Gnarled Half-Dead Oak
A twisted, half-dead oak on a rooted earth base, painted in warm umber bark on the living side and cool grey on the dead crown, finished with a dark soil ground and a bare-bones matt seal.
Prime black, then grey and white from above; thin colour lets the light show through.
Guide by @tbrianjones · Oct 30, 2026 · Version 1Colour scheme
| Area | Colour | Paints |
|---|---|---|
| Trunk | Brown | Umber brown (base)Brown wash (shading)Pale umber (edges) |
| Living limbs | Brown | Umber brown (base)Brown wash (shading)Pale umber (edges) |
| Dead grey limbs | Grey | Stone grey (base)Black wash (shading)Pale stone grey (edges) |
| Crown branches | Grey | Stone grey (base)Black wash (shading)Pale stone grey (edges) |
| Roots | Brown | Umber brown (base)Brown wash (shading)Pale umber (edges) |
| Soil ground | BlackNever highlight black with white. | Soft black (base)Black wash (shading)Slate grey (edges) |
| Ground debris | Tan | Tan (base)Sepia (light brown) wash (shading)Pale tan (edges) |
What you need
- Black spray primer
- Grey and white primer or spray for the zenithal step
- Medium flat brush (size 2 to 4) for washes and drybrushing
- Stiff, worn flat brush for drybrushing
- Fine detail brush for edge work and roots
- Hobby knife for cleaning supports
- Matt varnish (spray or brush-on)
- Texture paste or PVA mix for the soil
- Dry leaf litter or static grass for the ground
Safety
Spray primer and varnish outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, and keep the can away from heat.
- 15 min hands-onwaits 12 h insidethen dry 30 min
Step 1 of 9 · Prep and prime black
Texture the soil, clean the print and spray a black base over the whole model.
I printed this onPrinted on filament (PLA):- Snip off the supports and the brim, and trim the elephant's foot (the flared first layers) with a hobby knife; deburr the bottom edge so the base sits flat.
- Clean support scars, strings and seam blobs with a knife or file. Sand only smooth faces, 220 grit then 400; leave textured stone, bark and ground alone.
- Wash it in warm soapy water to remove finger oil and release agent, rinse, and let it dry fully in front of a fan: never a hair dryer or heat gun, which soften filament (PLA at about 55–60 °C).
- Glue any separate parts together now, so the primer seals the joins.
- On big smooth faces, a filler primer hides layer lines: spray it, let it dry for a few hours, sand at 400 grit and repeat if the lines still show.
- Mount it on a cork or an old pot with poster tack so you never hold the print, and spray only on a dry, mild day.
Safety: Wear a dust mask when sanding filler primer.
On this piece: Clip and file the supports from the trunk and the thin crown branches, especially where they meet the trunk. Smooth the faces of the main trunk where layer lines show and fill any lines with a thin skim of filler if needed. Keep the roots and soil delicate: do not force them, and glue any loose twig tips before priming.
- 1Mix texture paste with a little PVA and stipple it over the soil slab, leaving the roots clear.
- 2Let the texture dry overnight, about 12 hours, before priming.
- 3Spray black primer from above and the sides, keeping the spray light so the bark furrows stay open.
- 4Check the deep crevices under the roots and trunk for any pooled primer.
Paints- White glueSoil ground: Apply a rough layer of PVA and texture paste over the soil.
- Black spray primerwhole piece: Spray the whole piece from all sides in light coats.
Tips- Spray in short bursts from about 30 cm to avoid filling the furrows.
- Spray the grey and white within about an hour of the black, or wait until the next day: some hardware-store primers wrinkle if recoated in between.
Avoid: Priming before the texture paste has fully dried, which lifts the paste.
When it's done: The whole piece is matt black, with the textured soil sitting flat under the roots.
- 15 min hands-onwaits 20 min insidethen dry 45 min
Step 2 of 9 · Zenithal grey and white
Build the light from above with grey then white, leaving black in the deep folds.
- 1Spray grey from about 45 degrees all round, moving around the model.
- 2Let the grey dry for 20 minutes, then spray white from above and around.
- 3Keep the white on the tops of the trunk, the upper branches and the root crowns.
- 4Leave the undersides and deep furrows dark, fading the light down to the foot of the trunk.
Paints- Mid greywhole piece
- WhiteTrunk
Avoid: Spraying only from overhead, leaving the sides of the trunk flat and grey.
When it's done: The trunk and upper branches are pale grey and white, fading to black at the base and in the folds; the soil is still black.
- 25 min hands-onthen dry 30 minMedium flat brush (size 2 to 4)
Step 3 of 9 · Tint the bark
Glaze the living limbs and trunk with warm brown, and the dead crown with cool grey.
- 1Thin the brown base colour with water until it runs like milk, then glaze over the trunk and living limbs.
