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Author Topic: Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed  (Read 1033 times)

Offline Melnibonean

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Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed
« on: July 18, 2018, 09:41:56 AM »
I made a gaming mat using faux-fur (aka teddybear fur). I first made a smaller test sample which worked out okay and then decided on a larger project. It sort of turned out okay but I'm not really very happy with it.

Have a look at my blog for the full story and if you have any advice it will be very much appreciated. At this stage I'm thinking of cutting the pieces up to use as topping for a plain gaming mat.

http://this28mmlife.blogspot.com/2018/07/another-teddy-bear-fur-experiment.html

Below is a link to my blog. It's the place where I write uninteresting things about little toy soldiers. I do this because I refuse to grow up and behave like an adult.

http://this28mmlife.blogspot.com.au/

Online OSHIROmodels

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Re: Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2018, 09:45:17 AM »
To me it looks like too much of the original material colour is showing through. How did you paint them?
cheers

James

https://www.oshiromodels.co.uk/

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http://redplanetminiatures.blogspot.co.uk/
http://jimbibblyblog.blogspot.com/

Offline SABOT

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Re: Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2018, 10:33:42 AM »
For me three aspects are noticeable if it helps?

Firstly texture. I dont t think you have shaved it enough and in any irregular way i.e. irregular patterns and different heights.

Secondly , the colouring  doesn’t look right. I would put an overall green colour on then  highlight up. I found spraying the highlight colour by holding the can at an angle works best.

Thirdly I would not build features like roads into the cloth - it is too limiting and you lose flexibility.

Online FifteensAway

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Re: Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2018, 01:15:24 PM »
Well, for another opinion, I like that you included the roads and trails - but it does 'hard wire' them into your gaming options.  As to getting a bigger piece with a shorter knap, that does seem to be a challenge these days, been years since I found much in the way of shorter knap fake fur - though I did find one piece in a very dark brown that I've yet to work on.  However, a good yardage/fabric shop should be able to find some for you and order it up in whatever length you need, width will be limited, usually the widest is 54" (at least in USA). 

As to coloring, I actually like what you did and I wouldn't get so squirmy about minor color mismatches at the edges, nature is remarkably variegated.  Your mat looks orders of magnitude better than 90% of the mats I've seen over the decades.

One thing you can give a shot at doing with the current mat setup - use some latex caulk to build (away from the mats!) a river to go where the widest road sits.  It will take some careful measuring to get it right but it will allow a very different game experience with a river in place of the road - and take away the river to return to the road.  Be sure and paint both sides of the latex once cured or it will remain 'sticky' for a long time.  I'd make a template to work with.  If you can, lay the latex caulk on a piece of flat, clean glass - template under the glass.  This gives a nice uniform bottom to the piece(s) and is easy to peel up and clean up for the next piece.

Not sure, but it looks like you started with a green.  If so, if you can start with a straw yellowish color you might get better results.

But your results are pretty darn good as it stands.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2018, 04:27:34 AM by FifteensAway »

Offline Melnibonean

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Re: Faux-Fur an Experiment and some advice needed
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2018, 10:26:02 PM »
Thanks for the practical advice. You've given me plenty to think about and I'm sure I can repair some of what I see as the main issues.

 
One thing you can give a shot at doing with the current mat setup - use some later caulk to build (away from the mats!) a river to go where the widest road sits. 

Not sure, but it looks like you started with a green.  If so, if you can start with a straw yellowish color you might get better results.


FifteensAway: I actually already have river made from vinyl floor tiles that might work. I might see how well it fits. And in the main I did start with green. But you can see that towards the end I started with an ocher colour and got better results (looking at the pic I worked from left to right). Also some of the darker areas are where I shaved the fur right to the material to create patchy tufts. So some of that darkness is the dark brown I used for the earth colour.

Chreers,
Ian KH