Mike: Did you make the bridge in your woodland indians/creek diorama. If not, whose the manufacturer? If so, can you provide some steps as to how you constructed it, especially in how you achieved the weathered look. Thanks.
Joel
Joel...I made it...
I actually sold it at the show and was very happy about that...
first off...
they are simple cheap Popsicle sticks glued together...
Walmart...100 for $2.00...
all you do to weather the wood is...
take an exacto knife and etch a deep "wood grain" in them...
press the back unsharpened end of the razor point into the wood and draw wood grain into it...look at my picture...
the sloppier your work...the better they look...FOR REAL!!!
too neat and it doesn't look real...
beat up the edges of the sticks with a file or rasp...too straight and even looks phony...make the wood look beat up...
instead of snipping the ends cleanly with shears...
break them with your hands to give the a better "weathered look"...kind of splintered...
glue your bridge together with white glue or a hot glue gun...
the hot glue gun dries sturdy in seconds...an advantage over white glue that takes over night to dry...
the disadvantage is the glue gun can burn you and does not dry as clear as white glue...
I prefer a glue gun...either will work...just be "EXTRA NEAT" with your glue gun to hide the glue...excess glue from the gun will look horrible...it's glossy and shiny...it's hard to conceal with paint too...
once assembled...paint the entire structure in a black "wash"...just liquefy your black paint to the consistency of water...slop it on...make sure to get it in all the cracks, wood grain etchings of your exacto knife and everywhere else...
once it dries...I use a light tan paint and "dry brush" it with a very, very, very stiff old brush in very short strokes...
when you "dry brush" it...get your stiff brush thoroughly coated in the tan paint and then brush or paint off all the excess paint on a scrap of wood or paper til the brush has almost no tan paint left on it....
don't worry...even when you think you have all the paint off the dry brush...there will still be paint in it...
now...take very small strokes with your brush...the smaller the better...try to stay in one direction which works best for me...but you don't have to...
rub the dry "empty" brush onto the black wood...you will see it highlight the black wood immediately and make it look old and beaten...practice with some pieces...the results will really age the wood...don't use too much paint...just dry brush til you get the effect you want...
if you really want it to look nice...after it dries...dilute your tan paint with 50% white paint...and do a second coat of drybrushing...
the wood will come alive immediately...
practice on some scraps...
remember this...the worse your raw wood looks...the more realistic it will look...if it's too neat...it looks fake...
hope that helps...send me a photo of anything you make...I wanna see it...
I know he never complains about the pains of satisfying his art, but he told me that he gets a good jolt when he applies that stuff. I need to get a picture of his hair standing straight up while he's building his diorama.
