I think that the use of "DRYBRUSHING" is/has been overused so much that, When I look at some works, I see dry brushing first and ,it immediately takes away (for lack of a better description) from the work that was put into the piece...sorry if I've hurt someone's feelings it wasn't intended.
You can often find a 'pre-baked' batch of bark in the craft section of dollar stores. Not free, but eliminates the 'piss off the spouse by using oven for baking bark' issue.
I too have often used bark as rocks! Though I must hasten to add that you should be finding already shed bark on the ground rather than breaking it off live trees. Most trees need their bark to live so please don't damage trees. I live in the Pacific Northwest where most rail road lines haul timber and bark rattled off the logs is a frequent find along tracks. As for species, most big old evergreen trees like pines, firs, and some cedars have very craggy bark, as do some hardwood trees like oaks, maples and walnuts. Birch bark is too flat usually and certain cedars have very fibrous looking bark that does sell as rock at all. Just take a walk in the woods and find some rocky looking bark! But again, please find the bark on the ground and not on the side of a live tree.
Another benefit of using bark over foam is that bark isn't negatively affected by spray paint. I use it on miniature bases a lot, and find it very versatile. Great video - Thanks!
I live in Florida (NORTH) and there is some much material out in the "woods" it's amazing. I often Micrwave stuff I find to...Sterilize it and then put it away for some unknown future project!
Glad you discovered and are promoting tree bark. No sarcasm meant. I have been using pine bark for years. Wish I could post pics of one of my more recent projects. Rock on!
Each of your techniques has different applications, at least it appears that way based upon your samples. The expanding foam looks like coral, the XPS example looks like well-weathered stone, like at a seashore or in areas that were glaciated. The plaster looks less weathered and the bark looks like recently (geologically so) exposed stone. Don’t forget that you can tint your plaster to help guard against the glaring white chips!
The bark technique is really cool, but nothing gives you the versatility and creative freedom like the foam. With the plaster and bark, you can only work with the shape that is given, with foam, you can carve faces into the rock, put plateaus on the top, dig holes/caverns into the Rockwall, etc.… Thank you for the helpful and fun insight!
I'm a traveling gm. I keep 6 hunks of bark in my kit loose not on bases so I can stack and pile as the store leads. . No paint, just bark. Works great for me.
Absolutely bark can be a great material for rocks, I've been using it for more years than I care to count. A way to get alot of bark is to pick up a bag of large pine bark nuggets in the garden section of a home improvement store (like Home Depit)
Great stuff, Garmin. FWIW, you can put a couple (literally a couple) drops of black ink in plaster to tint it down and fix the wear and tear problem. I like the extra weight of plaster, but honestly they all look really good.
In defense of the plaster, you can also add paint to the plaster to tint it so as it chips it stays at least that base color. Going to have to agree with you on the bark though. My favorite part that it has over the plaster is that it will be unique. The molds will be the same due to the nature of the medium. On the table that looks a little unnatural where as the bark offers subtle variation that you can’t get with plaster molds.
Have you ever poured resin against bark? Orchid potting mix which is basically a kind of mulch looks fantastic as sedimentary rock like slate. But running resin over it makes me picture lots of leaks and melting foam.
bark is great to use in many situations. I don't use it much because I only use bark that I find on the ground. I don't like to damage trees by pulling it off.
Great video. I'm playing around with moulds and plaster at the moment - maybe try this: Instead of regular plaster, use a dental plaster (Stewalin is a common brand in Germany). It is more lightweight and does not chip as easily as regular plaster. That being said, I'm headed to the woods to search for some bark ;)
With the bark you should drop the mod podge and use watered down pva and black paint instead. The bark itself is absorbant the same way other paper/wood products are and will suck the moisture out of the pva(pulling the glue into the fibres) for a tighter and ultimately harder result that will never ever chip. And thinned pva just preserves detail crisper than mod podge ever can.
Great video. In addition to "bark" from a tree found in the woods I like to use bark chips that you can buy for cheap at landscape store. I'm talking the kind you use for potted plants like Orchids. They are great for smaller rocks and cliffs. Cheers.
