as terrarium or even an aquarium?
Thanks Don. In theory all the materials should be moisture proof for terrarium use, I don't know if they'd work for an aquarium though, if anything they would be hard to keep submerged. No idea how critters would react with them either.
Methylated spirits, isopropyl alcohol or waterline antifreeze will work as well. It just dilutes the paint to a wash consistency and is thinner than water so it flows better.
Nope, the coat of latex paint applied prior seals the foam. Even so, I'm only applying a light mist of spray paint that probably wouldn't affect the foam much anyway.
GREAT VIDEO!!!!! Thank You for your knowledge! What is the foam attached to in the early stage? Didn't see that in the videos. I see that you used your short bristle brush intently to beat in a stipple rock texture and I noticed no movement to the foam. Is it affixed to wall or did you construct a back plate independent of the wall?
I painted my tunnel with latex paint then used a wash of diluted black craft paint and all the craft paint just ran off leaving only the base. How to you get your washes to stick to the latex without just beading up and running off?
I've never had that problem! I'm using flat latex paint as a base and I dilute the craft paint with a little methyl hydrate. Perhaps you have diluted the paint too much. The trick is that the craft paint should only stick in the crevices. Good luck.
rupheandtumbelle It's possible that I'm diluting too much with water but I haven't found an easy to follow ratio to give me the correct amount. So far all ive read are things like 1 part water to 16 parts paint if you know what I mean. It's kind of hard to follow when one day I'm making a shot glass full and the next I'm making a cup full then the next I'm maybe making a thimble full.
What's a common brand or product name for methyl hydrate? When I go into a store asking for methyl hydrate or methanol they think I'm trying to cook meth.
awesome stuff, gonna be trying this after years of plaster and molds. Is the spray paint Acrylic, enamel, or laquer? Is the kitchen knife serrated? Thanks!
Just standard everyday spray paint, which is usually laquer. This will eat the foam so make sure to apply the latex paint first. The knife is not serrated, serrations will leave ridges in the foam that are to regular to look natural.
It would probably work OK, just remember that as you get bigger you'd need thicker foam to get the same level of relief. Also, when I do bigger projects I trade in my knife for a chainsaw to get the rough work done. Hockey mask is optional ; )
+DC Dioramas I have no idea what it is exactly, it was a custom match to the dirt I used for most of my scenery work. It would be about a 50% warm grey with some brown in it.
Super tutorial, I think you've tempted me to not purchase any molds and just push on with the foam and knives! For the original carving of the foam, did you use a wire cutter or again just a knife? thanks :o)
Sorta' The foam holds up fairly well to the weather, I have some small foam art pieces that have been outside for about ten years but some sort of bug, or something, likes to eat the stuff! They're looking rather pot marked right now.
This foam is actually used to insulate the exterior of homes, though it is covered with stucco. I have a few decorative carvings made of this foam in my back yard and they hold up very well to the weather. That being said I've noticed that there are some insects that seem to like the stuff. One of my pieces is all pot marked from some sort of voracious little critter. I've never been able to actually see the buggers at work... but it is nice to know that somebody finds my work delicious!
Honestly, I can't remember. I'm surprised Lowe's doesn't stock it. It's used for insulating houses so if you are in a warmer area it might not be as plentiful.
I got an 8'x4' for free from a local building site. They were done insulating and just had a pile of it ready for recycling. I asked a worker and he gave me a sheet.
Honestly, best results I've seen so far on rock carving. Straightforward technique that allows to model most rock face types as exactly as you really need in a diorama.
Love it. Been looking for a tutorial on carving foam rocks and yours are pretty cool. Very realistic. I’ve carved stone walls for theatre before, but never anything so small or detailed the cragginess of your model is what I’ve been looking for. I hurt my back in October last year and started model making and painting while I’m laid up. It’s kept me from going completely round the bend. It sure is addicting. I subscribed to your channel. Will look for more videos. Thank you so much.
