Q: re: Painting African buildings
Rob Nott
I'm collecting the Foundry Darkest Africa period and I've recently purchased
some African buildings (rectangular cabin style with thatched roofs).
Although I'm a dab hand at painting the figures themselves, I've never
really made much of a go at painting terrain. Can someone tell me what
colours I should mix to get the appropriate colours for wood and other
materials. I don't want the buildings to look like they've been given a
coat of brown paint by the natives...
Thanks,
Rob.
Bill Fannin
As most wood ages, it turns gray. The same for thatch. The newer it is,
the more brown or tan pigment; the older it gets, the more silvery it
becomes. Just be sure to use warm grays rather than cool blue-grays.
I get good results by painting my buildings dark brown then dry brushing
them with various shades of gray. It takes a little practice to dry
brush well, but it's a technique worth learning. Use flat brushes and
brush off almost all of the pigment on a scrap of cardboard. Don't
expect to get the effect that you want on the first pass over the
building. Each dry-brushed layer makes the color richer. For the thatch,
I'd mix a little tan or yellow brown into the gray. If you don't like
the color you can dry brush a different shade over it or give it another
coat of dark brown and try again.
Check out old National Geographics, travel magazines and library
reference books for pictures of wooden or thatch structures. You've seen
such pictures before, but you probably weren't looking for color details
at the time.
Good luck-- Bill