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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:34:31 GMT
Once upon a time existed a forum full of fantastic adventures of DM Crafters, sharing the dungeons, forests, buildings and various other gaming terrain and accessories. Heading the dire warnings of impending doom from the sages, these DMs deftly escaped to the present forum. With unearthly internet magic, these threads are being resurrected here, saved from the obscurity that eats messageboard threads like the "vandal moth" that chewed through so many parchment pages of antiquity. Or, this was a thread on the old forum that I have copied here... Feel free to post whatever you like in this new thread. I'm not sure I'll update it really, but I thought I would copy it over for reference in case someone else wants to give it a go. I've been playing around with some foamboard I picked up at the Dollar Tree for a while now. Instead of the plastic-like outside that most has, this has paper, which I thought would be easier to paint. It wasn't. The paper peeled off when painted and had to be glued back down over and over again. Using some scraps, I then made the ruin I showed in the same thread by pealing the paper off each side, then using a rough rock, a hobby knife and my fingernails to add texture to the foam. The texture looked awesome on it, but it was a little thin for walls and one side warped pretty badly. Anyway, it occurred to me a few days ago that gluing this foam onto cardboard, then texturing it from there, would be a good, cheap way of making tiles. This is what I came up with.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:36:23 GMT
I then thought it would be really easy to make a tile-like floor, in much the same way I did the huge crack in the tile above. I'm not happy with how these turned out, but if I had made the tiles larger and more irregular (kinda like the DMG's tiles) they would look pretty good. Anyway, just thought I would share this with you guys, as it may be a good option for other folks who also hate dropping $8 on texture paint, or even for those still addicted to the grid. Let me know what you think, good or bad. EDIT: I learned after a couple lines to first score the foam with a blade, then go back with a pencil to widen it. The first couple lines that look jagged I did with just a dead ink pen, which tore the foam.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:37:12 GMT
Very nice work Bloodchoke. The tiles look great! But I do have to offer one bit of opinion/constructive critcism, (take it or leave it as you will and please don't be offended by it)....In my humble opinion, you'd do well to commit to 3D dungeon furnishings instead of half and half. You crates and barrels look fantastic, and your tables are very cool, but mixing the two looks.... well.... a bit off.... to me. I offer this as constructive criticism only... Love your work and can't wait to see more!!
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:38:07 GMT
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:39:11 GMT
Very nice work Bloodchoke. The tiles look great! But I do have to offer one bit of opinion/constructive critcism, (take it or leave it as you will and please don't be offended by it)....In my humble opinion, you'd do well to commit to 3D dungeon furnishings instead of half and half. You crates and barrels look fantastic, and your tables are very cool, but mixing the two looks.... well.... a bit off.... to me. I offer this as constructive criticism only... Love your work and can't wait to see more!! Thanks a lot, I appreciate good criticism at least as much as compliments, since it can actually help make me better. And yeah, I think your right, it does look weird. It's difficult to visualize the tables as 3d objects when they're next to actual 3d objects. And that's probably a problem with the tables in general because there will almost always be other furnishings around.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:40:01 GMT
Thanks a lot, I appreciate good criticism at least as much as compliments, since it can actually help make me better. And yeah, I think your right, it does look weird. It's difficult to visualize the tables as 3d objects when they're next to actual 3d objects. And that's probably a problem with the tables in general because there will almost always be other furnishings around. Let me echo the praise and offer another idea/opinion regarding the tables. I'm a huge fan of multi-purposing, i.e. using the same piece of terrain or dungeon dressing in different settings. So for your tables, you could avoid adding legs by just making a table board and putting it on two of your crates or barrels*. This makes a realistic impromptu table that even makes more sense in a dungeon than a regular table: Your dungeon residents probably won't have the time, the materials or a carpenter's skills to built a real table, so they just improvise and lay an old board (mayba a door that those pesky adventurers broke in half) over two crates. They will probably also use crates for chairs, so you don't have to built chairs, just a few more crates. * use barrels only if their height looks right for the table, i.e. approximately halt the height of the miniaturesOf course, if you have a session in an Inn, you'll want to have half a dozen real tables and two or three dozen chairs. In that case I would use your fantastic 2.5 furniture.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:40:44 GMT
Thanks a lot, I appreciate good criticism at least as much as compliments, since it can actually help make me better. And yeah, I think your right, it does look weird. It's difficult to visualize the tables as 3d objects when they're next to actual 3d objects. And that's probably a problem with the tables in general because there will almost always be other furnishings around. Adding some dowel or cardboard spacers underneath could raise your tables easily to the appropriate height and allow you to keep the awesome table sets in the process??