- 2Glaze the roots in the same brown, keeping the top faces lighter.
- 3Thin the stone grey and glaze the dead limbs and crown branches, leaving the highlights from the zenithal step visible.
- 4Build a second thin glaze on the trunk, skipping about 10 to 20 percent of the bark so the tone varies.
Paints- Umber brownTrunk: Thin glaze over the trunk, keeping the furrows dark.Living limbsRoots
- Stone greyDead grey limbsCrown branches
Tips- Let the grey show through on the crown so the dead side reads as bleached wood.
Avoid: Painting an opaque coat that fills the furrows and hides the zenithal light.
When it's done: The trunk, living limbs and roots are warm brown; the dead limbs and crown branches are cool grey; the highlights and black furrows still show through; the soil is black.
- 15 min hands-onthen dry 20 minFine detail brush
Step 4 of 9 · Small wood details
Tint the knots, twig tips and bark cracks so they stand apart from the main bark.
- 1Paint the knots on the trunk and limbs with the deep brown.
- 2Paint the deepest cracks on the dead grey limbs with the deep grey.
- 3Keep the twig tips on the crown slightly darker than the limbs they grow from.
Paints- Deep umberTrunk: Darken the knots and the deepest bark cracks.
- Deep stone greyDead grey limbs
Tips- Work from the knot outward, letting the shadow fall naturally into the crack.
Avoid: Painting every knot the same colour, which flattens the bark.
When it's done: The knots and cracks are darker and more defined; the trunk, limbs and roots keep their colour and light.
- 20 min hands-onthen dry 15 minStiff, worn flat brush
Step 5 of 9 · Bring back the bark light
Drybrush the raised bark ridges to lift the wood's texture.
- 1Load the stiff brush with pale umber, wipe most of it off on paper, then drybrush the trunk ridges.
- 2Drybrush the pale stone grey over the dead limbs and crown branches.
- 3Keep the drybrushing on the upper faces and the bark ridges only, not the furrows.
Paints- Pale umberTrunk: Drybrush the raised ridges and bark crests on the trunk.Living limbs: Drybrush the tops of the living limbs.
- Pale stone greyDead grey limbs: Drybrush the raised grain of the dead limbs.Crown branches
Tips- Drybrush in short strokes across the grain to pick out the bark texture.
Avoid: Overloading the brush, which paints over the furrows instead of only the ridges.
When it's done: The trunk and limbs show pale ridges over the brown and grey; the roots have a light edge; the soil is still black.
- 15 min hands-onthen dry 20 minFine detail brush
Step 6 of 9 · Roots and soil edges
Pick out the root tips and the soil stones with the lighter tan tones.
- 1Paint the stones and debris on the soil in tan, leaving some black showing between them.
- 2Vary the tan on the stones so the ground does not look uniform.
- 3Edge the top surfaces of the roots with the pale umber.
- 4Check the stones on the soil edge, touching up any that lost their tan.
- 5Stop before the tan covers the black between the stones, keeping the soil dark.
Paints- TanGround debris: Paint the small stones and debris scattered across the soil.
- Pale umberRoots
Tips- Pick out a few stones in a lighter tan so the scatter reads as varied debris.
Avoid: Painting too many stones the same size, which flattens the ground.
When it's done: The roots have light edges; the soil has tan stones scattered over the black.
- 15 min hands-onthen dry 40 minMedium flat brush (size 2 to 4)
Step 7 of 9 · Dirty the soil and roots
Wash and dirty the soil and roots so the base sits in the ground.
- 1Brush black wash over the soil, letting it pool around the stones.
- 2Wash the lower roots and the base of the trunk with brown wash to ground them.
- 3Dab up any excess wash from the stones so they keep their highlights.
Paints- Black washSoil ground
- Brown washRoots: Wash the roots where they enter the soil to darken them.
Tips- Let the wash run into the root cracks but keep the top surfaces clean.
Avoid: Washing over the stones until they lose their highlight.
When it's done: The soil and roots are darker and dirtier; the stones keep a light edge; the trunk is unchanged.
- 20 min hands-onthen dry 2 hStiff, worn flat brushGood place to stop
Step 8 of 9 · Finish the soil ground
Add dark soil texture and leaf litter so the base reads as dry earth.
- 1Glaze the soil slab with soft black, leaving the texture paste ridges lighter.
- 2Glue leaf litter or static grass in clumps among the roots, keeping it dry and brown.
- 3Check the edge of the soil slab, touching up any spots that lost their dark tone.
Paints- Soft blackSoil ground: Glaze the soil slab with soft black to deepen the earth.
- Slate greySoil ground: Drybrush the raised soil texture with slate grey.
Tips- Keep the leaf litter in clusters so the ground reads as scattered debris.
