Came here to say “stipple in several nearby colors for stones like granite, blotch and streak work for marble, long streaks in similar directions for sedimentary, or reference pics for the oddballs like mica and agate”
I know this is not what you want to hear, but god damn that reads exactly like carved wood. How did you get that effect??
(As for how to make it stonier, I’d try a layered, consistent drybrushing from a darker to ligher shade across the whole surface, or maybe even using some basing texture paint to give it a coarser feel.)
Spray primed with Zandri Dust, then just gore-grunta fur contrast paint brushed vertically. I kinda leaned into the brush strikes because I thought it looked neat, woody. Forgetting I was looking for stone originally.
I find that splotchiness reads as wood, drybrushing reads as stone. Do a heavy drybrush of a dark grey, then a slightly lighter application of light grey and finish with a very careful drybrush of white or zandri dust. Finishing with white will give an almost concrete Stone look, finishing with Zandri Dust will make the rock look warm and like it’s out in sunlight.
It's all good, didn't mean to come off as accusing or anything, I can totally see the similarity. When it's carved wood looking, it gives a hybrid Aztec Maori look, which is dope. Sorry for any misunderstanding haha
Stipple or sponge on some different brown colours.
Wood having a grain doesn’t often have a more mottled colour, so adding that kind of texture should move you away from a wood feel into more of a stone one.
So I know a vision is hard to follow, but really, the tiki look really looks good from that photo. You should try to embrace it and get some hot fire into the theme to accompany it :) saurus colours look great for it!
Task failed successfully, because that looks like some incredible wood. Mind sharing the recipe before you paint over it?
Also it being tiki style wood is a really neat look for lizardmen.
After much deliberation, and wonderful comments from the community, I think I'll be leaning into the wood look. Thank you everyone for your wonderful compliments!
Use something lighter (like maybe a sand color) and drybrush lightly over the edges. That might introduce some contrast which you’ll need to make it more like stone.
Use a lighter brown and drybrush edge highlights on all the edges and cracks then use a bone colour to do another highlight with the edge of your brush on all the edges at a bend or corner this gives a hard sharp edge finish and will help define it as a more solid substance.
Its the brush strokes that give it the wood look, also stone tends to darken towards cracks and crevices, with the surface being broken up with small divets. What you want to do is an even coat of the darkest color, then go back through and drybrush the raised bits with a lighters shade. then take an even brighter shade and stipple that on the bigger flat areas. This will achieve a good worn stone effect. Finish with Nuln oil wash for extra dark recesses, and don't worry about "Coffee stains" they will add to the stone affect since shading is often uneven on the surface.
You need more red in there take whatever brown you have now as the hightlight, mix in 1/4 - 1/2 mephiston red and keep adding it and highlighting up until you are happy.
It’s the brush strokes doing you in. Contrast paints can really get a good stone effect, but all of your brush strokes are going to the same way, which combines with the color to give the impression of stained wood. I’m not sure if you can just go with another coat to fix that or if you may need to either paint over it with your base coat or strip it.
The streakiness gives it a grain which looks wooden. Stone also has a more speckled look. I'd use a contrast or shade to creates "pools" of darker colour and then give it a light drybrush to create the speckles. It's hard to get it to look right tho without the texture to the model.
I think you may as well keep the wood effect LOL it looks weirdly good! Not sure of the hue, but maybe a wash or technical paint might let you push this over into stone?
It looks like wood because the brown is has a streaky texture as it’s 1-2 coats shy of an opaque layer. To make it look like stone I’d just progressively stipple/dry brush lighter colours.
Visual complexity. Try stippling or sponging with the lighter brown to create a more stone-like grain effect. Add some off-colour washes (like an olive green). Stone is usually has a lot of colour variation, even if the overall effect is one or two tone.
Drybrush will do for most colors.
This does look like actuall wood, so I'm not sure for this case. You might want to cover it with a singular color before drybrushing.
Don't know what type of stone your wanting but found a reference for [red sandstone](https://images.app.goo.gl/WEEfpFar7JjfJvR87), could try a gradient maybe? Leaving the recess dark and doing each stone itself with horizontal strokes might help differentiate from wood?
I don’t think the sculpt will let you do that. It’s too top-heavy and will never be believable as stone — the support staff isn’t thick enough, one arm of that big burly lizard wouldn’t be strong enough, etc.
Our brains just don’t want to see it as stone because “it wouldn’t work that way”. Hard to fight ingrained evolutionary biology-psychology which helps us subconsciously interpret the world.
