WORKSHOP SESSION 1

For my first workshop session, I wanted to make some trees for a set I was making to start with I began by making some sketches of how these trees could look like in regard to my house. I took some thin wire and began to twist it together into the main trunk and then started making some more that branch off into a different direction I tried to make the wire of different thickness so that it would add a more natural look to the tree. Once all of the wire had been twisted into its desired shape.

Next, I took a plastic cup and filled it with latex, this was a new material to work with for me and it was a challenge, I had to do it in 3 layers as it was uneven, latex did stink however so doing it in the workshop where there is the appropriate ventilation was a really important thing to have. I added in a small drop of brown acrylic paint so that each layer would colour the next layer. Even though the acrylic paint was water-based it didn't affect the latex in any way which was good.

Once I had applied all the layers and they had cured I could then start by dry brushing all of the different parts of the tree I used a range of different colours of acrylic paint. After I had finished the dry brushing of the bark I then took this moss that had been painted and then cried in the heated oven to dry it out and make it more realistic. The tree frame had been placed inside a block of foam and so because I needed the trees to be modular and movable if it was a real set I simply painted the foam base then added on a small amount of PVA glue, static grass and fine sand to make it look like a rock face