Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[Pomperaugrr]

If you are seriously considering black light painting effects, I have to recommend Wildfire FX Paints.  Besides my real day job, and my MRR hobby, I am also a professional haunt employee (Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce) and have used WildfireFX UV paints exclusively, after trying other disappointing products.  WildfireFX can also do "invisible UV printing," which may have applications for backdrop uses on model railroad layouts.  The invisible clear coats would be perfect for representing city lights in the distance on a backdrop, when illuminated with UV and possibly even building lighting effects, without the windows apearing "painted." The paints are expensive, but the coverage and UV effects are the best I have seen.  No affiliation for me, but a steady customer for years!  Here is a link to their paint products!

http://wildfirefx.com/products/paints/

Eric

[C855B]

Here's the background mockup, at 36". In the creation and result, Robyn and I decided we missed our calling, painting baby's rooms:



It's definitely space-relative, and this made our decision to use the entire 48" of the foamcore sheets. Even as crude as this is, I'm going to leave it up in the meanwhile, it's a nice effect.

On other fronts, I'm working on painting track. I have a test result I like for mainlines that should go down quickly ("quickly" being the operative, for obvious reasons!), but I haven't settled on an aged tie effect just yet, still sorting through colors.

[C855B]

If you are seriously considering black light painting effects, I have to recommend Wildfire FX Paints. ...

Yes, I agree. This is what I arrived at previously.

How does the WildfireFX clear/black work? I need to do something to prevent the foamcore facing paper from irridescing. In the end it may require nothing more than using white wall paint as a gesso, but I'll have to test.

[C855B]

First operation down the hill at Oro Grande:

Not a valid vimeo URL
Meaningful progress on the other side of the hill, laying the foundation for Daggett:



And progress was interrupted for a moment by:

[Philip H]

I wonder how that fence fell down . . . .

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I think you're right on with the size. Especially since you're modeling "big sky country" or something like that.

That said, I'm not sure I advocate the painting approach. I really think photos are where it's at.

[C855B]

I wonder how that fence fell down . . . .

No help from us! Really!    Random panels came down in a windstorm last fall (looking sort of like missing teeth), and the remainder between them blew down about a month ago. I think (...hope...) the oil guy has given up on this project, and is not going to throw more money at it, so repairs are unlikely. Then maybe the downed panels will start mysteriously disappearing... and it won't be us, we happen to know there's a video camera watching.

(Yes, I do think he's given up. Last time I talked to him he was bemoaning that the city won't let him put a pumpjack there. Neither will we. That stipulation was in the MOU when he drilled, as that's city property, and the city was supposed to get an X% cut of the output. I knew it was a boondoggle from the start and told him that, that I knew enough about well production to know that he was break even at $65-70/bbl, and prices at the time were $50/bbl and still falling.)

... I'm not sure I advocate the painting approach. I really think photos are where it's at. ...

Yes, I've been watching what you, @coldriver and @GaryHinshaw are doing with photo backgrounds and wonder how I can get to a similar result. In my case it's going to be challenging since I'm modeling a very wide range of scenes over what is geographically 1500 miles. Collecting the images will be nontrivial, as well. Something that makes it a little less onerous is only the horizon needs the imaging, above that would be a case of matching the top of the image for sky. That's why we have an in-house artist. And an out-house artist, too, when she's painting bathrooms.   

[C855B]

I normally don't have the audio turned up on my computers, and just realized there was background music on the video. Oops. Let's just call it a "Strauss test".

[Missaberoad]

I normally don't have the audio turned up on my computers, and just realized there was background music on the video. Oops. Let's just call it a "Strauss test".

Made it more epic...  honestly seemed intentional...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yes, I've been watching what you, @coldriver and @GaryHinshaw are doing with photo backgrounds and wonder how I can get to a similar result. In my case it's going to be challenging since I'm modeling a very wide range of scenes over what is geographically 1500 miles. Collecting the images will be nontrivial, as well.

Well, you can get an RV and get traveling.

Or ask for some a$$hat assistance.

Or... use Google streetview! I've done that a little with ok results.

[svedblen]

You do not always need to have photos from the correct location. Not if the scenes are "generic" enough. This is supposed to be somwehere in the US midwest but the backdrop photos are taken in my neighbourhood here in Sweden.

[peteski]

I think you're right on with the size. Especially since you're modeling "big sky country" or something like that.

That said, I'm not sure I advocate the painting approach. I really think photos are where it's at.

Ed, that photo (if taken as a Helicon Focus stack) would look dead-a$$ real!  Everything in it (except the depth of field) looks so realistic! 

I agree that one can't beat the realism of carefully chosen photo backdrops, but trying to find (or make) really large seamless murals with continuous scenery is a big challenge. Also, at 36" height, uniform sky color and "texture" becomes a problem.  One (very time-consuming) method is to carefully trim the sky out of the printed photo backdrop (using a hobby knife), paint the sky on the backdrop, then glue the photo in on the lower part.  I suppose something similar can be done on a computer (if one has access to a wide format printer which can print continuous 36" wide banner).

[coldriver]

Yes, I've been watching what you, @coldriver and @GaryHinshaw are doing with photo backgrounds and wonder how I can get to a similar result. In my case it's going to be challenging since I'm modeling a very wide range of scenes over what is geographically 1500 miles. Collecting the images will be nontrivial, as well. Something that makes it a little less onerous is only the horizon needs the imaging, above that would be a case of matching the top of the image for sky. That's why we have an in-house artist. And an out-house artist, too, when she's painting bathrooms.   

Collecting the images becomes sort of a hobby unto itself.  Every morning I drive my stretch of North Texas freeway to work and look at a really nice rolling grassy hill that would look great just about anywhere including east central Oregon.  I even took some panoramas travelling in Croatia last summer that I thought could work!  Like Peteski mentions above, I'm going with the sky trimming method in order to retain a consistent sky.  It's a bit of tedious work, especially when trimming pine tree lined ridges, but ultimately worth it.  Of course I don't have a talented artist to rely on - I'd say my artwork was marginally passable but certainly not a layout highlight! 

[MVW]

Collecting the images becomes sort of a hobby unto itself.  Every morning I drive my stretch of North Texas freeway to work and look at a really nice rolling grassy hill that would look great just about anywhere including east central Oregon.  I even took some panoramas travelling in Croatia last summer that I thought could work!

You know, it occurs to me this would be a great crowd-source kind of project. You know, a little online repository with a selection of shots that users could download and use as they will.

I always thought it would be helpful to do the same with buildings. Everyone posts images of their creations (taken from a specific angle), which others could download and include in backdrops, etc.

It wouldn't take a lot of effort, and would be a hell of a resource.

But what do I know?

Jim

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Another option for cutting the sky out... Computer controlled cutters. Not sure a laser will work, but maybe one of the knife ones.

I'm not going to say this is the reason I go with "winter white" skies, but it does factor in.