Rivers & Streams - Realistic Scenery Vol.8

[Music] bottling water can sometimes prove to be a little tricky but it doesn't have to be in this tutorial I'll show you some simple techniques for modeling a river and adding details to give the river life with some careful planning anybody can achieve a great looking water scene let's not waste any more time and get started creating our River [Music] as with all my dioramas I start by creating a sturdy base this one is simply a square frame made with pine and a piece of extruded polystyrene is cut and glued to fit snugly inside the frame I'm using a polyurethane glue to secure the foam as a bonds well both to the foam and the wood and due to the expanding quality of the glue I'll make sure that whenever I use this particular glue I weigh down each piece so they don't move as the glue expands and cures now that I have my work area I begin designing I start with a rough sketch on sandpaper and once I'm happy I transferred the design onto the board [Music] extra pieces of foam are used to add elevation and contouring that will make up the land form of the diorama this is basically a trial and error process as I gradually cut and hack away at pieces of foam until I get the shape I'm after I generally just use a sharp hobby knife and some very coarse sandpaper to shape and carve the foam and I don't forget to keep the small off cuts of foam because I'll use them later as filler for small Hills the polyurethane glue is used again to glue the foam together however when gluing two pieces of foam together you'll need to roughen up the foam with a wire brush and dampen the surface with a sponge as this will help the glue form a very strong bond [Music] and don't forget to weigh it down to prevent the pieces moving as the glue cures the next step is to place the rock molds these are made using some plaster of Paris and the woodland Scenic's molds basically I make a large batch of rocks and spread them out ready to be test fitting it's mostly trial and error process where I pick a rock and see how it looks I use sandpaper to flatten the rocks that will sit on the bottom and I use a hobby knife to carve other rocks so they fit together like a puzzle [Music] don't be afraid to break rocks in half to make them fit better each rock is held in place with a small amount of hot glue so they stay in place when I add the sculptor mold later this area behind the top of the rock face gets filled in with some of those scrap pieces of foam we saved from earlier and for the even smaller gaps I pushed some scrunched up pieces of paper into them the mainland form covering this is done with sculptor mole it's a very versatile product and does a fantastic job when adding contours and texture to your scenery it blends well and can be left rough for bushy unkept areas or rub smooth with a finger for areas that are well-maintained simply add some water until it's the consistency of cottage cheese and start putting it down and spreading it out [Music] you I just made sure to avoid putting it down the middle of the diorama where the river will be going depending on how soupy you made the sculptor mold you have about a 10 to 15 minute window if you're using this stuff before it starts to set filling in the gaps between the rocks is done with plaster of Paris just be sure to wet the rocks before adding the plaster filler otherwise the plaster won't stick and stay in the gaps properly [Music] [Music] with all the main contouring done and plastering finished our tidy up the edges with some sandpaper removing any excess plaster I also smooth the surface of the river using a fine 600 grit sandpaper this helps remove any small drips of plaster that are on the riverbed and also helps give a smooth transition between the embankment and the riverbed once done I vacuum away the dust I have three main colors I use for the rocks starting with the darkest first giving the rock face a thorough coating the plaster sucks up the moisture in the paint very fast so I find adding water helps the paint flow over the rocks [Music] the second coat is made slightly lighter by adding some white and it's coated across the surface using the flat side of the brush and that way it doesn't go into the small gaps then an even lighter stone gray with a very small amount of basalt grey is used and a heavy dry brushing technique is applied making sure I leave areas of the dark color below showing through then finally a light drybrushing of silver gray is applied in a Down fashion only getting the edges of the rocks [Music] the same process of color is applied to the rocks that will be placed in the middle of the river as well the base just below the rock face is painted gray and the riverbed is painted a black brown right up to the embankment this will be blended later with an airbrush [Music] [Music] as with nearly all of my dioramas I paint the ground an earthy color for this I'm using Joe Sonya's fawn watered down and liberally coated covering any remaining wide areas for the areas next to the riverbed and the rock face I apply the earth color with a smaller brush and I'm just being a little bit more careful in order not to get paint where I don't want it the surface texture is done with a 50/50 mix of dried sifted dirt and grout to get a nice color and a very fine texture it is applied three stocking to ensure a fine even coat is applied watered down Mod Podge is painted over all the areas I want the dirt to stick and then the dirt is applied applying the glue first helps the dirt texture stick to the steep hills and embankments [Music] excess dirt is removed from the riverbed and rockface firstly with the vacuum and then dusted with the brush to ensure no unwanted - it will get glued to the riverbed [Music] once done the entire area is first sprayed with isopropyl alcohol and then the area is misted with scenic glue to ensure it's tucked down really well the alcohol enables the glue to penetrate into the dirt rather than just the glue simply forming a crust over the dirt texture areas of poured glue can be soaked up with a paper towel I ended up giving the river bed a second coat of black brown due to some of the paint being rubbed off when I used the paper towel to soak up the excess glue to give the illusion of depth I blend the area between the rock face and the middle of the river using some black brown through the airbrush just be careful not to accidentally spray the rock face the same technique is used to blend the riverbanks as well using ten earth [Music] I also spray up higher on the embankment and across the top of the rock face with some burnt umber to show different layers of soil the rocks that protrude from the water our first test fitted and once happy I paint the base with bass all grey and blend the edges with some black Brown using the airbrush again they are simply held down with a small amount of Mod Podge so they don't move when I add the water River debris can now be added as well I wanted to add some fallen trees and branches and this is easily done with some salt bullsh-- twigs it's just a matter of finding one that fits well and looks good things start to progress quite fast from this point I start by adding grass I first make a batch of static grass tops which are very easy to make as long as you have a static grass applicator it's quite easy to make your own and I have a tutorial showing you how to make this one I'm using here I'm using six millimeter static grass for my grass tops and standard white glue on some baking paper just make sure to attach the ground and clip to the metal tray and before you know it you'll have hundreds of grass Tufts the four millimeter static grass is used to blend in and around the six millimeter grass Tufts and watered-down modpodge is used to adhere everything down I'm deliberately applying the glue quite rough and patchy because I'll be adding additional layers of grass later the Tufts are randomly dropped into the glue and then the static grass applicator full of four millimeter grass is shaken over the top [Music] I avoid working on large areas at a time as the glue dries quite fast but before the glue has a chance to dry completely I use a piece of wire to gently tease the grass so it's not so uniform and straight [Music] the excess grass is collected using a vacuum and Stocking which can then be used again for other projects [Music] [Music] the two-millimeter grass is used to further blend the transition between the ground dirt and the longer formula metastatic of grass it's applied semi randomly along the edges however I still make sure that there are some bare patches of plain dirt remaining [Music] [Music] and just like we did with the other grass I've vacuumed away the excess [Music] it's hard to get all the loose grass using only the vacuum so we've possible you may need to turn the diorama upside down and shake away all the loose grass otherwise you can use the brush