Twirled Trees / Centri"frugal" Conifers

[sirenwerks]

I would imagine if one were to dip the top of the tree in some glue, then sprinkle or pad a small amount of foam and or static grass, it would camouflage the tree top.

In the last picture that M.C. posted, when you look at the overall scene as a whole, these tree tops almost disappear.

Allen,

Your fix is an obvious one, but I don't feel it would be an aesthetically presentable one. Unwrapping the braid at the top to present multiple small branches, as is typical with many pines, which then could be coated with a needle mix is an even better solution I immediately thought of.
But I was asking the post's presenter if he had tried any fixes.

Had I not felt the tree top issue disappeared with enough distance, I would not have asked but I believe it would be viewable. In a photo, you have the benefit of controlling depth of field to minimize such an effect. But in real life one's eyes focus changes constantly and for someone like me who concentrates on such details, I would end up focusing on such a detail shortfall. Which, again, is why I asked MC. Otherwise, I think it's a great thread.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Unwrapping the braid at the top to present multiple small branches, as is typical with many pines, which then could be coated with a needle mix is an even better solution I immediately thought of.

The problem is the the "braid" is just two wires.
Taking a smallish chunk of the coarse WS Conifer & placing on top actually works alrighty (you're not making a mushroom cap, just covering the very top of the twisted wires).

When you hairspray the wires / twine, and dump the ground foam on, enough gets on / around the top trunk.

Now I'm wondering if a layer of fine dirt might help.

I still think the white glue / fine sawdust will help a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[sirenwerks]

Would more, smaller gauge wires being used as the base [trunk] produce difficulty in inserting the branch wires? I can imagine using the white glue/sawdust mixture would create some thickness where it's unwanted; I could see some being desirable at branch bases but also imagine it carrying all the way to the branch tips, or thereabout. Using smaller/more wire to create the trunk increases the amount of surface area, which would likely decrease the components creating the higher contrast which makes the two-wire trunk twist more noticeable. At least that's my theory.

And a shout-out  apology to Allen. I'm sorry for being so snippy in my earlier post.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Would more, smaller gauge wires being used as the base [trunk] produce difficulty in inserting the branch wires? I can imagine using the white glue/sawdust mixture would create some thickness where it's unwanted; I could see some being desirable at branch bases but also imagine it carrying all the way to the branch tips, or thereabout. Using smaller/more wire to create the trunk increases the amount of surface area, which would likely decrease the components creating the higher contrast which makes the two-wire trunk twist more noticeable. At least that's my theory.

Thinner wire would reduce the twistiness, but also give a very thin trunk: you only use two wires.
If you used more, the twine might not stick out right after drill-twirling.

The other way to go is to bunch a bunch of stripped doorbell wire together & start wrapping one from bottom up.  Then you can peal away thick branches & separate the individual wires for smaller branches.

I'll try those for some outside trees too. But these trees are supposed to be "fast"

An idea that just popped into my head: is there a way to coat the two wires after you twirl the trunk but before you lay the twine fibers in?  That way, after you twirl (very slowly so it doesn't splatter everywhere!), the coating would "self-level" and form a more even, non-twisted-wire trunk.

The coating could be anything not too sticky / stiff, as you're going to paint the trunk & twine anyway before foam.

Like dip the wires in thick white glue or wood glue or plaster or wax or liquid electrical tape or ??????
I'll let the brains of this forum come up with better suggestions

[sirenwerks]

One thing that comes to mind is replacing the natural twine with a fine multi-strand cabling, like telephone or DSL wiring that has some control-ability for positioning and 'memory', where the twine would not.

[SkipGear]

I have a possible idea to try also.

I like the idea of static grass so I wonder how it would work if I grounded the static grass applicator to the trunk and then applied static grass to the energized trunk. It may add another dimention to the tree, as in minor branches sticking out from the major branches.

It will be something to try the next time I get out the static grass applicator.

[Bendtracker1]

And a shout-out  apology to Allen. I'm sorry for being so snippy in my earlier post.

No problem! 
Your right, I chimed in a little too soon. I should have waited a bit so M.C. had a chance to reply first.
I guess I owe M.C. an apology .....Sorry, My bad for being a little too quick on pulling the trigger.

As for the static grass, could one glue a small tuft of it on the tip with tweezers and then prune them to one's desire after the glue dries?  Of course this would be for the ones of us who do not own a static grass applicator yet.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Tony: I've thought about the electrified tree technique, too, but haven't gone beyond initial testing:



That's 22AWG stripped & twisted.  Clipped the alligator to the base, then shook my flyswatter a couple inches over it.  I didn't paint the wire first just to check out the conductivity.  Hairspray doesn't really "grab" to bare wire (funny that!).  That's WS dark green static grass.

Today, though I tried working on Sirenwerks' issue of twisted-wire exposure.

I coated a couple of pieces of floral wire with liquid electrical tape.  I figure you need something that coats the wire, drys, yet can be shaped slightly after the twirling.  I tried putting in sections of stranded 22AWG wire instead of twine, but they just wouldn't stay long enough to twirl.  Here's the coated floral wire & twine:



You can see the trunk has a different texture & isn't symmetrically twisted, which is what gives away the wire.

Then I sprayed them grimy black, hairsprayed & WS conifered them.
Here's two finished trees with the liquid electrical tape coating trunk:



A little better than just wire, but I'm not sure it justifies the added steps / time (coating is messy, need to wait for them to dry about 30 min / hour).

I'm thinking that dipping parafin might be the way to go: something liquid I could coat the wires with, that would harden so I could put the twine on & then twirl, and that I could "sculpt" with my fingers after twirling & before painting.  The liquid electrical tape just isn't as malleable.

Soap might work, too.  Prisoners take slightly watered soap, rub it on string, and when it drys they can cut metal pieces off their bunks for weapons, so I don't see why it couldn't work for trees
(though there is the question of whether soap takes paint or not)

Off to the craft store tomorrow for wax!
(I've already looking into auto wax: doesn't dry when glooped on)

Thanks for inspiring the quest for a more perfect pine!

[sirenwerks]

Why not thick acrylic paint, like that from a tube? It can be shaped on the canvas so I don't see why it can't add texture to a wire form and it dries relatively fast. There may be some question of how it will hold up over time, as some paints become brittle depending on their chemical composition (no, not all tube paints are the same).

[Bendtracker1]

Recently I ask M.C. if it was OK to convert his postings of his "Twirled Tree" process to a condensed PDF file like I did for Gary Hinshaw's "Fading Fast" postings that I did a  few months ago.

For those of you who are interested,

Twirled Trees

If anyone else has some "Favorite" postings that they want converted, let me know.