Tag: mini

Buildings Made of… Plastic?

I’ve got to get some large, complex terrain done for the development of ToadChapel, and here’s the first of it.

It will be a street setting, primarily to be photographed from the right hand side.

There are lots of funny little cuts in this. Taking a ‘slice’ of the scene means everything has to be crooked in order to look straight. Then, of course, you also want everything to actually be slightly crooked. For instance, the two buildings are not square with one another. This makes it much more difficult, but I tell myself it’s worth it and – if it’s good enough – I only have to do it once! It’s hard work… my fingers are totally covered in superglue!

Let There Be Dirt: Modeling Earth for Your Minis & Terrain

The village of ToadChapel needs some rock, soil, and life upon which to grow. Let’s learn how to make it.

Finished terrain tiles of earth with moss and stones

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to make a layer of basic forest earth that will work for your mini bases, terrain, gameboards, and dioramas.  The environment of your figures plays an enormous role in setting a realistic and believable scene.  Poor basing can easily spoil a good paintjob.  Superior basing and terrain, though, can help even mediocre figures tell a compelling story on the tabletop. Continue reading “Let There Be Dirt: Modeling Earth for Your Minis & Terrain”

Scenic Diorama & Vignette Tutorial

A mossy old tree with a chipmunk and an orange frog upon it.

As I began to explore the hobby of miniature painting a few years ago, I particularly enjoyed the basing element of the process.  I had been instantly attracted to the amazing and diverse bases of many different artists.

That interest led me to spend a good deal of my hobby time creating purely scenic pieces.  I’ve done urban scenes as well, but here I’m making a wild little place as a gift for my mother.

I think these mini dioramas or vignettes work quite well if you hide a lot of tiny details for the viewer to find. They’re a very fun escape from conventional miniature painting. And of course, all one needs to make a ‘scene’ into a ‘base’ is a nice figure!  I hope you find this tutorial helpful or motivational. Continue reading “Scenic Diorama & Vignette Tutorial”