That spray foam texture would work perfectly for a large scale coral texture... like an underwater atlantis type adventure. Definitely love all these different options!
I haven't done the bark technique yet, but I'm gonna have to give it a try. More importantly, your painting technique for rocks... well, it Rocks! Totally stealing that.
The bark rocks do look excellent especially up close! BUT I wouldn't rule out the method with the spray expand foam because I think it gives the same effect as lava flows and rocks. Which is not the look you may want now but you might want to put some lava flow on a terrain one day, ya know! 😃
There are DYES that you can use in plaster that makes the "WHITE" less noticeable. I have uased it and for Me, it's fine. I wish I could remember the Brand but, I can't, Cement dye has also worked.
For the plaster, would you be able to mix in a bit of black or dark gray paint/ink to make them a darker color and if they go get chipped, it wouldn't be a plain white under, but more of a neutral/blending color?
I came across your videos and have watched a couple so far. I make miniature wooden houses and would love to know how you make the actual plants and grass look so good. Can you advise me on what you use and how you do it please?
Well scavenged bark is free, but half a bottle of super glue is not. You might try texturing xps with an actual rock instead of a tinfoil ball, it will yield far superior results. You can also weigh it down by making a cavity in the bottom and inserting small rocks (free), then cover with hot glue.
To be fair, your paint job on the bark is far better than on the XPS foam rock. I think you need to do all 4 materials with the same paint scheme and see what you get.
Hmm I'm wondering what happens if you mix gray paint into the plaster before. When it chips it should be less evident? Does the paint affects the plaster qualities?
I've done this and it can make the plaster dry softer. However, you can get pigment powders meant for coloring concrete that mix well into plaster. Experiment!
People that insist you need to bake things like sticks and bark from the forest make me laugh. Foam takes striations very will with a wire brush. Score it with a knife first, and run the brush over it. Add weight to foam with a washer, or screw. Or give it a base and add real rocks (smaller ones).
The thing is that bugs might be in the wood, or if might be a bit damp, and the simple step of baking the thing before you put a lot of effort into painting and other things makes it a lot more likely that it will continue to look exactly the way you intend rather than having critters coming out of the wood a few weeks later or maybe it starts growing a fungus or lichen or the dampness in the middle of the bark causing the paint to peel.
Every time you say "black magic craft base coat" I wince. It not his base coat, crafters have been using this blend for years before he gave it his company name. You're just as talented. Does he rep your company for free? I don't know. But you have way more talent than you give yourself credit for. I watch your videos before I watch his.
Bark mulch has same appeal for use, darker in color as well with less painting.. check parking lots when car parking to pick for free as well.. great video info.. Hit Chains🥏⛓️
Nature can't be beat for looking natural ... naturally. 😊
I think that the use of "DRYBRUSHING" is/has been overused so much that, When I look at some works, I see dry brushing first and ,it immediately takes away (for lack of a better description) from the work that was put into the piece...sorry if I've hurt someone's feelings it wasn't intended.
You can often find a 'pre-baked' batch of bark in the craft section of dollar stores. Not free, but eliminates the 'piss off the spouse by using oven for baking bark' issue.
thank you for that. southern arizona doesn't have a ton of bark laying around lol
Buy a cheap old used stove for the sole purpose of Crafting, same with a Microwave, let your imagination be your guide!
I too have often used bark as rocks! Though I must hasten to add that you should be finding already shed bark on the ground rather than breaking it off live trees. Most trees need their bark to live so please don't damage trees. I live in the Pacific Northwest where most rail road lines haul timber and bark rattled off the logs is a frequent find along tracks. As for species, most big old evergreen trees like pines, firs, and some cedars have very craggy bark, as do some hardwood trees like oaks, maples and walnuts. Birch bark is too flat usually and certain cedars have very fibrous looking bark that does sell as rock at all. Just take a walk in the woods and find some rocky looking bark! But again, please find the bark on the ground and not on the side of a live tree.
Another benefit of using bark over foam is that bark isn't negatively affected by spray paint. I use it on miniature bases a lot, and find it very versatile.