attachment on the vacuum to tease the grass and help get all those loose fibers but just make sure that the glue has had time to dry before using this method adding more color is done with a variety of materials I firstly sprinkle finely ground dried leaves friend Emily over the area this is basically dead leaves found in the garden and put through a blender then sifted to remove the larger pieces that get discarded the fine stuff is what I use I use the paintbrush to press that fine chopped leaves down into the grass I don't want the chopped leaves to be sitting on top of the grass fine turf burnt grass is also used to add pockets of color randomly over the area and I also use a small amount of woodland Scenic's earth blend as well to simulate other types of plants and weeds course turf is used for low-lying bushes and weeds and to help that blend in better I also sprinkle some bear grass over the top of the course turf field flowers can be added using colored foam on this diorama I only added some very small areas of yellow and orange you need to be careful not to add too much of this because it really doesn't take much to ruin the realistic look of your scene before I glue all of this down I remove any loose bits of leaves and foam from the riverbed and from the rock face as well I further protect the riverbed before gluing by covering it with some paper towel [Music] the area is misted with alcohol and then missed it with the scenic glue to ensure everything is firmly fixed in place not much alcohol and glue is needed for this layer you want to try and avoid having any of the glue start to pull if you find there are still some loose spots afterwards you can simply repeat the process on those areas before it's had a chance to completely dry remove the paper towel from the river bed next I add highlights to the dirt road I'm using some yellow ochre pastel and I lightly brush it over the wheel tracks you can also dust other areas of the scenery to add a bit of color variety finally before I pour the river I glue the river debris so it doesn't float above the resin [Music] in preparation for pouring the resin I need to dam up the river there's nothing worse than having a leak in your river resulting in a hard to clean up resin going everywhere I use masking tape for this and to further ensure no leaks occur I apply a bead of white glue around the perimeter of the masking tape so far this method hasn't failed me yet mixing the resin is actually quite a simple process you just need to ensure you follow the instructions carefully if you're using envirotec sleight then you'll need a precise 50/50 mix stir the mixture as instructed in my case two minutes and if you're going to add color just make sure it's compatible with the resin you're using I'm using an opaque pigments specifically for epoxy resins I ended up using a mixture of burnt umber and some blue the pigment is quite condensed and a little goes a very long way so start with very small amounts of pigment and gradually add more as desired once the color has been thoroughly mixed I pour the resin into a second cup and mix for a further minute I then begin pouring the resin into the river don't worry too much about bubbles yet as they are easily removed later [Music] simply finish pouring the resin and if required use a toothpick to help the resin flow around difficult objects wait about 5 or 10 minutes and then the bubbles will float to the surface then just breathe over the surface as if you're breathing onto your glasses to wipe them clean the carbon dioxide in your breath will cause the bubbles to burst large bubbles that get stuck to the bottom can be teased with a toothpick and brought to the surface where they can be popped with a breath of air as the resin cures be sure to cover the area so dust doesn't get stuck to the surface that is the reason why I haven't added the larger trees and bushes yet now I just leave it for about a day and a half as the resin cures [Music] you can see the river is mostly bubble free however there are a couple of bubbles that got missed but don't worry because after adding ripples they will be much less noticeable the tape should simply peel away and now it's just a matter of adding the ripples for this I use Mod Podge gloss and a wide flat brush and I also have the airbrush ready to go as well start by applying a thin layer of Mod Podge over the surface using a stippling motion and I only apply the Mod Podge in small sections about two to three inches at a time now with the airbrush gently pressed the trigger to activate the airflow and gently wave the airbrush over the freshly applied Mod Podge start from far away when you first apply the air and gradually move forward until the Mod Podge starts to get pushed across the surface just enough to create the ripples to close in the Mod Podge will start to fly all over the place it's possible to create the ripples using the paintbrush without the need for the airbrush and you will get fantastic results however I found that using this method in conjunction with using the airbrush helps remove bubbles from the Mod Podge and it results in much finer and a more organic shaped ripples [Music] for the areas in tight spots like near the rocks I just use a small paintbrush to create the ripples to create more turbulent water behind and around the rocks I use some model and Scenic's water effects this works perfect for rough areas of water because it's much thicker and it holds its shape quite well this area is only mildly turbulent so I lightly stipple the water effects with a brush in and around the rocks and I create a bit of a tail trailing back from the rocks in the direction of the flow of the river once dry I add some white highlights to the rough areas only apply a very small amount of paint at a time because it's easy to overdo the effect I use a dry brushing technique to apply the paint [Music] if you do put down too much paint you can use a wet micro brush or cotton but to wipe away the excess trees can now be added as desired I use a very simple technique for trees on this diorama I'm using saltbush trees collected from the great outdoors any type of twig with a fine branch structure will work well once I've plucked and pruned the twig into the shape I like I had a very small amount of Polly father to add extra volume to the branches with some spray adhesive I coat the tree and sprinkle some coarse turf over the top and then repeat this process until you get the desired volume and finally I add a sprinkling of burnt grass over the top to add highlights this results in a very natural looking tree trees are simply fixed onto the diorama with matte Mod Podge by first drilling a small hole big enough to fit the trunk and then with a small amount of Mod Podge in the hole I press the tree into position making sure it's angled appropriately [Music] [Music] smaller shrubs are added using some woodland sanics finally foliage [Music] with the dub of modpodge please simply press into the static brass and that is usually enough to hold them upright otherwise you can create a small hole for them to press into using a pin I decided to have a bit of tree variety and added one of the detailed trees I made from a previous video these are made using the woodland Scenic's deciduous tree armatures and more finely foliage carefully attached to each of the branches a final layer of Bush can also be made with some woodland Scenic's clump foliage this is basically glued on top of the underlying scenery as desired [Music] [Music] now for the human touch this is a sitting figure I'm adding a very thin piece of wire to act as a fishing rod and it's slightly curved to look like it's bending and I painted this one blue [Music] once dry had told him to position with some tacky craft glue and then I set the figure on the diorama again with a very small drop of tacky glue the fishing line is made with a hot glue gun I'm making use of those stringy bits of glue that usually drive you insane I use a bit of tacky glue to attach one end of the hot glue string to the fishing rod it holds surprisingly fast however you can also use superglue [Music] [Music] once dry I trim away the excess line and press it onto the surface of the river to prevent the line from moving or detaching I lightly dab some Mod Podge gloss over the end other human elements can be added like more people dogs and cars and now you're done you have an amazing scene that demands attention well you made it to the end of this epic video you may have noticed I've been wearing a boulder creek railroad shirt and if you two would like to wear one of these bad boys just check out the store on my website and that will take you where you need to go also if you'd like to help and support this channel feel free to check out my patreon page there are some extra perks like early viewing of these videos and some other awesome rewards as well Cheers and thanks for watching

