Had a few guys ask me how I get the coloring of my rocks, so I thought I would take a few photos of how I do it. This works for mountains in the area of West Virginia / Virginia which is where this side of my layout is being modeled after. All the paints I used for this project are Polly Scale.
First, I airbrush the entire area with E/L Grey.
Next, I add a India Ink wash. This is 1 part India Ink to 9 parts 70% Iso Alcohol. This step will help give the illusion of shadows later on.
Once the wash dries, I use L&N Grey to add a different shade of grey for contrast.
While the paint is still wet, I add rust in random spots to highlight rocks that stand out to me.
I will follow this up by drybrushing the edges of the rock faces with CSX Tan. This will help simulate light hitting the edges of the rock face. Try not to add too much as this will defeat the purpose. The last step in the process is to blend in everything using weathering chalks with a fan brush. For this rock formation, I used medium brown, light grey, rust and then black. To lighten up certain areas, I would use light grey. To enchance shadows or add old water marks, I would use black, sparingly. Again, if I ever felt an area was too dark, I could always add a little light grey to lighten it up.
Here is the finished product. Approx time about 2 hours from start to finish.
Hope this helps!
