Large Scale Central

Foam Rock Tutorial

Ok so during the challenge I was asked about how i made the rock wall. So I decided to put together this little tutorial. This method I basically adapted from aquarium trade for making cool aquarium in-tank rockscapes. This method works well indoors but I think it would work equally well outdoors. So it all starts with one of my favorite things pink foam.

You then cut the foam to a rough shape with an exacto knife w/#11 blade.

Then you can use various means of detailing the face depending on what look your going for. You can cut into it with the exacto, rip chunks out, or tease/pick pieces out. Doc Tom used a Dremel to do great sandstone.

This is the cut method with a pit of ripping

This is using the tease/pick method.

Doc Tom’s sand stone borrowed without his permission but I am guessing he wont mind.

But while adding flocking to the Goat Rock I sprayed it with Krylon matte clear and it ate it. I should have know. . .well I did know. . .but didn’t even think about it. But it left a cool effect. If you scroll back up and look close you will see exposed pink where it ulcerated the foam. I had to play with that further.

You can see it heavily melted. I tried this on both the cut method side and the tease/pick method side. On the cut side I wiped and smeared the bubbles and slime and it gave one effect. On the teased side I just popped the bubbles. The deeper the cuts the more it ulcerates and pocks the surface. So on the tease/pick side it gave it a very lava rock feel.

The cut side

The teased side

Now for painting it really is just a matter of dry brushing. Using more or less numbers of colors and going from dark to light and light to dark or random application of color shades all yield different looks. For my Snow Shed build I used a dark muddy brown black base then heavy black, heavy medium brown, and then a light coat of tan. Above it is Black Brown Beige and then green. Whites and grays with speckles of black can make a nice granite. Its up to you. Add a heavy base coat then sprinkle sand on it let it dry and then another light base coat and dry brush I know gives a cool texture. Anyway sky’s the limit and I hope you can use it.

Nice tutorial, Devon. Its amazing what all you can do with foam insulation. My son has a bearded dragon that needed a place to live in his cage. So I built a neat little castle complete with turrets and tunnels for him to move about in. I covered the foam with a mixture of paint and non sanded grout. The grout gave it a hard, stucco like texture that still survives after 8 years of use.