A first experiment with plaster backdrop.

Plaster background; 1st test. by Gary Menten, on Flickr

As I will be shooting entirely indoors for the duration of the winter and probably for most of the summer, I've decided to bring the outdoors indoors and started experimenting with the creation of background and foreground rocks and such using plaster over a framework, in this case a foam-core frame, which was not the best solution. Though this rock was not large enough to allow for a 2 x 3 aspect ratio and the photo had to be cropped square, I judge the overall result to be not bad for a first attempt.

The observer can judge for himself or herself if I have been successful.

Impressively realistic! I would not have known this was an artificial backdrop!

I agree, looks good.

Your rock rocks, Gary, especially for an artificial one. Well done.

That looks quite good, especially for the first attempt!

skywalkersaga wrote:That looks quite good, especially for the first attempt!

Thanks. As I explained, this was primarily intended to be an experiment with materials I hadn't used before....Woodland Scenics pigments and a painting technique I'd never tried. It also provided a handy reference for how much scenic material would be required for the next phase of the project, which is to build a much larger backdrop, but only one-sided backdrop.

Looks pretty good.

very nice, keep us updated on how the larger one progresses...
big enough for the Tonka zombie-killer truck, I suppose?

GregT wrote:very nice, keep us updated on how the larger one progresses...

big enough for the Tonka zombie-killer truck, I suppose?

Yes. The next one will be 4 ft wide.

I think you did a great job recreating a stone texture, in my opinion natural stone can be a bit tricky to get right, specially at this scale.

Theboo-bomb wrote:I think you did a great job recreating a stone texture, in my opinion natural stone can be a bit tricky to get right, specially at this scale.

Just using basic model railroading techniques, which on the whole, are intended for entirely different scales.

I don't know if you tried it but; 

if you use normal plaster of paris or mod roc, painting it with pva helps to prevent chipping and makes the plaster more durable.

alternatively i have seem pva and the powder mixed together but not sure on the drying times. 

another trick for lightweight  scenery is cut or layer foam and then cover it with kitchen towel pva paper Mache the thinness of the tissue layers slide and crumples to make rock effects this works for all scales.

Yes, looks very interesting. Doesn't hurt to have an outdoor diorama for indoor shots (or the other way round?) anyway.

And great tips Delaine, thanks.

Back drop looks great, and totally works! Great shot too.

Delanie, now I want to take a shot at those tricks you mentioned! Thanks for the head's up.

Delanie wrote:I don't know if you tried it but; 

if you use normal plaster of paris or mod roc, painting it with pva helps to prevent chipping and makes the plaster more durable.

alternatively i have seem pva and the powder mixed together but not sure on the drying times. 

another trick for lightweight  scenery is cut or layer foam and then cover it with kitchen towel pva paper Mache the thinness of the tissue layers slide and crumples to make rock effects this works for all scales.

Thanks for the tip, Delanie. I'll have to try that sometime.

Looks good! Would not have known it was plaster if you hadn't mentioned. I thought it was a piece of wood/tree bark in the background.

Good test. Looks real so far, interested in seeing more of it.

I tried many different options for backgrounds. Many options.