Great video - Thanks!
I live in Florida (NORTH) and there is some much material out in the "woods" it's amazing. I often Micrwave stuff I find to...Sterilize it and then put it away for some unknown future project!
Glad you discovered and are promoting tree bark. No sarcasm meant. I have been using pine bark for years. Wish I could post pics of one of my more recent projects. Rock on!
Each of your techniques has different applications, at least it appears that way based upon your samples. The expanding foam looks like coral, the XPS example looks like well-weathered stone, like at a seashore or in areas that were glaciated. The plaster looks less weathered and the bark looks like recently (geologically so) exposed stone. Don’t forget that you can tint your plaster to help guard against the glaring white chips!
4:20 As one who has used that exact kind of Gorilla super glue, it's still pretty gel-like even if it's not "gel super glue". So it works well enough.
The bark technique is really cool, but nothing gives you the versatility and creative freedom like the foam. With the plaster and bark, you can only work with the shape that is given, with foam, you can carve faces into the rock, put plateaus on the top, dig holes/caverns into the Rockwall, etc.…
Thank you for the helpful and fun insight!
I've used foam for elevations of a hill and then lined the sides with bark for a more naturally stony looking rise. Looks great on the table.
Word... yard rocks are the best!
I'm a traveling gm. I keep 6 hunks of bark in my kit loose not on bases so I can stack and pile as the store leads. . No paint, just bark. Works great for me.
Actually the white with the bright orange and green made me sit up - that's a really good idea! It gives a hint of lichen on the rock.
Absolutely bark can be a great material for rocks, I've been using it for more years than I care to count.
A way to get alot of bark is to pick up a bag of large pine bark nuggets in the garden section of a home improvement store (like Home Depit)
Yes more videos with natural materials please! I’ve gotten a bit tired of watching everyone 3d print everything 😩
Saaame especially when it's "how to do this yourself" and they say "okay so, go to your 3D printer"
Great stuff, Garmin. FWIW, you can put a couple (literally a couple) drops of black ink in plaster to tint it down and fix the wear and tear problem. I like the extra weight of plaster, but honestly they all look really good.
bro tha rock looks real af on the bark. nice paint job. I know you say you hate painting, but dayum
Yes! The best looking rocks…imho. 😉 👏🏼
In defense of the plaster, you can also add paint to the plaster to tint it so as it chips it stays at least that base color. Going to have to agree with you on the bark though. My favorite part that it has over the plaster is that it will be unique. The molds will be the same due to the nature of the medium. On the table that looks a little unnatural where as the bark offers subtle variation that you can’t get with plaster molds.
Ayyyyye, love disc golf!
That spray foam rock actually makes a great hardened lava rock outcropping
Have you ever poured resin against bark? Orchid potting mix which is basically a kind of mulch looks fantastic as sedimentary rock like slate. But running resin over it makes me picture lots of leaks and melting foam.
Pine tree bark gives a nice slate look so look for other tree barks to different effects.
I love the idea of the bright colors underneath and it's funny how that looked with your t-shirt in the background :p
bark is great to use in many situations. I don't use it much because I only use bark that I find on the ground. I don't like to damage trees by pulling it off.
Great video. I'm playing around with moulds and plaster at the moment - maybe try this: Instead of regular plaster, use a dental plaster (Stewalin is a common brand in Germany). It is more lightweight and does not chip as easily as regular plaster. That being said, I'm headed to the woods to search for some bark ;)
With the bark you should drop the mod podge and use watered down pva and black paint instead. The bark itself is absorbant the same way other paper/wood products are and will suck the moisture out of the pva(pulling the glue into the fibres) for a tighter and ultimately harder result that will never ever chip. And thinned pva just preserves detail crisper than mod podge ever can.
I love bark, also, tint you plaster!
Great video. In addition to "bark" from a tree found in the woods I like to use bark chips that you can buy for cheap at landscape store. I'm talking the kind you use for potted plants like Orchids. They are great for smaller rocks and cliffs. Cheers.
