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I decided on a basing scheme for my Chaos Space Marines. Cobblestone/brick streets, as i have an image in my head of a World Eaters warband dropping themselves down onto a feudal world and going bananas on the populace. Heres my attempt at sculpting a Cobblestone street



I sorta went big immediately and used a 60mm base (the one for my contemptor) and had enough GS left over to cover a 25mm base, so i made a small one.

Im looking for advice on how to improve. Im planning to paint them in gray, sort of like grey stone bricks.

They don't look bad, but I'd suggest a few things:

First, shoot for a consistent scale. Unless the planet uses extra large pavers for "Dreadnought only lanes" on their streets, it'll break visual cohesion.

Second, try to keep your lines straight and evenly spaced. If you're going for rectangular bricks/pavers instead of irregular, round cobblestones, they should be roughly uniform in size and shape. Edges can be cracked and worn to create variation, but the layout, at least, should remain consistent.

Finally, I'd deepen the grooves. Shallow and thin as they are, it looks more like a tight cinderblock wall than a worn street. Cutting the grooves deeper will allow you to wear the edges of the bricks to create a bit of realism and visual interest without erasing the lines or "bottoming out" unrealistically.

Not too shabby.

If you want to do something to make them more realistic, you should make cobblestone the way they actually make it. Put down some GS, deform it how you want, and then put in the grooves, but do this on something other than the base (like a piece of plasticard). Then cut out the bricks and glue them back on individually, making sure not to put them next to each other as they were originally. That way you will get more broken lines, variable height and uneven gaps, which is closer to how cobble pavement actually is.

Thanks for the advice. I attempted to follow a technique i found online. Im happy with the results, but I feel it could really be better, hence asking for the advice.

I will try your technique, Ailaros. I hadnt thought of that, and i think its going to give the results i attempted to get here.

Hopefully my next attempts are improvements

I like this.

I'd mix it up a bit though... Do some damage on some of them and some gory, bloody and torn up bodies on the larger ones with blood flowing through the *thinks* what the word... Dammit.

Cracks...?
Erm. Gaps? DAMMIT I HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS -.-

I'll edit this post when I remember what word it is I wanna use. Until then, you know what I mean.

Obsidian,

Not a bad first attempt. Yes the lines could be straighter, but this is your first attempt. If you intend to pursue this, consider different formations of the cobblestone. This breaks up the uniform look and adds interest to the base. It's funny that you're doing this because, I'm currently working on something very similar. What are you using as a sculpting medium? Greenstuff?

orkork wrote:Obsidian,

Not a bad first attempt. Yes the lines could be straighter, but this is your first attempt. If you intend to pursue this, consider different formations of the cobblestone. This breaks up the uniform look and adds interest to the base. It's funny that you're doing this because, I'm currently working on something very similar. What are you using as a sculpting medium? Greenstuff?

yeah, i used greenstuff to make it. the 60mm took quite alot, though, so im going to be hunting for something alittle easier on the wallet

GROOVES!

THAT WAS THE WORD!

Blood seeping through the grooves in the cobblestone would look awesome :3

Apoxie sculpt works great for me. A LOT cheaper then Greenstuff. It's a little stickyer when working with it but cures rock hard. When using apoxie, I mix some sculpey with apoxie. I use no more then same amount of one of the 2 parts. This makes sanding a lot easier and makes apoxie a little easier to use. I look forward to seeing your progress!