If you're looking to use air dry clay and not wait a million hours, once you've done the basic sculpt but before you add your detail, flip the piece over and slowly push a pencil into the thickest part of the base to create a long, thin hole inside the piece. That reduces the thickness as it can now also dry from the inside out, and you can make more holes if your piece is particularly thick.
Great paint job! When I use this clay I try to bulk the form out with aluminium foil, to cut down on drying time for large sculpts. The scrunched up aluminium foil gives the clay something to grip to also. I've been using this clay for a while and never thought of adding PVA glue. Considering how hard this clay dries already, I'm very excited to try it. Great stuff
This is an interesting method thanks for sharing. I usually use a wire armature then I just mix liquid latex and flour to make a paste and brush the paste on. Several pros are that it actually dries rather quickly and once done you have a rather posable tree that can be moved around and the branches can be bent quite easily. Also, if someone bumps it and it falls to the ground no harm done just some loose flocking that can be easily fixed.
Wow, this timing could NOT be better! I am running this module right now and am a couple weeks away from the final showdown. I'm definitely going to build my own one of these! Thanks!
I went through exactly what you are going through while planning this campaign out. I spent so much time trying to duplicate everything and litter all just stressed myself out. Right before the party arrived at Oakhurst I said F it and ambushed the party and sent them completely in a different direction. All that planning for nothing. I decided to home brew the whole thing just using what I consider key parts of the campaign. Now I can't get the party to go back to Oakhurst no matter what hooks I throw them lol. My dang tree is sitting there unfinished and unpainted. I was using DM scotty's toilet paper roll technique but I've been interested in doing some clay sculpts. This has motivated me to redo my tree using this method. I really like the way your tree came out. Thanks for another great vid
Yay! I love sculpting and I'm glad you pushed through the brief roadblock. In the future, especially with clay that air dries, you can go back and hollow out thicker pieces to expedite the drying process. I haven't used this clay before, but I presume that the exterior will cure faster and so at some point you should be able to gently pick up the sculpture to then hollow out the bottom by carving it out.
My group is currently running the Yawning Portal. They loved the first two modules, but the Hidden Shrine of the Tamoachan has been a slog. I've been slowly making terrain and floor tiles after watching your videos and they've gone over great. Thank you very much for all of your well put together tutorials, it's really enhanced our game time!
Yo! This tutorial is awesome, and just what this channel needed. Your buildings and tiles are incredible and super easy to build, but there is a lack of natural elements. Really glad to see you expanding into this area... I’m brimming with ideas on how to optimize this process. Cannot wait to try it!
Huh, so I bought a package of das clay today because it was on sale. Suddenly a video showing how to use it shows up on my feed. Combine all this with the need to make more gnarly trees for my growing AoS Nurgle army. It's almost like the universe is telling me what my next project is going to be...
Since I want to paint something like the Sylvaneth Treelord and don't have the money for it right now, I decided to attempt to make one myself. Gonna watch this in the hopes that I have the stuff to use that knowledge.
Another way to make a tree is to use some stiff wire to make an armature shape and wrap it with some plaster cast strips. The plaster cast strips make a great bark texture and to finish it with some leaves, just dip the branch tips in white glue and roll in flocking. The width/height and number of branches is only limited by your time and desire to put in work. I used this style to make most of a wargaming table in a weekend, not counting painting (done before flocking) time. I didnt even need to modpodge to seal before painting. i Got them painted up super quick with rattle cans of black primer and to shades of brown. After that it was just a quick wash and drybrushing.
Funny, I just used the Gulthias Tree recently. Sept I made it turn from a regular tree into a wiggling mass of flesh and blood with the apples turning into sacks of blood. Cuz of the whole vampire angle.
FANTASTIC! Great end result! You are a great all around creator. Love everything you do. You are becoming my go to guy for all my future creations. Im in the watching hours of tutorials and pinterest pics stage. Im soon going to dive in.....
Tree looks great. I think you should make a few for creepy terrain. I could see the tree growing out of a ruined house or in a cemetery. I agree modules don't scratch the itch for worldbuilders.
My tree is coming along nicely so far. I used a different air dry clay, there was some cracking, however I'm still pleased with the results. I knew the black magic base coat would hide many mistakes. I will be posting it soon on the TTCG, hopefully this weekend.
I recommend purchasing a dehydrator to help speed the process. I got one on Amazon for less than $25. I wish I would have seen this video sooner, we just finished that module last night 🤙🏾
It turned out really beautiful. Hope you will use more clay to sculpt from scratch in the future. Natural wood can be put in the oven to prevent the moisture from potentially ruining paint job in the future. Well I guess you know that being a builder. Anyways. Love it
If you do another one, you could make it hollow for faster drying time and if the hole is big enough, hide a smaller figure like a chest or a twig blight inside it
Yeah, its the sad truth that, as readily available as they are most types of "air dry modelling clay" sucks; about the only way I've been able to minimize shrinking and cracking is to work with stupidly thin layers and even that's not a guarantee. Good call with using actual twigs as armatures; there's no better way to get a natural shape. In the end, despite all the difficulties, I think this turned out looking amazing! On a semi-related side note; I know plenty of people (myself included) who simply cannot run pre-made modules as printed. For me, what time I might have saved in the prep stage by having a pre-written module is eaten away entirely by all the little tweaks and changes I wind up needing to make so that the module has some depth and because we all know that players are going to want more details and more interaction with even the smallest element included in the module (which is why we love them) but of course modules rarely contain those things.
Dude, add affiliate links for the German amazon and you'll cover most of Europe in one go. The shipping prices form North America are ridiculously high if you need stuff sent here from your store links.