Channel: Luke Towan

Views: 2,748,850

Keywords: model water, HO scale river, model river, scenery, water effects, realistic water, modeling ripples, realistic scenery, realistic scenery volume 8, HO scale, how to model water, modeling water, water rapids, water scene, diorama, how to, tutorial, water, waves, envirotex, envirotex lite, woodland scenics, model railway, modeling dirt roads, deep river, model rocks, terrain, HO scale fisherman, fishing line, war gaming

Id: dug-ffEhqZU

Length: 27min 9sec (1629 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 14 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Now that is an artisan video. That guy not only makes good videos but excellent explanations, excellent art and just creative thinking.

That's some craftsmanship.

[u/Eyger]

`

[u/mb1]

Did I really just watch 27 minutes of a guy, who is obviously super talented, build a river scene diorama? Yes, yes I did.

[u/artemis2k]

I just love this guy's channel.

[u/jampk24]

Well that was a quick half hour.

[u/asoap]

I gotta put this guy in the same category as clickspring. I can't stop watching the video, and just sitting there enjoying every minute of it.

[u/Mercury1600]

Always enjoy watching water put into dioramas

[u/[deleted]]

Very cool! Any recommendations for channels that do fantasy landscapes?

[u/Jhonopolis]

Kinda disappointed he didn't say H-O at any point in this one.