How to paint rock

I’ve recently aquired several rock molds from Woodland Scenics and I am starting to paint them. My first batch came up quite well, infact so well some of the Geoligists that I have worked with when asked what kind of rock it was, answered Limestone, possibly volcanic. of course when they picked it up and turned it over and saw the plaster paris It was then they realized it was a fake.

My problem is it was suppose to be granite[:I]

Any Ideas on what colours I should be using to simulate granite/bedrock as a base coat? What colours can be used to shade and highlight?

One thing to try would be to start out with a base coat of a fairly light gray, then apply several washes of dark blacks and browns to seep into cracks & crevices. A drybrushing afterward of a light brownish gray color will add highlights and simulate dirt.

Fergie;

Ask your Geologist friend, and ask him for some pictures and samples too, for you to match.

Funny that’ what they said, my problem is finding out the proper name for the colours and the techniques and thinning ratios.

Get some pictures and just play it by ear. Rock is random and comes in many specific shades so it isn’t really a matter of specific colors and thinning ratios as much as it is an organic process. I’m not too picky about thinning ratios for the most part, I just go with what looks right.

Typically, though, a good black ink wash is 60:1 water (or rubbing alcohol) to India ink. Pictures of the rock you wi***o model will help. Specific colors would actually be a hindrance, because rocks that are all exactly the same color wouldn’t look too good either…