newbie needs some help !!

[darius28z]

hi all im kinda new to the model rr world all tho i have dabled in it since i was a kid.but know im getting real serious about it went to a couple of shows this summer,wrecked out a wall in my basement made a room sound familiar big room!!! wife gives me silly looks but im bitten any way im painting the walls behind my layout wich are concrete foundation walls. i bought one gallon of sky blue at lowes to see how it would work out and its not quite right its to light and green in cast i noticed in most model rr layouts pictures the blue is darker and just that more blue. anyone know of a good color name or swatch listing i could take there before i waste anymore doe looking for that blue.im also going to bepainting clouds on it wich ive found are easier than getting the right blue background color..

 

[cidchase]

Hi darius,
Are you putting any kind of covering on the walls? Are they smooth enough
not to show any marks? The best looking sky jobs in my opinion are the ones
that call no attention to themselves, in other words, form a natural background
which you hardly notice until you think about it.

There's no one correct solution, so use your artistic ability. I would use a base coat of white paint or gesso to get things smooth, then work from there. Get some pure white latex flat and tint it with a dark blue color until you
like the result. The real thing often appears darker and a different shade
low to the horizon, so you might want to blend it to a lighter shade at the top.
Color also can change as you look from east to west.

I think your taking the right approach in looking around at other layouts
for some ideas :thumb: And Welcome to The Gauge!!!

 

[MasonJar]

Here is a great "How-To" from The Gauge's own Academy:

Gavin Miller's Backdrops and Clouds

Andrew

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Sky will appear clear to white depending on haze ( here in So Cal it is sometimes brown) straight ahead to the horizon. It will gradually get blue as you look up until directly overhead it will be as blue as it gets. I think the trick is to get a pure blue and white, and then start low on the horizon with almost completely whiite and go to blue at the highest point with graduations in between. The problem with most paint mixes you get from the paint store is that they will have green or red blended in with the blue and when you try to lighten it with white or change the light, the color goes off. You may need to go to a paint store rather than a home center to get the right color.

 

[darius28z]

thanks for all the tips.that link will help me definatley,but i also found my color tonight i cut out three different blue skys from my M.R. magazines and off to lowes i went.i was kinda doubt full but after an hour i had it narrowed down to two colors blue stone by american heritage.and a color called salute in the blue family of the olympic brand.olympic was much cheaper,it looks great !!! only thing is now i realized my poured wall foundation isnt that smooth so i think i will use some masonite board or somthin about half way up and detail it like the guy in the link...but the room will look great like this ..the code is b52-3 incase anyones interested....

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Masonite will make a better backdrop, but a sky blue color on the walls will make the walls disappear into the backdrop.