I showed some pictures of my backdrop in my post about my new layout and people wanted to know how I made the clouds. So here it is![:D] This is a very easy and cheap method, there is no need to buy stencils and in my opinion yields better results. All you need is a blue wall and a can of cheap white spray paint.
Step 1: Real clouds have flat bottoms. Hold the can at least a foot from the wall and paint a fuzzy horizontal line
Step 2: Keep the can at least a foot from the wall and start spraying circles. dont move the can in circles, just hold the can still and briefly spray. You should get a faint circle. Keep spraying overlapping circles and make the basic outline of your cloud.
Step 3: Once you have your outline. Keep spraying the circles to fill in the cloud. The small spaces between the circles look like shadow and make a real nice looking cloud. As you can see I changed the shape of the cloud. So the outline is not set in stone.
But the best part: I did this whole room with one $3 can of paint and it only took about an hour[:D] You can see I also did some cirrus clouds up high. This is just a simple quick stroke with the can.
Keep in mind that these are terrible pictures and the real thing looks much better. Also, while spraying have some fans blowing out an open window and wear a breathing mask. The fumes get really strong. Any questions, comments, criticism are encouraged and appreciated. Good luck on your clouds![:D]
You PAINTED your back drop directly on your bedroom wall?
I’m a grown man and my parents won’t let me do THAT! You must have total control of your room, 'eh?
Anyway, thats nice. Do you plan on painting the distance scenery before you build the layout?
Yeah, my room is my lair i guess. My parents figure the trains keep me off drugs and stuff so they dont have a big problem with it. I dont plan on painting mountains and stuff, but I am going to have moutains but up against the wall and use lots of forced perspective
Try a little grey on one side of the clouds(in shadow) if in doubt go to an art supply store and ask, they are pretty helpful, what type of paint are you using??? do they maake water based paint in spray cans? the room looks great, now turn down your radio and get a haircut ! ! (just to make you feel welcome)
When Fran and Miles Hale of Woodland Scenics were doing their cloud-painting workshop at the '94 NMRA Nat’l Convention, I remember they were recommending using Krylon flat white for the clouds and gray primer for the shadows.
I’ve seen on TV recently where Krylon is advertising a new latex spray paint, so maybe that has less fumes than their solvent based paint.
This is outstanding work! Thanks so much for sharing this with us here!
I’ll likely use this method in the “layout room”. I will be painting the flat, blue sky color directly on the wall with Behr premium paint (flat) as I already have a gallon of it. I’ll look for the latex Krylon flat white.
Antonio, remember, go out and look at the sky, it’s lighter at the horizon and darker as you look up. (just a hint from an old watercolour artist) it took me ten years to figure that out.
Yes, and you can simulate the lighter horizon by using white spray paint to lighten the horizon like I do on the Siskiyou Line:
I have tried this using store-bought cans of flat white spray paint but I just about passed out from the fumes within a few minutes of trying this … and it took the better part of a day for the smell to dissapate.
I’ve since found that modelflex flat white works well, and doesn’t smell at all. I just use my aribrush, fire up my compressor, and spray away. Modelflex is non-toxic and water based. In fact, the Badger guys tell me the suspended paint that doesn’t land on your painting surface dries mid-air and falls to the ground as fine colored “dust” – and is about as toxic as dust, too.
The other thing you can do if you have access to a better art supply store is you can buy acrylic paint ready to spray in an airbrush. This stuff works quite well also, and you can get it in other colors depending on your needs. It does cost more than modelflex however, and may be harder for a modeler to find.
This is outstanding work! Thanks so much for sharing this with us here!
I’ll be using this method in the “layout room”. I will be painting the flat, blue sky color directly on the wall with Behr premium paint as I already have a gallon of it. I’ll look for the latex Krylon flat white.
High Greens!
speaking of blue paint what is the swatch name on the behr paint that you use???
Wish I could tell you the color coal guy, but the label is all covered with blue paint! Everyone seems to think that lightening near the bottom is a good idea, so Ill give it a try. I have to get some paint at the LHS though.
You may already have the water base tools. Your airbrush can work as well as a spray can when you open it up wide. Plus you can get finer control and color variation, but practice to avoid runs. A fan to vent the spray dust is advised but fumes should be minimal. Wear a respirator when using that much paint as well. There may also be fan attachments available for wide swath lightening of the horivon.
Great Job! , I made my clouds with a stencil I made from cardboard. I used gray spray paint at the bottom, white in the center, and Light yellow at the tops. Didn’t cost more than the price of 3 CHEAP cans of spray paint.[:)]
