In the process of getting the base coats painted, I started with airbrushing in basic colors. The mountains go first, since they will be the most random and messy. To get a rich and realistic effect, I start with acrylic inks airbrushed over the white opaque highlight. The end result has lots of rich depth of color (see the bottom of the pic below). After this stage, the mountains will be dry brushed, washed and then highlighted before they are done, but I plan to get all the base colors of the entire board down before dong the wash and highlight stages.
For the inks, I use Aerocolor, which are a bit expensive. They are, however, airbrush ready and give unbelievably rich colors. For the mountains, I started with the white opaque highlights, then used 'flesh tint' in random patterns over the entire rocky area. After this I randomly sprayed 'sepia' and 'brown Brazil' into the dark areas of shade and areas of finer rocky features. To get the best results, I use several passes across the mountains with each color, and gradually add depth and light.
Below is the base coated mountain texture. This earth-toned base color will give layers of realism when I highlight over with grays and light grays. I really like the result so far, but I know that the best result comes from subtle layering of several techniques. I'm a bit uncertain about how they will look in the end, but I hope to give them a cooler color tone in the next phase. I have some very cool ideas about final touches on the board, and I have hardly begun. I guess I'll have to be patient.
Painting is happening. when I started this project, I couldn't imagine getting to this phase and now it's here. Once I finish the entire mountain scheme, I will hopefully post a painting guide that goes step by step through the entire process.
Look to the madman to show you the way.
Looks amazing so far - really earthy and realistic!
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