Wow! This technique is so unique. It's so different from anything anybody else is doing ot least on youtube. The results are astounding!
Same as part one this was really helpful, your very good at presenting this, it had humor and wasexplained very well, great stuff I have subbed
Haha,wow!! you made that look so simple,probably the best tutorial I've seen on the web about creating rock formations,confidence inspiring
Glad you liked it Graham. Dive right in, the worst that can happen is you're out a few bucks for some wasted foam.
Super job, this has to be one of the best carving videos I've seen, and I've watched a ton of them. Thanks, cheers
Undoubtedly the best tutorial for foam cliffs on UA-cam. Thanks!
Thanks for posting. Fun to watch and great information. I made a layout years ago using a serrated steak knife and no plaster between foam layers. Ha! What a joke that was! Now I know how to fix it. Thanks again for sharing your technique.
+gmaneis Glad I could help.
Just used your technique and I can not believe the results it looks fantastic . I am not an artist and I was dreading doing the scenery on my layout but now I am looking forwards to get cracking on it. Thank so much
Very talented!! Thank you for your expertise on making rocks...it's addictive to do this lol love it!!
Definitely, the best how to video on this subject on youtube.
Your video on how to paint styrofoam rocks was extremely helpful,thank you for taking the time to post this! By the way,I work on movie sets,and your work is as good as,if not better that the work us artist get paid good money for!
Thanks for the kind words Joseph.
It's good to know that I can "rock" as good as the big boys. ; )
I do custom backgrounds for my terrarium and had yet to find good ways to make stone backgrounds. But this is really helpful!:)
Really great looking rocks! Well done! Thank you for sharing!
Wow, great looking rocks. I have been casting rocks with Paster of Paris in rubber molds... But yours look way better and you don't have deal with repeating shapes.
Just a super job. Fast, and easy, and with a little care, a more practiced eye, and a bit of experience, we could come up with things almost a good as you.
I tend to also use a thin boning knife, and an old steak knife, depending on the type of rocks I'm shooting to recreate. I also tend to keep a picture of the kind of rocks I'm after, which helps me to get details, strata, about the right size? If that makes sense. Lastly, I find that well worn jungle rock, the stuff that's almost black, and almost like large and rounded, fairly smooth blocks of granite, I use a big sheet of course sandpaper over a large drywall sponge to help with some of the shaping and smoothing.
Again, Ruphe, this is just a super job. I can only assume it's true of others, but I learn so much from being able to watch skilled and clever craftsman and hobbyists, that it really is impossible to thank you guys enough.
Very useful clip, well explained and shown. Just preparing to get my layout started, and I don't think I'll be using all those rock moulds I bought!
Drying brushing really brings out the details I use it myself works great
Hi congratulations! Do yuo make some vegetation?
This is a great technique from start to finish well done will give it a go ,thanks for sharing 👍👍👍👍
Nice vide thank you for showing!!Which store sell those big foam blocks?
It's 2" extruded foam for insulating buildings. Comes in sheets at any DIY box box store.
This looks insane. I hope mine for my Christmas village scene comes out 1/2 as good.
nice work man . realistic. Great looking rock. I'll try this on my layout
Thanks. I've been using plaster and rock molds for decades but I'm so happy with the results I'm getting with foam, I might never go back. I agree about the repeating shape comment, I can look at some of the rock outcoppings on my older scenery and say... Oh, rock mold # 2, and that one is # 6.
This is incredible. Well done sir
You and your paint brush sound much like Bob Ross ...with all his small little creatures living in the painting! lol!!
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing these awesome tips!
here is just easy shown how to do it properly. This is the best video of making cliffs.
i agree
This is a GREAT tutorial! I'm wondering if you have a similar tutorial on "snow-capped" mountains and/or what your technique would be (dry brushing?). Can't wait to try this for my village layout this year!
Incredible realistic rocks! i don't understand what is the paint based - oil paint, water paint?
