How do you color rocks?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hi. I am somewhat new at this and i need help coloring the rocks on my model railroad… i used paper towels and p of p to creat a edge near were the train runs… i will do my best to get a pic on here but untill then can anyone help me out? i would really apreacate anyhelp given…

michealtheworm

2

I use washes of alcohol and india ink and water and MRR water based paints.

Tan latex is good for coloring plaster before adding ground cover.

Try Dave Frary’s book on scenery from Kalmbach.

3

Hi! I am also fairly new at this but have found that the easiest and most realistic way to color rocks is to make a wash of brown yellow and black. You do this by mixing some of each color paint with some water in a differant containers of coarse! Sorry. I don’t have the exact measurments right now. After that, take a sponge brush or other smal sponge and gentle dab the colors on the rocks. It works best if you do a little yellow, a little brown, and then completely color the rock black. The correct mixture should cause the colors to mix together realisticly. Of coarse ho much color of each is up to you. I hope this info helps you![:)][:)][:)]

4

I take a different approach, using Delta Craft paints. I paint the rocks a dark base color, like Charcoal, and then drybrush on lighter and lighter grays, browns and tans. I use the same techniques for painting cut stone structures:

Nick

5

Here’s what we’ve ended up with that seemed to work (after several other failed attempts)…

We use the little bottles of paints you buy at the arts and crafts stores… they are water based acrylics, come in hundreds of colors & shades and can cost 89 cents…

Decide if you want gray rocks, browns, reds, yellows, etc… then buy several colors/shades in that family… lights, darks, etc… and then pick up a few colors that are darker, and from another family (for example, we did gray rocks, but picked up some dark umbers and mossy greens)

Dilute the paint with water… ratio? Mess around with it, but a 50:50 or 25:75 are starting points… what you are looking for is to create a “wash” more than “paint”.

Next “splooch” it on… meaning mix up 3-5 colors, then start dabbing it all over with different colors. It may look like hell, but don’t worry (yet). BTW… start with your light colors first… then work your way to the dark colors… with washes you can darken, but can’t really lighten your work.

Let it dry, then you may want to do it again…and don’t worry about getting the same colors in the same place or hte same dilutions… you want it to look random.

When it’s good and dry, and you are somewhat satisfied, then you apply a mix of rubbing alcohol and black india ink. Again, you have to mess around with the effect. One book we read suggested 3 Tablespoons per bottle of alcohol… this pretty much made everything go black on us. We found 1-2 teaspoons per bottle worked good.

Bru***his onto your painted rocks… try to brush in one direction, either from the top to the bottom or vice versa… what you are teying to do with the india ink mix is to a) bring back the detail (three-dimensional perception) of the rocks, and to add shadows… so you want more dark on the bottoms than the top of the rocks… so brush appropriatley. Basically, the india ink which is heavier than the acohol sinks int

6

You can find a wealth of scenery info on this thread;

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=32122

Hope it helps.

7

Borrowing words of wisdom from the guru Joe F.: Go out and take pictures of effects you like. The light in your trainroom is different from sunlight outdoors. Take the pictures to your layout and try to match colors and textures in the pictures. Then it will look real on your layout. jc5729

8

I use Woodland Scenics Earth Colours to stain my plaster. Looks great! Just slop it on ala mother nature and voila!

Trevor

9

Thank You for all the help guys… nik_n_dad what was the chalk spray you used? thanks for all your effort you put into typing all that.lol. i really apreciate it. also i will get thoughs pics of what i’m talking about shortly… thanks

michealtheworm

10

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=8558777&uid=3764347

this is the link to the pics i was talking about. Thanks for the help!!! The track will be replaced with new track… i haven’t gotten around to removing it yet…

11

thanks i have figured out how to do it i just need to know what colors to use and the ratio of water to paint and what do i use to spray the top with to make it permanate… can anyone help me… i want to make grass on the top of the ledge and grey rocks come out of the sides… thanks in advance

12

Leapord-spot the plaster rocks with 1:16 dilutions of Yellow Ocher and Burnt Sienna. Then wa***he entire rockface with 1:16 dilution black wash. The technique is what WS suggests, and it works great.

13

thanks a bunch!!! well now i need to get to a hobby shop…

14

Just another thought.
When you are mixing your Pof P add some cheap brown powdered paint to the mix, if you should miss a spot while coloring or heaven forbid, chip the rock, then it’s not as noticeable. [2c]

15

When you color rocks, first determine the area of the country you’re modeling. In my area, upstate New York, most rocks are gray. I model N&W and went to West Virginia last year to look at that area. The rocks there have high levels of brown in them, so when I returned I bought some burnt unger and updated my rocks. By the way, I make my rocks using plaster and rock molds. I first wet the finished rocks lightly and then use WS gray stone earth tones well diluted. You can always add more layers of color to them darker and if they are too dark, paint them flat white and start over.
Ron K.