Goblin Halloween Diorama - Part 21 - "Tin" Roof

Under-painting to make it look covered with grime.

Most of my time since I last blogged has been spent watching glue dry.  There were a few places on the roof where the glue did not hold.  I had to re-glue those areas.  Just when I thought I had them all, I found two more areas that needed more glue.  I have glued and taped those areas.  Hopefully, I will be able to move forward with the project tomorrow.

Terracotta paining over the dark under-painting.

While waiting for glue to dry, I added some spots and streaks of black paint to the roof.  Some of the spots are dabbed on, others are streaked, smeared, and lifted off.  The spots will be painted over with a semi-transparent terracotta paint color.  The under-painting will show through and make it look as if the roof is old and dirty.  A close up of the upper roof shows the area prior to applying the terracotta paint.  (Blue tape is holding down the roof ridge, which needed more glue.) 

I found it helpful to tell myself a story about the roof while painting the the dark under-painting.  It helped to determine where the dark spots should go.  Some examples of the story:  "Dirt collects in the crease of the ridges."   "Morning dew washes dirt down towards the bottom of the roof.  The dirt stays where it ends up when the dew dries."   "Leaves collect in the corners and they stay damp after a rain."  All of these little stories help to create an image of what I want the roof to look like when it is completed. 

The lower roof has been painted with the terracotta color.  It is still a little brighter than I was hoping it would be.  The white metal primer bounces a lot of light back through the terracotta color.  If I ever make another house with a tin roof, I would consider painting a gray base coat before painting on the black splotches.  It might have saved me giving it another coat of paint. I would like to take down the brightness, so I think I will give the roof a thin wash of terracotta and burnt umber.  That should take down the brightness without doing too much to change the transparency level.  Anyway, it sounds good as I am writing this.  I should have that ready for the next blog post.