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Hey guys! Happy new year.

I posted a new tutorial on my website about how to paint 3d printed terrain - I was happy to be able to apply most of the same techniques I use for my MDF terrain (picture at end of post for reference)

I used oil weathering for the final touch. Check out the guide here > https://brutalcities.com/blogs/tabletop-terrain-tips-techniques-tutorials/how-to-paint-3d-printed-terrain

Please let me know if i missed anything important and if you found it helpful (Of course, it's mostly aimed at people new to painting FDM terrain)

You could prime it first with a special primer that seals the mdf so it doesnt soak up paint.

I find stippling/dabbing very effective, overwrite physical texture with colour texture/noise.

@ lord_blackfang: Thats a great idea as those pesky lines keep showing up no mather what i do...

Getting the best quality print matters a lot, at around 0.08 layer height, the print line texture isn't anywhere near as bad.

Additionally, slowing down the print helps, as nice as bambu A1's are for speed, I put them on silent mode (50% speed) when I really need them to avoid XY ghosting and other artefacts that mess with the vertical surfaces.

Print orientation and ironing on top surfaces can work wonderfully when tuned in correctly (I find my Prusa mini does it better than the bambu printers), so that's something to look into if there's a lot of flat surfaces, your designs would be perfect to slice up, print flat on the bed with ironing for a smooth finish then assemble afterwards.

Heat gun is essential kit.

Washes work well, stippling instead of drybrushing can work, although I usually drybrush then stipple a little if any layer lines have been picked up.

Most of the time I accept that terrain has lower standards than minis and focus on speed and overall impact when viewed as a whole.

Where possible, texture paint works incredibly well, and textured build plates can be used to great effect, I'm painting trench scenery at the moment and the best approach for the tops is simply using a textured build plate to create a ready-textured top surface.

Other than that I've found that regular approaches work - zenithal priming is great since it stipples and hides layer lines, as does airbrushing work. Washes and layered highlights are probably best, sometimes with a layered highlight you can ignore the texture underneath and create a new "defined area" using the highlight, e.g. a sharp vertical edge on top of a layered print texture, anything which goes perpendicular to the grain helps disguise it.

How does a textured base plate handle those first few layers so they end up in the right place and present a flat surface for later layers? Or you have to alter those first layers so they fit in the textures?

I use a childs paperglue stick for keeping the print onto the buildplate.

Aaw man that was so brutal it made me want to call my friends komrades from now on. EPIC buildings.