After reading what a lot of you had to say about the color of my trees on my mountain I have been putting your advice to a test. What do you all think now, are they beter or am I still barking up the wrong tree. as always, your comments are always welcome. More suggestions, what areas do I need to concerentate on. Thanks so much, you all have been a great help.
FYI----In the top pic in the right center you will see a rather large white house, This house is a HO scale model of my home, built in 1927 by my great grandfather. I thought it was approiate to model it here, just thought you might like to know a little histery
Like the trees. Like the house. Things going well. Next step for me would be to add a little fine ground foam to some of the trees that is a little darker or light than the tree itself. The variation between trees is MUCH better. Now a little variation within each tree. I would also have a couple of trees that are less healthy looking. I love what you are doing and look forward to your progress.
ART, I have a few in there that are dead/dying, do I need more, or maybe some smaller ones. What about the colors? Need more or less of any one color. Thanks for all advice. Mike
It appears that you used a flash on your camera to take the photos. This makes it difficult to judge the colors as they would appear in the layout room. You’re on the right track, but you not only need a variety of colors (actually shades of green if it’s summertime), but you also need a couple of more varieties of tree types. It would be unusual for any area to have only one type of tree growing naturally. From the look of the layout, how about some Aspens or maybe some different types of evergreens. You did a very good job on your clouds.
A young forest will have lots of deciduous trees, a middle-aged forest will have a healthy mix of both conifers and deciduous, and a mture forest will be 80% conifer. Later in any given year, and later in its life, a forest’s deciduous trees will show signs of stress for such things as insect infestation or drought. That means that you will still get some fall colours (plenty of browns and yellows, for sure) scattered here and there when you fly overhead.
You have taken a great leap toward realism here, and I would encourage you to continue bold experiments to give life to your forests. As I suggested earlier, some mosses can be added in places for variety, and certainly at least another two shades of green (add more yellowing to your green paints). Joe Fugate spritzes the tops of some of his trees very lightly with a can of spray paint in yellow to give the tops a sunlit look. I would say that it is highly effective.
OK, From what I gather here is that I need a half dozen shades of green, ranging from a very dark (I have put some on today that are almost black)to a very light yellow green. Is this correct? Thanks for your time & help. Mike
A great start on the trees … their form and placement looks very realistic. As others have mentioned though, it looks as if the color needs a bit of work.
Have you checked out my online scenery clinic? I give pointers on how to get the right colors.
Your trees’ form and placement are great, but your coloring is still off. They should either be a lighter, dull green, or a dark green, not the brillant green that makes them look fake. Hope you get them worked out!
To the best of my judgment, the darker trees look about right but the lighter green trees in the pictures don’t. The medium green you have I think would be the lightest I would use. In the Springtime you can see fir trees with the lighter green on the very tips of the branches ( wich is the years new growth ).
