05 February, 2012

Building backdrops

An hour of cutting, trimming, and gluing plastics together. I have started some more terrain pieces to give me some variety for photographing my models. Some plastic wall-sections from some toy product is to pimped into proper 40K claustrofobic street settings. I am trying to find a good mix of being able to view pieces from several angles and being able to mix and match using the assembling system of the wall sections. So the goal is really to hide where the sections click together...



Looking forward to adding all sorts of detail the the walls - posters, pipes, candles, etcetera.
The ground is troubleing me though. What to do? I should probably create a copplestone-like board for the terrain to be used on. 

8 comments:

  1. Maybe a tighter pattern of cobblestones that are worn and broken...

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  2. Love it, looking forward to future images. I used to do this a lot for my Scythes website; even photoshop weapons fire. I really should rehost some of those old images for a chuckle :D

    For tarmac I've noted some scenery hobbyists use sandpaper sections at appropriate grain size. Others put plaster across foam, then crack the surface with a little pressure to achieve that depressed, pothole look.

    - T.

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  3. This is a good idea.

    When I started trying to take better, more interesting pictures of my minis (well, really, to see what HDR photos of them looked like), I started putting them on terrain, and then printing out backdrop images to put behind the terrain. It's worked okay... but more terrain would provide better depth than the flat printout and there's the not-inconsequential fact that I don't know who owns the art I'm printing, much less have their permission to use it.

    Also, what kits are you using there?

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  4. Cheers. Not sure what product the walls are from. Some 2nd-hand toys that found it's way into the house. My son prefers Lego though, so I picked some bits for myself before the toys will carry on somewhere else..

    Smaller coubblestones sounds good for the gound level.

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  5. Great idea. So far all my backdrops have been either black or white. This works up to a point but it's a bit dull. I guess the challenge to a certain extent is provideing an interesting background without shifting the focus too much from your mini(s).
    www.theunrealisticartist.com

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  6. For me the idea of building backdrops is about placing the mini in a context rather than "just" showcaseing the mini. So a themed setting or specific focus is actually something I might go for in some of the shots. Getting rid of the monochrome background and setting the mood is the goal.

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  7. That reminds me: one of my favorite action figure review sites is my favorite, because they do this very sort of thing. Just take a look at this review: http://thefwoosh.com/2012/02/motuc-review-battleground-evil-lyn Posing, lighting, context. It really makes a huge difference.

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  8. Let me just say how much I love your work. The action, moods and concepts you convey constantly inspire me.

    Here's a link to some flooring which might save you a lot of time. There are also a lot of other types of stone molded card on this site.

    http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/pls/pls91593.htm

    I can't wait to see how this project unfolds.

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