Thx I will try denatured alcohol on a test piece first. If that's too strong I will use the isopropyl. Every auto part, paint, hardware, and liquor store looked at me funny and gave me the "I've never heard of that" line. Thanks for the great videos!
Wow nicely done looks fantastic
Thank you for the tutorial, mine came out really great!
Nice tutorial, a good result delivered with a sense of humor, if i may be so bold as to give you a tip it would be to not drybrush with a pure white, always tone it down with the primary color, that will get you a softer edge.
Right you are Claes. I usually don't use pure white for dry brushing, it's quite often a very light version of the local colour. Although, I find on the Styrofoam rocks the dry brushing colour very quickly soaks into the base colour so you need to apply a great deal of white before it acually starts to look white. It blends well. Truth be known, I usually dry brush these sort of things with a big ole' 2.5" house painting brush. A good quality, soft brush and just a whisper of paint... you can cover a lot of surface area fast.
Thank you! Amazing video and instructions!
Chaos is the best way to replicate nature...great technique
Enjoyed your work.
Thank you so much! You are such a good teacher!!
My container just says Methyl hydrate on it, I know of no "brand name" as such. Any paint store should carry it, It's a fairly common solvent. One of it's uses is to prevent gas lines from freezing, but products designed specifically for that purpose have other additives included that may affect the paint. Isopropal (rubbing) alcohol would probably work but it's much more exspensive.
Whay was that used for again-reminder please.
Thanks. have you ever used mineral spirits or denatured alcohol to thin the artists acrylics?
I haven't tried mineral spirits. I'm sure denatured alcohol would work, even though haven't tried it because it is almost impossible to get in Canada. It's fairly similar to Methyl hydrate I believe. Isopropyl alcohol works too.
God-like skills right there 🙌
very nice video that will be my next step on my layout
👍🏆.
Question, How would you coat that for outdoors ?
By far one of the finest tutorials Ive ever seen and Ive watched a lot! Really excellent. How well do the paints you use work in a wet situation such as terrarium or even an aquarium?
Thanks Don. In theory all the materials should be moisture proof for terrarium use, I don't know if they'd work for an aquarium though, if anything they would be hard to keep submerged. No idea how critters would react with them either.
What is, "methylhydrate" and what does it do?
Methylated spirits, isopropyl alcohol or waterline antifreeze will work as well. It just dilutes the paint to a wash consistency and is thinner than water so it flows better.
MY go to video, just a question I want to ask, when you go in with the spray paint, does it not melt the foam?
Nope, the coat of latex paint applied prior seals the foam. Even so, I'm only applying a light mist of spray paint that probably wouldn't affect the foam much anyway.
acrylic spray paint wont eat the foam lacquer based will
Iveelyef some go before good question
@@CobaltNorthernStudios lacquer based will not eat the foam once it's been sealed.
Great results! Thanks for posting, it's very helpful.
You're welcome
GREAT VIDEO!!!!!
Thank You for your knowledge!
What is the foam attached to in the early stage? Didn't see that in the videos. I see that you used your short bristle brush intently to beat in a stipple rock texture and I noticed no movement to the foam. Is it affixed to wall or did you construct a back plate independent of the wall?
I would only use Foam if u have the skills of this dude. Great Job.
+Grizzly Boxing BIG BEAR Thanks Big Bear.
Excellent results, well done
very cool video, helped me big time with my project
What paint are you using there it looks really good
I painted my tunnel with latex paint then used a wash of diluted black craft paint and all the craft paint just ran off leaving only the base. How to you get your washes to stick to the latex without just beading up and running off?
I've never had that problem! I'm using flat latex paint as a base and I dilute the craft paint with a little methyl hydrate. Perhaps you have diluted the paint too much. The trick is that the craft paint should only stick in the crevices. Good luck.
rupheandtumbelle It's possible that I'm diluting too much with water but I haven't found an easy to follow ratio to give me the correct amount. So far all ive read are things like 1 part water to 16 parts paint if you know what I mean.