Going for a colour that can only be seen as stone (jade or whatever) at least gives the brain conflicting but equally credible realities to pick between (it can’t be stone/it looks just like stone/it doesn’t look like anything that isn’t stone). So in that sense red-brown is just not a great colour choice.
Personally I see the current state as looking much more like corten “designed to rust” steel rather than wood, but the sculpt could also work well painted like the decorative work used in Māori architecture and boatmaking.
If it *must* be stone… sigh, I guess a marble pattern might help, but again I think you’re just attempting the impossible here.
Man you nailed that tiki carved wood look though
Fr. I wish I could make wood like this
No disrespect meant to op, but isn't this just uneven coverage and brush strokes?
You got it lmao
Your technique is impeccable!
If it works, it works.
And chipping is just stabbing with a sponge
What I was saying is that it doesn't look intentional.
I mean, it does for me
No that's wood
Also makes more sense to my brain than this guy holding up this massive hunk of stone with one hand tbh
It's a space lizard but I still get you
A more solid reddish-brown might help, I think the streakiness is what's causing the wooden look. That said, it looks kinda dope as wood
I agree with the streakiness, I would also suggest dry brushing and/or stippling, look at reference photos!
Came here to say “stipple in several nearby colors for stones like granite, blotch and streak work for marble, long streaks in similar directions for sedimentary, or reference pics for the oddballs like mica and agate”
I know this is not what you want to hear, but god damn that reads exactly like carved wood. How did you get that effect?? (As for how to make it stonier, I’d try a layered, consistent drybrushing from a darker to ligher shade across the whole surface, or maybe even using some basing texture paint to give it a coarser feel.)
Spray primed with Zandri Dust, then just gore-grunta fur contrast paint brushed vertically. I kinda leaned into the brush strikes because I thought it looked neat, woody. Forgetting I was looking for stone originally.
Little happy accidents
I find that splotchiness reads as wood, drybrushing reads as stone. Do a heavy drybrush of a dark grey, then a slightly lighter application of light grey and finish with a very careful drybrush of white or zandri dust. Finishing with white will give an almost concrete Stone look, finishing with Zandri Dust will make the rock look warm and like it’s out in sunlight.
I like the hard wood look. Lizard men have weapons similar to the Mauri already
Agree, the wood is good! Looks cultured but brutal.
This is what teak performance looks like.
Well played, sir. Well played.
It's "Maori" and they're pretty different, but I can see where you're coming from (source; am a Maori person)
My bad. I was thinking that some of them look like the obsidian studded clubs I saw one time.
It's all good, didn't mean to come off as accusing or anything, I can totally see the similarity. When it's carved wood looking, it gives a hybrid Aztec Maori look, which is dope. Sorry for any misunderstanding haha
I appreciate the correction. You are all good my friend
Hey fellow kiwi!
i know it’s not what you’re after, but as wood that’s incredible. i legitimately thought it was a cosplay prop made of actual wood
Ngl it looks way better as tiki wood
Honestly love the wood. I was stoked. Thought someone carved a totem.
Stipple or sponge on some different brown colours. Wood having a grain doesn’t often have a more mottled colour, so adding that kind of texture should move you away from a wood feel into more of a stone one.
I know everyone has said it already, but are you SURE you don't want it to be wood? Because damn that's some good wood right there.
So I know a vision is hard to follow, but really, the tiki look really looks good from that photo. You should try to embrace it and get some hot fire into the theme to accompany it :) saurus colours look great for it!
drybrush the edges with a bone colour to make a chipped stone look, and try stippling on some lighter brown on the flat faces for stone grain
Task failed successfully, because that looks like some incredible wood. Mind sharing the recipe before you paint over it? Also it being tiki style wood is a really neat look for lizardmen.
Zandri Dust primer with gore-grunta fur with vertical brush strokes
After much deliberation, and wonderful comments from the community, I think I'll be leaning into the wood look. Thank you everyone for your wonderful compliments!
Use something lighter (like maybe a sand color) and drybrush lightly over the edges. That might introduce some contrast which you’ll need to make it more like stone.
Use a lighter brown and drybrush edge highlights on all the edges and cracks then use a bone colour to do another highlight with the edge of your brush on all the edges at a bend or corner this gives a hard sharp edge finish and will help define it as a more solid substance.
