Let's make tiny mushrooms

how do you design a tiny mushroom anyone can craft what materials and techniques would guarantee success how could you improve it and give it purpose and finally how small can you go these answers coming up but first a mushroom is basically two parts a cap and a stem so one way to build it is to look for materials that fit the two shapes these colored foam balls come in multiple sizes if we cut one down it could make a pretty solid cap using a bit of poster tack to build a sticky Nest keeps the ball from Rolling away the cap needs to sit on the stem so now we add a pilot hole at the center then we make a bigger hole because the first one was wimpy cap in hand I set out to find the perfect mushroom stem something everyone has we'll just snip off these swabby ends Bond the cap and stem together this is my favorite glue I keep it in a jar of rocks a toothpick help helps get the glue precise and coating the exposed foam should help make a stronger mushroom now you can add more detail like dots if you've painted dots before you probably already know that it's more about practice than Talent pour a little paint into something like a lid use a tiny applicator like the end of a toothpick take some deep slow breaths and start dotting the pinky finger is another stabilization trick I use simply touching it to your other hand provides an extra tier of support for your moving fingers I like to think of this position as the three-point superhero stance like how they land after a flight only way less cool looking you can also put your elbows on the table to add steadiness trim the stems and your 2-minute mushroom is complete make one or 100 with this mushroom the stem is straight from top to bottom but what if you want your mushroom to have a classic tapered stem well there is actually a swab for that the regular swab stems were working pretty well but the mushrooms couldn't stand on their own and I wanted more options options for that classic style mushroom shape curious I began to research cotton swabs and by research I mean order they come in so many shapes but I was looking for one specific type each time I ordered I waited eagerly for the arrival of what was sure to be the perfect stem and each round was met with defeat this went on for months each swab underwent rigorous testing for strength and in form the tip was always too soft or it came apart easily or it was weird but finally finally within the same week I discovered two Champions Taya and BB 013 which I've taken to calling huie the tips stayed firm and the quality of mushroom remained High I celebrated by making several more mushrooms as for the other swabs they still have tiny project potential just not as mushroom [Music] stems until now I'd been working with my brain's idea of a mushroom the Canon mushroom we all draw when we're kids it was time to ask how can we make it look more like a real mushroom let's start by looking at some real mushrooms three things I noticed one the cap isn't always smooth two the dots aren't always round and three the dots aren't always white two of those we could fix with paint but what about the texture the right texture would give the surface character and make it easier to vary the dots by shape and size the cap needed something with more tooth more grit something like sand this is Emy sand a fine white sand used to sharpen needles similar to the variation in dot colors I also noticed the cap isn't always solid red some almost have a radial gradient or ombre effect so a solid red cap might be holding us back what if the cap starts with another color foam and and we paint [Music] it I thought finding the right shade of red acrylic paint would be the easiest step I tried six different Reds before finding one that looked like a mushroom cap color the winner this Dragon red from army painters [Music] a thinner toothpick or needle will make smaller dots layering paint will give the spots more [Music] dimension and the dots can be white yellow tan or whatever color you can also paint over any mistak you make on the mushroom or blame nature mushrooms are pretty strange there are more mushroom Parts not all mushrooms have all of these parts the foot of the stem can be wider or it can have a furly shoe sometimes the foot is growing below ground so the stem appears straighter sometimes they have a skirt hiked up to the cap sometimes not basically you can dress your mushroom however you [Music] want this skirt is single layers of paper towel glued right below the cap [Music] her mushroom has been on quite a journey so far we may as well take it all the way and plant it the secret to mini making is to add handles to as many things as you can in this case using poster tack and a mini Red Solo Cup you'll know you've pushed firmly enough if your Solo Cup pops off the table paint the edges a dark muddy Brown it would be ideal to have a small patch of Earth you could move around to keep a more natural feeling around the mushroom but we'll make de with aluminum foil and a clay poker chip roll a small foil ball and glue that on to give the mushrooms a hill to stand hand on wood filler makes great ground coverage Frost the mud like you're in the ugliest cake decorating contest poke holes in the muddy base while the putty is still soft when I find a yarn that looks like moss I cut it into tiny bits usually I buy it first this cotton Chenille yarn is my favorite mini Moss stand in apply the Moss to your glue areas with a pair of tweezers you can also tap it into place add more Moss than you think you'll need then let the glue dry sometimes when I see a disembodied Pair of Hands creating something in a video I wonder about the person on the other end what is their world like here are two of my favorite ways to make tiny leaves remember the painted paper towel I said to hold on to the time has come dried paint on on a paper towel makes lovely leaves if you don't have a small punch you can use scissors you can also make Leaves with this translucent Mulberry paper stack it up and punch it out for ultimate realism smoosh the leaves so they are indistinguishable from pocket lint now we'll add tiny rocks made of rocks sticks made of sticks and Moss made of cellulose acetate we can make a frilly shoe the same way we made a skirt mushrooms are born in the dirt and they die in the dirt so we'll add a little brown pigment as filthy tribute about 3 years ago there was a period where I found myself consuming I was reading books and binge watching series I downloaded Tik Tok and spent 3 days in my room scrolling more scrolling when the dopamine wasn't hitting I felt empty it's then I realized that I was just consuming mindless consumption it felt dark and empty My Brightest periods are when I'm creating something I feel whole when I create more connected to the World Around Me Miniatures are something I've always been passionate about out so I began making them again when a miniature is done well whatever materials they once were Fades away in our mind they become the thing they represent I still love consuming content especially mini videos but I try to always bring a project along for the ride it's easier to trim the mushroom stems once you know what you're using them for some projects objects need long stems and some need shorter the easiest way to make a quick tiny wreath is to take apart cheap mini craft wreaths you'll probably need to remove some hot glue glovs after you break it down build it back up using a round bottle to shape it now glue on a moss beard and trim the beard glue on some mushrooms and whatever else you feel like adding I primed and painted metal charms to make these vintage style deer mushrooms are often depicted in some sort of specimen Dome if you don't have a tiny Dome lying about try these a pipet is the cheapest option but also makes the lowest quality result my favorite Dome is this plastic capsule made for jewelry be sure to check that your mushroom fits the container press the Dome down onto craft foam to make a cut line then cut it out or use a hole punch if you have the right size poke a hole and spin the foam like a wheel to widen it add a cardboard layer and the mossy terrain of your choice whatever is inside the Dome is sealed for all time so if you have loose bits of green make sure to wipe those off wipe away any excess glue trim the base then trim again with tinier scissors give the base a coat of black and then a second coat of any color now an important question can we go smaller n whether you make a 2-minute mushroom or a more realistic detailed mushroom you can find a place for either in your mini Creations here's an extra tip for sticking with me to the end if you have trouble with a paintbrush try a thin acrylic marker like this PCA paint pen

Channel: Tiny Urchin

Views: 1,490

Keywords: miniatures, mini making, tiny things, dollhouse

Id: w9UyerD0quM

Length: 16min 35sec (995 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024