FakeRocks
From Simreal
I can't believe I didn't take more pictures of the process of making these rocks. They turned out AWESOME. They looked like rocks. The actors couldn't tell them from the rocks laying on the ground... really.
I made these in a frenzied late-night burst of activity. Earlier in the schedule, they asked if I had the rocks ready for the coming scene. I went, "what rocks?"
So I made rocks.
Here they are up close in a box. This is after they were used, so there are some indications of damage (the white specks). Their use was to be thrown at a building...
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The process of making rocks is surprisingly simple... and messy.
I started by having a friend collect a box of rocks from the site, so I could match their shapes and coloring. So much better than relying on my own imagination.
Take chunks out of your used sculpy box and blob them together roughly into rock-shaped and rock-sized blobs. Just carelessly slapped together. Really. Don't spend any time on this. You want a random look to them.
Now take strips of plaster bandage and made a very thin shell around the clay. This shell is no more than two layers thick, and one in places. It doesn't need to be strong, and I wanted the rocks to be very light.
Using a dremel tool and an abrasive cutoff bit, cut around the wide circumferance of the now-hard rock shell, separating it into two parts. Don't make the cut straight around, either, but put jags and saw-teeth in the profile, to make it easier to align the halves later.
It turns out the sculpy was a bit hard to remove from some of the rocks, but it eventually all picked free.
Now you put the halves of the shell together again. This is where you appreciate cutting around the wide circumferance and not the skinny one, since the shell will stay together while sitting flat on your table now.
Taking a small strip of plaster bandage, hinge the two halves together at one point and let that dry. It's hard to handle the delicate shells when they are separated, so this makes them easier to work with.
Okay, now you can cover the rock with another layer or two of plaster bandage, in randomly oriented strips. This binds it all together into a hollow shell.
Now mix up a small amount of hydrostone or other hard plaster and spread a thin layer over the entire rock, smoothing it into a smooth rock-textured smoothness. If you set the rock aside for a moment to let the plaster firm up, you can then use damp hands to smooth the harderning plaster.
I worked on a half-dozen rocks at a time, so once I had done the rough coating of the last rock, I could go back to the first and finish smoothing it.
Using my nice new airbrush, I then gave the rocks a base coloring of tan and pinkish-tan and yellows and stuff.
A second layer of a darker color gives the rock some depth.
A paintbrush dipped in various dark, yellow, red, white, and green colors, can be riffled like a toothbrush, throwing spots of color all over your workshop, hands, clothes, and, umm, the rocks.
Another layer of airbrushing can be used here to smooth over the specks a bit.
I found, however, that my hands were the perfect implement to give the final coat of color.
I painted streaks of brown and grey and other muddy colors on my hands, and then roll the rocks around in my palms. This darkends the high points of the rock, and gives an uneven coloring to them.
