Distressed Wood Test

So, I wanted to create a distressed, used feel to my Scrapyard gates. Here’s the technique I used…

I began by penning the woodgrain onto the greyboard. The board is fairly absorbent but even so the bleed from the 0.1mm pen really isn't too bad and I was able to create long fast strokes that give the feeling of wood.

Next I washed the whole thing with Thornwood Green before adding a coat of PVA Glue and leaving it to dry.

I recommend leaving it to dry overnight. I did not do that, in fact I left it about 45 minutes, which caused me problems during the next stage. The idea behind the glue is create a waterproof barrier between the woodgrain and the next coat of paint. Speaking of which…

Next I painted the whole thing with a coat of Cygnar Blue Base and then immediately wiped it off with a tissue. Now, if I’d allowed the PVA to cure properly I’m sure all would have been fine, however, the blue came off in rather sticky lumps, rather than just wet paint. Anyway, being the impatient soul that I am, I persevered.

I added more blue layers followed by some layers of Trollblood Base, rubbing each additional layer into the grain and just leaving the faintest trace of colour behind.

Next I took some Ice Blue and picked out some of the grain around the edges of the inner door and along the edges of the two larger doors.

This was then distressed further with a Blue Shade wash, followed by Strong Tone wash, which I rubbed away at the very edges to lighten them.

Wanting to lighten the edges further I rubbed some Thrall Flesh into them. I also separated the perforated joins to allow the doors to open. For longevity I may look at adding some metal hinges. By this point the card was very saturated and needed to be left to dry before anything else was done to it. I added a coat of PVA glue and left the gate overnight to harden.  

With that dried I mixed up some Thornwood Green and Thrall Flesh and added some highlights to the top edges of each door. Mixing in some white I did the final highlights. I also re-penned the divides between the planks. Finally I sprayed the whole thing with anti-shine matt varnish to bring it back down to a nice gritty finish.

Thanks for reading and let me know if this technique works for you. 

The Duke