Hello Kathy. So true, backdrops really enhance a layout. As your examples showed. I like the stencil method. I will have to give it a go. Thanks. I do appreciate these 5 minute tutorials. Stay safe, take care. See ya next time.
Really like the spray masked clouds a lot... I think the speed and spontaneity of the application adds a lot to the feel of the end result - fluid and natural.
Great video Kathy. Fully agree with the sponge method as others have stated. I find a small fan brush useful too. Both are useful for painting leaves on trees on backdrops as well.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video, and seeing your techniques. I used a tester pot of "Cloudless" emulsion from Wilko and black and white acrylic dabbed on with make up sponges for my clouds.
Great technique with template, very effective. The grey background looked amazing, subtly is the key. Thanks again for the upload Kathy. All the best. Brian
Wonderful job once again, love your clouds...Thanks for the tips, I had the idea to start something like this for my dioramas, I hope I will be as talented!😍😍
When doing clouds by hand try using a piece of natural sponge and watered down paint. Try on a test sheet first and do a dabbing technique with a nearly dry sponge for the edges. This way you end up with a natural softer edge to the clouds.
Hi Kathy, thank you for another superb video, I painted my own backscene for my German T.T scale layout, unfortunately, my painting skills are non-existent, and the result looks like it may, possibly, be the work of a small child, hopefully, I can improve with practice, anyway, you continue to be an inspiration to us, stay safe, all the best from sunny Scotland, Stephen.
Hello, thank you very much for the suggestions for designing a layout. Although my train runs in the garden and doesn't need a background. So it is very beneficial for the design of my upcoming track in the house. LG
Love the clouds that you did. I think when you used your grey sky to compare that the lighting was a little too bright so that the sky seemed too dull in comparison. Still great to see the techniques you used to do them
I will be having a go at painting a backscene. Thanks for the tips, I am looking to do a wintery snowy cloud background, so if you have any tips for that it would be a great help. Alex
My first layout was grey so my only tip is to blend well and just have a go. I found it was easier than blue sky and clouds as the clouds just merged into each other.
No but the best I've ever seen are Troels Kirk on his Coast Line - he has morning at one end and evening at the other. He is a very gifted artist and I was blessed to see his layout in person.
Kathy very interesting video, I have been thinking about how I am going to do this for a long time as I build my three level layout. I don't really like photo backdrops for me they pull the eye away from the layout because of the detail and focus. I have about 7.5m on two levels for backdrops, you can get rolls of watercolour paper 10m long. So I plan to use that to paint and stick to the wall with Velcro which allows the three corners I have to almost disappear all with no join. I will also be taking the foreground up to meet the background finishing just clear of the paper to give a visual distance between them. I am still undecided on weather to use acrylics or water colours or even a combination of the two at the moment. Neil
Neil, I do blur my backdrops slightly in Photoshop so they look less sharp. They still have a very different detail level to many foregrounds so I totally understand what you mean.
Neil, if you use watercolors you will need a fixative sprayed over the finished surface to keep the paint in place. They are less forgiving than acrylic too, much harder to hide mistakes! Also if your backdrop is already fixed in place prior to painting acrylics will be a lot easier to use. Just dont make them too runny. Good luck with your backdrop
@@mooglesmodelrailways I have done quite q bit of watercolour painting in the past it is surprising what you can fix with the right techniques. I will certainly give a fixative spray a try, I have about 15m of backscene on two levels. So It will be either watercolours or like Lex Parker with acrylics I have to do a few test pieces before I commit.
Hi Kathy, I just received your book, saw your video on clouds and had a question about using stencils. I’m at the point of creating clouds and sky for my N scale layout and am planning to use the cloud stencils you created. I was wondering if you could use the Brother cutter to also cut out background buildings like the images / plans from providers like Scale Scenes as you did with the clouds? Your thoughts? Thanks.
They look great Kathy, what materials do you tend to use for the backdrops themselves, presumably something that holds its shape and doesn't wrinkle when the paint is added?
Watched this a few times, still confused how this isn't real clouds, while I build bases for my models, at the end of the day, I obviously require a good backdrop I can either roll up, or something that won't take up a lot of room. Love this idea though
Glad to see I'm not the only one that uses Photoshop to make their own backgrounds. Great video.
Hello Kathy. So true, backdrops really enhance a layout. As your examples showed. I like the stencil method. I will have to give it a go. Thanks. I do appreciate these 5 minute tutorials. Stay safe, take care. See ya next time.
Thanks for this short but real helpfull clinic thumbs up!
thank you detail video as all great watch
from Australia
Very nice video as always, Kathy! Thanks for sharing your skills with us.
I also like grey skies quite a bit!
Good job on those clouds Kathy. I agree with the sponge deal.
Keep up the good work Kathy, looking forward to seeing you future broadcasts.
One tomorrow too!
@@KathyMillatt brilliant.
Love these concept vids that can be used for any diorama
Great vid have been looking for tutorials on this thank you
Glad I could help!
Really like the spray masked clouds a lot... I think the speed and spontaneity of the application adds a lot to the feel of the end result - fluid and natural.
Those are some great ideas for backdrops. The ones you made look very good and add a lot to the scene. Thanks for sharing this.
Great video Kathy. Fully agree with the sponge method as others have stated. I find a small fan brush useful too. Both are useful for painting leaves on trees on backdrops as well.
