How to make realistic snow

[bud]

Hi Guys hope im not sounding too amateurish but how do you recreate a snow effect . I have come back into the hobby after a gap of 20 years and boy how things have changed . I have lurked on this forum for a few months now and all the painting techniques of you all are superb . I have digressed a little so ..... I have painted and inked / washed a gw leman russ and wondered how you make snow appear lapping up against the sides of the tank . I know its gw but i do have a very abstract collection of figures ie garrison , em4 hasslefree (beautiful figures ) amongst others . Your help would be greatly appreciated . If someone could help me by showing how to post pictures i will post the model so far .

Bud

[Damien]

Hi bud, here are some really cool links with text and video to help you along.

http://www.miniwargaming.com/content/DjvftYYDmibs

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=6

http://www.stormthecastle.com/diorama/how-to-make-snow-in-a-diorama.htm


Cheers
Damien

[bud]

Thanks damian , just what i was looking for hopefully i will try and addd some pics when i have sussed out how you do it .

Thanks again

Bud

[Delaney]

Baking soda mixed into white glue is great for the actual surface.  Seal with acrylic medium to stop any yellowing.
I saw a tutorial where suggested carefully... wait... VERY CAREFULLY grinding up a lightbulb glass into the mix, to give little sparkles.  I have not tried this.

[starkadder]

Baking soda mixed into white glue is great for the actual surface.  Seal with acrylic medium to stop any yellowing.
I saw a tutorial where suggested carefully... wait... VERY CAREFULLY grinding up a lightbulb glass into the mix, to give little sparkles.  I have not tried this.

Baking soda is good. White glue is good. Acrylic medium is good.

Grinding up light bulb glass is very bad. Do not do this. It is not worth it.

Scintillants (sparkles) can be found very cheaply in lumps of mica. You can buy reasonably priced packets of crushed mica from most art stores. They will have names like "Happy sparkly fairy dust" and so on. They often come in different colurs. You can choose....white. Sometimes yellow if you wish to be nasty.

Or you can invest in a mica mine. It will be worth it in the long run.

[Delaney]

Oh yes, I have seen that stuff- great idea!

[Patrice]

Fascinating links, thanks ! 

One of the reason I want to play BoB is to play on a white terrain, I got fed up with green tables. Yes, I know that they have some summer in Siberia at some time of the year, but I still want to play on a white cloth.

I never would have had the idea of using Sodium Bicarbonate for snow effect. I always believed that this stuff was useful only for eyes protection from police teargas! 

[Michi]

Just tried the baking soda method immediately. It works, pictures to follow later today!

[Michi]

Just tried the baking soda method immediately. It works, pictures to follow later today!

[Damien]

Looks good and realistic (lovely painting too)


Damien

[Connectamabob]

One method I've found for getting the sparkly finish is to deliberately spray a clear coat from too far away, so that it's already partially dry when it hits, creating a grainy/powdery surface that diffracts light. Using clear, not white, is the key.

Takes a little practice though. If you're too close, the spray will be too liquid when it contacts, and you get a solid "orange peel" surface instead of a grainy/powdery one, and if you're too far away, the spray dries too much before landing, and you get graininess that rubs off with handling.