What colors should I use?

[orkblasta]

I've been doing some work on getting a good texture for a realistic base for my new units but then I encountered a small problem, I don't actually know how to paint a realistic base.

What colors should I use in order to get a realistic looking ground? The base is just gravel and rocks and dirt.

[VoragoTitan]

well, do you want an earthy colored base (browns)
or a ruined city/barren wasteland type base (black and grey)

for an earthy base I paint with bestial brown, dry brush with vomit brown and then give it a light dry brush of Bleached bone. Paint rims with a few layers of GE (graveyard earth) You can then add static grass as it tends to look good with this type of base

as for the wasteland paint it all chaos black, drybrush codex grey, then a lighter drybush of fortress grey. and if your feeling extreme, give it a VERY VERY light drybrush of skull white

Merry Christmas!
VoragoTitan

[orkblasta]

Merry Christmas to you to.

Do you have any pictures of what these bases would look like? Truth be told I'm not exactly sure what kind of base I want. I'm thinking I would like the waist land look better though.

[yoritomo]

I've found that it's not so much the paint as the texture that makes a good base.

For a dirt base the best thing to use is, well, dirt. Get some fine sand and mis it with glue. You're going to want it about the consistency of paste. Too thick and it won't cover the base, too thin and it will run off the base.

Play around with the type of sand and how much glue you use until you get the desired effect. Practicing on spare bases is best, but if you don't have any then just use an index card. Let it dry over night before you decide on how it looks.

Once you have the texture, painting it is easy. Just use a basecoat, wash, and drybrush. Whatever color you use remember that the wash should be darker than the base coat and the drybrush should be lighter.

This is a simple and easy way to base your models. If you need something else then add a touch of static grass after you're done painting. You'll be surprised at the results.