It's kind of hard to follow when one day I'm making a shot glass full and the next I'm making a cup full then the next I'm maybe making a thimble full.
What's a common brand or product name for methyl hydrate? When I go into a store asking for methyl hydrate or methanol they think I'm trying to cook meth.
Wot colour is the flat latex paint
Great video!
awesome stuff, gonna be trying this after years of plaster and molds. Is the spray paint Acrylic, enamel, or laquer? Is the kitchen knife serrated?
Thanks!
Just standard everyday spray paint, which is usually laquer. This will eat the foam so make sure to apply the latex paint first. The knife is not serrated, serrations will leave ridges in the foam that are to regular to look natural.
would i be able to use this exact same technique, but on a bigger scale to make stone walls for the inside of a cave?
It would probably work OK, just remember that as you get bigger you'd need thicker foam to get the same level of relief. Also, when I do bigger projects I trade in my knife for a chainsaw to get the rough work done. Hockey mask is optional ; )
Just a bit confused on the first coat of paint you put on I don't think you mentioned the colour
+DC Dioramas I have no idea what it is exactly, it was a custom match to the dirt I used for most of my scenery work. It would be about a 50% warm grey with some brown in it.
+rupheandtumbelle okay thank you and keep up the good work
EXCELLENT VIDEO
I just used a knife to cut the initial blocks. I find hot wire cutters to slow and smelly.
rupheandtumbelle yay
Outstanding work
wondering why painting next to finished one.
It's a long wall of rock and I was working my way across it as time and energy dictated. Shot the video at about the middle.
Super tutorial, I think you've tempted me to not purchase any molds and just push on with the foam and knives! For the original carving of the foam, did you use a wire cutter or again just a knife? thanks :o)
Great looking rock face. Dead realistic.
Why use methyl hydrate to mix with the craft paint? Thanks.
Water will work, but Meths has a lower surface tension so it flows better.
Thanks. Very helpful.
nice tutorial video. Thanks!
Good videos, I'll try this on my layout next
is it ok if we use this foam rocks for outdoors?like walls?
Sorta' The foam holds up fairly well to the weather, I have some small foam art pieces that have been outside for about ten years but some sort of bug, or something, likes to eat the stuff! They're looking rather pot marked right now.
Can you show us how did you form the rock
It's all in the first video:
ua-cam.com/video/MQ_PF27nA4s/v-deo.html
чем вы обрабатываете поверхность пенопластерола? есть ли это средство на российском рынке?
Is the foam tough enough for exterior wall?
This foam is actually used to insulate the exterior of homes, though it is covered with stucco. I have a few decorative carvings made of this foam in my back yard and they hold up very well to the weather. That being said I've noticed that there are some insects that seem to like the stuff. One of my pieces is all pot marked from some sort of voracious little critter. I've never been able to actually see the buggers at work... but it is nice to know that somebody finds my work delicious!
Lovely finished nice how to video
hi what is the list of pain that I need
Wrong video for that....
You need S & M videos for that! 😜
Very nice...
Awesome!
You rock !
The colour rock you have created there is the colour I want, the latex paint you used what colour is it is it just a plain grey
great video, thank you !
Your spraypaint better not be acryllic, as the solvent will eat up the foam !
Nice
We're cab I find fome like that's I look at Lowe's did not have it I am think ing home depot were did you get your s
Honestly, I can't remember. I'm surprised Lowe's doesn't stock it. It's used for insulating houses so if you are in a warmer area it might not be as plentiful.
I got an 8'x4' for free from a local building site. They were done insulating and just had a pile of it ready for recycling. I asked a worker and he gave me a sheet.
superb!
Отлично! Спасибо!
👍👍
Bravo!
I mean the base coat
+DC Dioramas It's just flat latex house paint, diluted white and a "rock" colour. This will depend on the type of rocks you are trying to reproduce.
Fukn Incredible
кто знает?
♡♡♡♡♡
чем вы обрабатываете поверхность пенопластерола? есть ли это средство на российском рынке?