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:44:30 GMT
Hola Companeros... I've been playing around with some foamboard I picked up at the Dollar Tree for a while now. Instead of the plastic-like outside that most has, this has paper, which I thought would be easier to paint. I made the tower I showed in my Miscellany thread out of it, but when I painted it, the paper started coming apart from the foam, and gluing it back down several times was a huge pain in the ass. I'm happy with how it turned out, but it was too much struggle. I had much the exact same issues with the foam board from the dollar store. I still have several pieces, you stuck with it and achieved much better results than myself. I may take another look at it. Well done
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:45:14 GMT
Those are great looking patterns for the floor!
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:46:03 GMT
Thanks again for the all the feedback guys! I definitely think there's potential for the foamboard tiles. I'm not very artistic, but I imagine someone who is could make some awesome floor designs. I'm working the wizards tower for Gardmore Abbey right now and trying to come up with some interested floor design that I can pull off. I'll post whatever I come up with. I have an idea for the tables and chairs too that I think might work better. May just end up making separate pieces, but like Tauster pointed out, that's a lot of chairs to make for a tavern scene. I'll keep you guys posted if I come up with something interesting.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:46:50 GMT
Just finished this piece for Madness at Gardmore Abbey. It was far too much work, took forever, and was a nightmare to paint. But I like it. Definitely have to come up with more encounters to use it for in the future. Close up of the stone work on the main floor.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:47:57 GMT
And here's what I came up with for tables, with some orcs discussing the finer points of Lucretius over warm ale.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:48:55 GMT
The abbey tile is very impressive. I love the look you have achieved.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:49:33 GMT
Table looks cool! I did a little work a while back using foamcore, a knife and a sculpting tool but no where near as well done as yours! Great job!
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 7, 2013 23:54:29 GMT
Here are the latest two foamboard tiles I made, two levels of the same tower. Stairs are modular so the tiles can be used for multiple levels. Painting isn't as hard as I complained before, you just have to water the black and put a couple coats on it. Definitely time consuming to make the floor pattern though.
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goodoak
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 3
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Post by goodoak on Nov 8, 2013 11:18:26 GMT
Thanks for sharing this. Now it's off to find some cheep foam board.
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Post by skunkape on Nov 8, 2013 15:46:47 GMT
I've started using foamcore board for my tiles! I start with a piece of cardboard cut to the proper size, then cut a piece of foamcore the same size and using a combination of wood glue and hot glue, attach the two pieces. I peel off the top layer of paper from the foamcore and using a ruler, draw a line every 3/8 of an inch across the width of the tile. Finally, I use my Foam Factory wand to carve bricks onto the foamcore. The last steps are to add the walls on top of the foamcore and paint!
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Post by bloodchoke on Mar 11, 2014 22:56:05 GMT
I've been working on a new piece for Madness at Gardmore Abbey and thought I would share it here instead of creating a new thread. It's for a relatively small encounter, but the fight will be against some minis I made myself, so I decided to spend a little more time on it. It is essentially the shell of an old barracks. Kinda brings my foamcore experiments full circle, since I got the idea for floors after making walls for a small ruin with it. Anyway, just thought I would show you guys what I've been up to so far. I wish I had used insulation foam for the door, but I just didn't want to deal with the mess...
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Post by Muze on Mar 11, 2014 23:43:19 GMT
I absolutely adore that table.
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Post by bloodchoke on Mar 12, 2014 2:50:03 GMT
Thanks Muze! It seems like I made a round one too, so I'll post a picture of it if I can find it.
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