Unusual Media

[DaN]

I\'m wondering just what some people have used in the course of this hobby that might be considered unusual or different.

I\'m not JUST talking about using household containers and things for making scenery or basing, but things like grinding up chalk (OK, gypsum you pedants!) for weathering, or experimenting with printing inks...

So go ahead - tell us about some of your experiments and their results - with pictures too if you have any - even they were an unmitigated disaster

PS. The reason this springs to mind is that I recently finished another portrait, and decided to try using coloured pencils - something I haven\'t used since school - and it ended up quite well

If you\'re interested...

 

[Jike Ichi]

Hmm for me its the other way around. When people ask me what colours I use for my canvas and I tell them I use colours that are used for miniatures. Then they are always amazed.

I also used static grass on canvas. I just used it as green areas. Worked out pretty well and viewers were even more amazed. lol
(But it leaves a mess cause you can\'t get the grass off from a 50X50cm canvas. If you find a good way to do that, plz tell me...)

 

[Roger Bunting]

Well, again not for minis although time will tell, but for 2d stuff I\'ve used crepe paper, tissue paper, polyfilla, sugar and various other stuff for textures.

 

[Wren]

Hmm... a piece of screening from a screen door would probably be the oddest thing I\'ve used so far. Not on the mini itself, but to make the gird for the base. Of course a month or two later I find out I could have just bought tile texture styrene card. I keep a lot of odd stuff, just haven\'t used much of it yet.

 

[mattsterbenz]

A friend and customer of mine made a giant for his orcs and goblins army out of... wait for it.... a Homer Simpson as The Hulk toy.... lol

That same customer made an Ork Killa Kan out of bits, and used an empty GW paint pot for the torso.

I haven\'t really used much out of the ordinary. There\'s several pets at my mom\'s house, and tons of shed hair all over the place. I\'ve thought about emptying the vacuum cleaner bags and using the cat hair as packing material for shipping on a few occasions, but that would just be nasty! I\'ll do that if I ever have to send something back to GW. lol

-Matt

 

[lizcam]

Cinnamon (see flower tutorial), makeup, false eyelashes, embossing powder, rust scraped off an old car, embossing tin, cat wiskers (great strings for bows), human hair (same thing but mines blonde so it doesn\'t show. I have to pull it out of my son\'s head), I don\'t know. I\'m sure there are other things as well but I\'m a great one for saying, \"Oooo. I need to make ___. I can\'t afford to buy anything. What have I got laying around?\"

 

[Theomar Pius]

I use silver beads and Water Effects to no end.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Mortar and Pestle for grinding Sand to a more suitable size for basing.

Cut Leylandii sprigs allowed to dry for foliage.
Glass beads from a hobby shop as whatever.
Electrical wire stripped down and separated, used as wire and plaited in to Dwarf beard decorations and Orc Trophies.

 

[freakinacage]

used pastels on this guy:

i am pleased with the result

am thinking of trying reak soil on a base just to see what it looks like.

i often use makeup brushes as they are cheap, very soft, have dense bristles and are a nice shape. i use them for drybrushing, basecoats and weathering.

foam for stippling of weathering

a rubber cuticle pusher for sculpting as it\'s about half the price of a colour shaper the same size

*edit* btw dan bloody good pic there, looks like one of those computer rendition jobbies!

 

[Sukigod]

Heheh. I\'ve got boxes of odd stuff laying around, just waiting for the right project. Here\'s my latest \"most unusual\"...

Used as blunted spikes for my deff rolla.

 

[DaN]

hehe- yeah Suki - yours was one example I was thinking of

 

[generulpoleaxe]

dried and crushed foliage (leaves, twigs, grass etc) for foliage.

realy thin plaster mix for adding texture (whilst still wet just sprinkle a little plaster powder onto it)
realy cool for heavily rusted and flaking paint.

 

[demonherald]

yeah the plaster trick works a treat...

Err .. my own blood on a weapon.. discovered by accident tha it really gives a nice effect just not recommended to do a whol khorne army...

recently afte a talk with Adie Vincenti Bay been experimenting with various oils and pastes from the kitchen cupbard to use as masks for creating damage, peanut butter, marmite and toothpaste work well, butter ,olive oil and jam not so well..

I used to keep reptiles and the shed skins made excellent snakeskin(surprise surprise) or sea dragon cloaks and banners.

I have a dirt mixture that was basically a filthy water pot I used wen making terrain that dried out and left a sludge in the jar.. I now have it sealed in pots and it is great with a little water to create dust masks and filters over surfaces...

errrm all I canthink of right now but a million and one things have been tried and tested ..

 

[demonherald]

oooh just remembered .. currently (after GD) gonna be having a crack at some 54mm stuff and have just recently pulled apart some of those regurgitated balls of fur and amall animal ones owls spit out and salvaged some mouse skulls vertebrae rib and leg bones ...(two owl spots nearby) and will be experimenting using them.. so fine and delicate they are...

 

[generulpoleaxe]

you git, i have been after some owl pellets but my local farmer looked at me like i was a nutter when i asked him.

just going to have to boil the flesh of squig instead :twisted:

 

[PegaZus]

I\'ve got two small bird leg bones that I\'m just itching to get cast... for something... right after all my other projects.