Avoid: Covering the soil with too much litter, which hides the black ground.
When it's done: The soil is dark with slate-grey texture ridges, littered with dry debris among the roots.
- 10 min hands-onwaits 12 h insidethen leave it 24 h before handlingGood place to stop
Step 9 of 9 · Matt seal
Seal the whole piece in matt varnish to protect the paint and fix the wash.
- 1Let the varnish cure overnight, about 12 hours, before handling the piece.
- 2Check the underside of the roots for any pooled varnish and wipe it away while still wet.
- 3Store the model somewhere dust-free while the varnish hardens.
Paints- Matt varnishwhole piece: Spray matt varnish over the whole piece in light coats.
Tips- Keep the varnish light so the bark texture stays sharp.
Avoid: Spraying too heavily, which fills the furrows and clouds the wash.
When it's done: The whole piece is matt and protected: brown trunk and living limbs, grey dead limbs and crown, a dark dirty soil ground with tan stones.
How-to notes
Texturing the base (before priming). If the base is flat, brush on white glue or texture paste and sprinkle sand and a few small stones, then let it dry for a few hours, ideally overnight, before you prime, so the primer locks it all down. Keep the texture off the feet and the edge of the base.
Spray priming. Warm the can in warm (not hot) water, and shake it for two minutes after the ball starts to rattle. Spray from 20–30 cm away in short passes that start and end off the model, turning it so every side, including underneath, gets a light, even coat; two light coats beat one heavy one. Avoid cold, damp days, which leave a dusty or frosted finish. Let the primer dry for about an hour before you brush paint on; when grey and white spray coats follow, spray them after 20–30 minutes instead.
Zenithal (light from above). Over the black primer, spray mid grey from about 45° above, walking all the way round the model, so everything that faces up or out turns grey while the undersides stay black. Then spray white from about 30–45° above, in short bursts, again walking all the way round. Every top, upper edge and raised texture goes bright white, and so does the upper third to half of every wall and side: each side fades from white at the top, through grey, to black at its foot. Black stays only in deep recesses, cracks, under arches and on undersides. White sprayed only from straight overhead lands on the tops alone and leaves the walls dark; if the grey or white reaches the undersides, the effect is lost. On a filament print, light from above catches every layer line on domes and slopes, so filler-prime and sand those first.
Picking a brush. Use the biggest brush that fits the area. That means a cheap flat or round (size 4 or more) for scenery basecoats and washes, a size 1–2 round with a good point for most figure work, a size 0 only for eyes, dots and the finest edges, and an old or splayed brush kept just for drybrushing. A brush that holds a sharp point when wet matters more than a tiny one.
Tinting with washes and glazes. Over a light-from-above undercoat, brush a coloured wash or well-thinned paint over the whole area so the black, grey and white beneath show through as shadow and light. Use thin coats, let each one dry, and add a second coat only where you want a stronger colour. On big flat surfaces wipe off the excess, because puddles dry as rings.
Glazing (tints and variation). A glaze is paint thinned until it is nearly see-through, brushed over an area to tint it without hiding what is underneath. Use it to shift the colour of 10–20% of the stones or planks, to warm a cheek, or to smooth a rough highlight, and let each coat dry before the next.
Basecoating small parts. Use a pointed brush with only a little paint on the tip, brace your hands against each other or the table, and pull the paint along the part rather than dabbing. Do the deepest parts first and the parts that stick out last, and fix slips with the neighbouring colour once they are dry.
Drybrushing. Load an old flat or round brush, wipe almost all the paint off on a paper towel until it barely marks the towel, then brush quickly and lightly across the raised detail, not along it, so only the edges catch colour. Build up with several light passes, and finish with a paler pass on just the top edges. Drybrush rough texture (stone, bark, fur, hair, chainmail, ground), never faces or smooth cloth.
All-over wash. Brush a wash over a whole area and let it run into every recess, then wick off puddles on flat areas with a clean, barely damp brush. Do one section at a time and do not touch it while it dries (30–60 minutes), or it leaves rings. A wash over a very dark basecoat barely shows, so wash mid tones, not near-blacks.
Sponge weathering. Tear a small piece of coarse sponge, dab it in paint, dab most of it off on a paper towel, and press it lightly where wear would happen: edges, corners, lower parts. Go from dark to bright (dark brown, then rust orange, then a few bright specks), and stop before it covers more than it shows. On figures and tiny parts, stipple with the tip of an old brush instead.
Varnishing. Once the paint has dried for a few hours, ideally overnight, seal the piece with matt varnish in light coats: spray from 20–30 cm outdoors on a dry, mild day (not cold, not humid), or brush it on thinly. Brush the gloss spots on half an hour after the matt, only where something should shine wet: eyes, gems, water, ice, blood.