I am constructing a model for a project with a significant grass roof. Has anyone come across a good material or effective way of modeling grass surfaces? The general material pallette for the model will be fairly reserved: basswood & chipboard primarily.
I would like to contrast the grass and other materials through their physical character rather than color for instance -- meaning a subdued, neutral color would be ideal.
I'm not sure how well this would work for a grass roof of a model but with basswood I would recommend using cork sheeting. You can find them in rolls at most craft stores. I have found this works well at larger scale models, but if you wanted something more subtle and refined you might try that textured ralph lauren paint. hope this helped.
this may sound strange, but if the scale of the model is on the smaller side (say 1:50 or so) you can go down to the model shop gather up some saw dust (large and small grained particles) add this to some elmers glue and voila!...instant grass. it gives a really nice "uneven" texture without looking like "grass", ie green. sandpaper is also a good idea, but i agree with JG it tends to look too flat and "unnatural". try a couple of test peices with the different ideas that you get. the one that looks the best wins. let us know what works best
for a design 2 project of mine i design a vistor center w/ a green roof.
the roof plane was curved similar to the delft library. all materials were bass wood and a birch veneer roof-on the roof i put down a layer of tacky glue then a bag of shreaed foam - very fine texture. though the foam was green i spray painted the roof with a light brown paint to match the monocromatic model. not to put down juan but ive seen cork used as grass and it looks like trash! good luck
You might want to try a Canson paper in a very subtle color to work with the Bass and Chipboard. It has a very slight texture and provides the idea of grass.
Oct 20, 04 9:48 am ·
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Model Material Question
I am constructing a model for a project with a significant grass roof. Has anyone come across a good material or effective way of modeling grass surfaces? The general material pallette for the model will be fairly reserved: basswood & chipboard primarily.
I would like to contrast the grass and other materials through their physical character rather than color for instance -- meaning a subdued, neutral color would be ideal.
The model will probably 1":8'
gracias
I'm not sure how well this would work for a grass roof of a model but with basswood I would recommend using cork sheeting. You can find them in rolls at most craft stores. I have found this works well at larger scale models, but if you wanted something more subtle and refined you might try that textured ralph lauren paint. hope this helped.
you could try sand paper, super cheat, and comes in good sizes
super cheap...that's what i ment
What about a neutral colored felt or some other fabric? I think sandpaper may look to much like asphalt or gravel roofing.
this may sound strange, but if the scale of the model is on the smaller side (say 1:50 or so) you can go down to the model shop gather up some saw dust (large and small grained particles) add this to some elmers glue and voila!...instant grass. it gives a really nice "uneven" texture without looking like "grass", ie green. sandpaper is also a good idea, but i agree with JG it tends to look too flat and "unnatural". try a couple of test peices with the different ideas that you get. the one that looks the best wins. let us know what works best
for a design 2 project of mine i design a vistor center w/ a green roof.
the roof plane was curved similar to the delft library. all materials were bass wood and a birch veneer roof-on the roof i put down a layer of tacky glue then a bag of shreaed foam - very fine texture. though the foam was green i spray painted the roof with a light brown paint to match the monocromatic model. not to put down juan but ive seen cork used as grass and it looks like trash! good luck
sand paper looks ok too!
You might want to try a Canson paper in a very subtle color to work with the Bass and Chipboard. It has a very slight texture and provides the idea of grass.
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