That spray foam texture would work perfectly for a large scale coral texture... like an underwater atlantis type adventure. Definitely love all these different options!
I sometimes use hot glue in the smaller scenic molds. Fast dry time and cheap
It's perfect, this could fit the image for my doll tree house path.
On the topic of plaster, I would suggest going with Dental Plaster (the type used by Hirst Arts) that stuff is SO tough!
I haven't done the bark technique yet, but I'm gonna have to give it a try. More importantly, your painting technique for rocks... well, it Rocks! Totally stealing that.
The bark rocks do look excellent especially up close! BUT I wouldn't rule out the method with the spray expand foam because I think it gives the same effect as lava flows and rocks. Which is not the look you may want now but you might want to put some lava flow on a terrain one day, ya know! 😃
There are DYES that you can use in plaster that makes the "WHITE" less noticeable. I have uased it and for Me, it's fine. I wish I could remember the Brand but, I can't, Cement dye has also worked.
i didnt know you slang discs. Thats awesome!! My home course is Deer Lakes (PA)
LOVE this idea! Tysm!
Mixing some black and dark brown paint into the plaster gets rid of y the white chipped areas
Woof. Or wolf. Either of those.
This was a great video. Thank you. But after you did the leopard spotting, I thought it looked like your shirt! 😁
For the plaster, would you be able to mix in a bit of black or dark gray paint/ink to make them a darker color and if they go get chipped, it wouldn't be a plain white under, but more of a neutral/blending color?
Anybody have recommendations for what kind of bark? I usually end up finding stuff that's very thin and bark-like rather than rock-like
I came across your videos and have watched a couple so far. I make miniature wooden houses and would love to know how you make the actual plants and grass look so good. Can you advise me on what you use and how you do it please?
I think your very plain foam rock could greatly benefit from a base and just a little more paint...
Well scavenged bark is free, but half a bottle of super glue is not. You might try texturing xps with an actual rock instead of a tinfoil ball, it will yield far superior results. You can also weigh it down by making a cavity in the bottom and inserting small rocks (free), then cover with hot glue.
To be fair, your paint job on the bark is far better than on the XPS foam rock. I think you need to do all 4 materials with the same paint scheme and see what you get.
Hmm I'm wondering what happens if you mix gray paint into the plaster before. When it chips it should be less evident? Does the paint affects the plaster qualities?
I've done this and it can make the plaster dry softer. However, you can get pigment powders meant for coloring concrete that mix well into plaster. Experiment!
Is there a tree species that works best for this?
"I give this a not great" - Garman, 2023.
Makin stuff outta stuff that isn’t stuff
The "not great" expanding foam one looks like it could make really good coral reefs.
People that insist you need to bake things like sticks and bark from the forest make me laugh.
Foam takes striations very will with a wire brush. Score it with a knife first, and run the brush over it.
Add weight to foam with a washer, or screw. Or give it a base and add real rocks (smaller ones).
The thing is that bugs might be in the wood, or if might be a bit damp, and the simple step of baking the thing before you put a lot of effort into painting and other things makes it a lot more likely that it will continue to look exactly the way you intend rather than having critters coming out of the wood a few weeks later or maybe it starts growing a fungus or lichen or the dampness in the middle of the bark causing the paint to peel.
@@MissMeganBeckett - then pick dry wood that has already been baked by the sun. It's really that simple.
Your least favorite rock looks like part of an old volcano flow.
Now that you mention it, it kinda does, doesn’t it?
Just don't girdle a tree by taking a strip of bark off all the way around. You'll kill it that way and then no more tree.....
Every time you say "black magic craft base coat" I wince. It not his base coat, crafters have been using this blend for years before he gave it his company name. You're just as talented. Does he rep your company for free? I don't know.
But you have way more talent than you give yourself credit for. I watch your videos before I watch his.
Garmin I love your channel but please start using sunscreen
Thank you for addressing the elephant in the room... That gamers could... Just go grab some rocks. Lol
Tint your plaster
Bark mulch has same appeal for use, darker in color as well with less painting.. check parking lots when car parking to pick for free as well.. great video info.. Hit Chains🥏⛓️