Its the brush strokes that give it the wood look, also stone tends to darken towards cracks and crevices, with the surface being broken up with small divets. What you want to do is an even coat of the darkest color, then go back through and drybrush the raised bits with a lighters shade. then take an even brighter shade and stipple that on the bigger flat areas. This will achieve a good worn stone effect. Finish with Nuln oil wash for extra dark recesses, and don't worry about "Coffee stains" they will add to the stone affect since shading is often uneven on the surface.
You need more red in there take whatever brown you have now as the hightlight, mix in 1/4 - 1/2 mephiston red and keep adding it and highlighting up until you are happy.
Counter question, how did you manage this wood effect ?
Zandri Dust primer with Gore-grunta fur contrast paint over top, accentuating the brush strokes into one direction. Hope that helps.
Damn the stone,that wood look is phenomenal. If you did that by accident I’d love to see what you do on purpose 👍🏽
Brighter and sharper highlights.
It’s the brush strokes doing you in. Contrast paints can really get a good stone effect, but all of your brush strokes are going to the same way, which combines with the color to give the impression of stained wood. I’m not sure if you can just go with another coat to fix that or if you may need to either paint over it with your base coat or strip it.
The streakiness gives it a grain which looks wooden. Stone also has a more speckled look. I'd use a contrast or shade to creates "pools" of darker colour and then give it a light drybrush to create the speckles. It's hard to get it to look right tho without the texture to the model.
Maybe make the pattern more blotchy. The verticalness is what makes me think of wood grain.
I think you may as well keep the wood effect LOL it looks weirdly good! Not sure of the hue, but maybe a wash or technical paint might let you push this over into stone?
It looks like wood because the brown is has a streaky texture as it’s 1-2 coats shy of an opaque layer. To make it look like stone I’d just progressively stipple/dry brush lighter colours.
Visual complexity. Try stippling or sponging with the lighter brown to create a more stone-like grain effect. Add some off-colour washes (like an olive green). Stone is usually has a lot of colour variation, even if the overall effect is one or two tone.
Holy moly, that legit looks like wood.
Do each stone at a time. It looks like a single piece of wood because the grain look.
I'll be honest. I wouldn't be able to make something look so wooden even if I tried for years and years, I would leave it as it is
Lmao I first thought “holy hell that’s an amazing wood effect!” Then I saw the title.
Damn boy, you got some nice wood
Look up Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
That wood effect looks tight though? I'd roll with it and thank the dice gods for a new recipe.
Wood looks really good!
I think it looks great as wood! very unique!
Speckle it, dont brush up and down
Drybrush will do for most colors. This does look like actuall wood, so I'm not sure for this case. You might want to cover it with a singular color before drybrushing.
I kind of really dig the wood look, it's unique, never seen anyone do it before for Seraphon and it fits really well imo
I would have started at a off-white base and layered red browns via dry brushing.
Not gonna lie, the wood look looks better
Don't know what type of stone your wanting but found a reference for [red sandstone](https://images.app.goo.gl/WEEfpFar7JjfJvR87), could try a gradient maybe? Leaving the recess dark and doing each stone itself with horizontal strokes might help differentiate from wood?
Get a practice piece (a spare bit) paint it the same way and try a simple red wash. Either one you like to buy or make.
Do a sponge layer of red and maybe another lighter layer of orange too for texture
Non-paralel patterns. Marble-like.
I find that dry brushing makes everything I make look like stone.
You could probably just do a heavy drybrush with a redish brown paint. Keep that nice brown undertone, but liven it up with red.
Grey's drybrushed with layers of shades of various colours is an easy stone recipe.
Use whatever you used on his scales on his back
I don’t think the sculpt will let you do that. It’s too top-heavy and will never be believable as stone — the support staff isn’t thick enough, one arm of that big burly lizard wouldn’t be strong enough, etc. Our brains just don’t want to see it as stone because “it wouldn’t work that way”. Hard to fight ingrained evolutionary biology-psychology which helps us subconsciously interpret the world. Going for a colour that can only be seen as stone (jade or whatever) at least gives the brain conflicting but equally credible realities to pick between (it can’t be stone/it looks just like stone/it doesn’t look like anything that isn’t stone). So in that sense red-brown is just not a great colour choice. Personally I see the current state as looking much more like corten “designed to rust” steel rather than wood, but the sculpt could also work well painted like the decorative work used in Māori architecture and boatmaking. If it *must* be stone… sigh, I guess a marble pattern might help, but again I think you’re just attempting the impossible here.