I used many your tips on my Layout and was able to complete my small layout. cant wait to see it!
Thoroughly enjoyed this video, and seeing your techniques. I used a tester pot of "Cloudless" emulsion from Wilko and black and white acrylic dabbed on with make up sponges for my clouds.
Painting clouds is hard. I love Bob Ross's method. He makes them look easy.
He makes everything look so easy!
Hi Kathy, I wish I had your tallant , looks great , had a few goes not as good will have to do , Stay safe, All the Best Brian 🤗
Wow, congrats on going full time!
Some very impressive results. I do not use backdrops of any form but enjoyed this quick demo. Great work.
Great technique with template, very effective. The grey background looked amazing, subtly is the key. Thanks again for the upload Kathy. All the best. Brian
Excellent work, I’ve been thinking about back drops and wondering what to do. Thank you 😊
A little late to the party on this one, but I for one liked your clouds, thank you :D
Wonderful job once again, love your clouds...Thanks for the tips, I had the idea to start something like this for my dioramas, I hope I will be as talented!😍😍
I've been thinking about backscenes thanks for some helpful tips.
Really nice!
Very nice, thank you...
thank you,very nice
Looks very nice. You could also try using a sponge for the clouds. Simple but makes great clouds. Thanks !
Thanks - I must try that.
When doing clouds by hand try using a piece of natural sponge and watered down paint. Try on a test sheet first and do a dabbing technique with a nearly dry sponge for the edges. This way you end up with a natural softer edge to the clouds.
Thanks, that's a great suggestion!
Hi Kathy, thank you for another superb video, I painted my own backscene for my German T.T scale layout, unfortunately, my painting skills are non-existent, and the result looks like it may, possibly, be the work of a small child, hopefully, I can improve with practice, anyway, you continue to be an inspiration to us, stay safe, all the best from sunny Scotland, Stephen.
Hello, thank you very much for the suggestions for designing a layout. Although my train runs in the garden and doesn't need a background. So it is very beneficial for the design of my upcoming track in the house. LG
Love the clouds that you did. I think when you used your grey sky to compare that the lighting was a little too bright so that the sky seemed too dull in comparison.
Still great to see the techniques you used to do them
i like the one you draw rather than the sprayed one
Super great
That's fantastic. As bac
I will be having a go at painting a backscene.
Thanks for the tips, I am looking to do a wintery snowy cloud background, so if you have any tips for that it would be a great help.
Alex
My first layout was grey so my only tip is to blend well and just have a go. I found it was easier than blue sky and clouds as the clouds just merged into each other.
@@KathyMillatt Brilliant, Thank you
💡1:58 That’s one for the notebook.
Have you made sunsets for backdrops before?
No but the best I've ever seen are Troels Kirk on his Coast Line - he has morning at one end and evening at the other. He is a very gifted artist and I was blessed to see his layout in person.
Kathy very interesting video, I have been thinking about how I am going to do this for a long time as I build my three level layout. I don't really like photo backdrops for me they pull the eye away from the layout because of the detail and focus. I have about 7.5m on two levels for backdrops, you can get rolls of watercolour paper 10m long. So I plan to use that to paint and stick to the wall with Velcro which allows the three corners I have to almost disappear all with no join. I will also be taking the foreground up to meet the background finishing just clear of the paper to give a visual distance between them. I am still undecided on weather to use acrylics or water colours or even a combination of the two at the moment. Neil
Neil, I do blur my backdrops slightly in Photoshop so they look less sharp. They still have a very different detail level to many foregrounds so I totally understand what you mean.
Neil, if you use watercolors you will need a fixative sprayed over the finished surface to keep the paint in place. They are less forgiving than acrylic too, much harder to hide mistakes! Also if your backdrop is already fixed in place prior to painting acrylics will be a lot easier to use. Just dont make them too runny. Good luck with your backdrop
@@mooglesmodelrailways I have done quite q bit of watercolour painting in the past it is surprising what you can fix with the right techniques. I will certainly give a fixative spray a try, I have about 15m of backscene on two levels. So It will be either watercolours or like Lex Parker with acrylics I have to do a few test pieces before I commit.
thats austemic
Hi Kathy, I just received your book, saw your video on clouds and had a question about using stencils. I’m at the point of creating clouds and sky for my N scale layout and am planning to use the cloud stencils you created. I was wondering if you could use the Brother cutter to also cut out background buildings like the images / plans from providers like Scale Scenes as you did with the clouds? Your thoughts? Thanks.
Hope the clouds go well! You can definitely use a Scanncut cutter for background buildings as you can scan in and then get it to find the edges.
I Use a sponge or rag roll to blend
Nice idea.
Sorry about that.
I'll start again. That's fantastic as professional back scenes can be very expensive x
Thanks!
They look great Kathy, what materials do you tend to use for the backdrops themselves, presumably something that holds its shape and doesn't wrinkle when the paint is added?
I prefer a smooth surface although I used foam core for these and it warped. My layout has hardboard as the backdrop.
See you in a few days
Watched this a few times, still confused how this isn't real clouds, while I build bases for my models, at the end of the day, I obviously require a good backdrop I can either roll up, or something that won't take up a lot of room. Love this idea though
🐙
'Photoshopped' is the wrong terminology for the combining of two or more photographs, it should be a 'composite image' or 'comp'.
Turtle
666th like
Is it just me or do you sound like a news reporter