Eventually I'd like to set up the affiliate program in more countries, but its a big process to do so. That being said do people across europe often use the german Amazon?
Black Magic Craft the German Amazon covers a lot of the neighbouring countries, including most of eastern Europe, the Netherlands and Austria, some with their own prime programs, plus shipping costs from there are bound to be fairly even all across mainland Europe, since it's basically in the middle. If you have to pick one, it's the best choice IMO. The interface is in 3 languages (German, Dutch, and English) and it's the one with the widest variety of products out of the EU based ones. That said it does have flaws, a lot of the third party sellers do not ship outside of Germany, for instance, but that applies to most of the EU amazons anyway.
I use them for my games, and store them in my game room on the shelves you see in my videos. I don't do commission work because people likely wouldn't be willing to pay the high cost to appropriately cover my time.
“Play” sand....for sandboxes...which is different in every city. Doesn’t matter, get sand, any sand, use it. Don’t overthink it. I’ve got a video on making homemade wash, just search for it and it will pop up.
Black Magic Craft yeah you mentioned it right after I asked lol. Thanks for the help. Love the tree! Do you have any builds that have trees with leaves?
Did you notice our creepy coincidence?....how I described the craftsmart brown and how you described the craftsmart grey in your last episode. Super weird.
Does anyone know where the cheapest place to buy MDF board in Canada is? BMC is Canadian, and he mentioned Dollarstore in a video from years ago, but I couldn't find any. TIA for your help!
I didnt realize til 3/4 of the way through the video this is the exact same tree I need for Curse of Strahd XD I don't know where to get that clay though. I am wondering if I should use some other type of clay, or use model magic with glue in it, like in the video. I love the idea of putting real branches in it ^-^
Don't knock yourself this is amazing work. I would have run screaming from clay. Curious did you give XPS a try? Or would it not work pinning and carving?
Maybe someone already mentioned this, but couldn't you just coat the tree in PVA glue after it was dry but before applying paint? Or, use clear PVA and a matte varnish after painting it? Just curious. Awesome video! I also need to craft this tree for my own Sunless Citadel game. :D
Great looking tree, been putting off making trees for far too long; really kinda stupid since I went and bought everything I need to make them. Think it's time to stop procrastinating.
Black Magic Craft I remember you saying that, and I believe you. But something about watching people handle knives makes me cringe. I think it's a me issue.
The thing is the way I was doing those cuts was actually the safest way to do it because I was in the most possible control. It’s like when you see chefs chop veggies. It looks scary but it’s actually best practice (if you know what you are doing).
Floral foam not a very safe material to work with. It has some pretty severe health risks. Soaking it helps, but it's still not a great material to use.
If you're looking to use air dry clay and not wait a million hours, once you've done the basic sculpt but before you add your detail, flip the piece over and slowly push a pencil into the thickest part of the base to create a long, thin hole inside the piece. That reduces the thickness as it can now also dry from the inside out, and you can make more holes if your piece is particularly thick.
I hope he reads this advice it’s very smart thank you
Great paint job! When I use this clay I try to bulk the form out with aluminium foil, to cut down on drying time for large sculpts. The scrunched up aluminium foil gives the clay something to grip to also. I've been using this clay for a while and never thought of adding PVA glue. Considering how hard this clay dries already, I'm very excited to try it.
Great stuff
This is an interesting method thanks for sharing. I usually use a wire armature then I just mix liquid latex and flour to make a paste and brush the paste on. Several pros are that it actually dries rather quickly and once done you have a rather posable tree that can be moved around and the branches can be bent quite easily. Also, if someone bumps it and it falls to the ground no harm done just some loose flocking that can be easily fixed.
Wow, this timing could NOT be better! I am running this module right now and am a couple weeks away from the final showdown. I'm definitely going to build my own one of these! Thanks!
I went through exactly what you are going through while planning this campaign out. I spent so much time trying to duplicate everything and litter all just stressed myself out. Right before the party arrived at Oakhurst I said F it and ambushed the party and sent them completely in a different direction. All that planning for nothing. I decided to home brew the whole thing just using what I consider key parts of the campaign. Now I can't get the party to go back to Oakhurst no matter what hooks I throw them lol. My dang tree is sitting there unfinished and unpainted. I was using DM scotty's toilet paper roll technique but I've been interested in doing some clay sculpts. This has motivated me to redo my tree using this method. I really like the way your tree came out. Thanks for another great vid
Yay! I love sculpting and I'm glad you pushed through the brief roadblock. In the future, especially with clay that air dries, you can go back and hollow out thicker pieces to expedite the drying process. I haven't used this clay before, but I presume that the exterior will cure faster and so at some point you should be able to gently pick up the sculpture to then hollow out the bottom by carving it out.
My group is currently running the Yawning Portal. They loved the first two modules, but the Hidden Shrine of the Tamoachan has been a slog.
I've been slowly making terrain and floor tiles after watching your videos and they've gone over great. Thank you very much for all of your well put together tutorials, it's really enhanced our game time!
Got a gulthias tree coming up in my next story segment. Got given a whole block of air drying clay aswell. Will be doing this for sure
Yo! This tutorial is awesome, and just what this channel needed. Your buildings and tiles are incredible and super easy to build, but there is a lack of natural elements. Really glad to see you expanding into this area... I’m brimming with ideas on how to optimize this process. Cannot wait to try it!
Huh, so I bought a package of das clay today because it was on sale. Suddenly a video showing how to use it shows up on my feed. Combine all this with the need to make more gnarly trees for my growing AoS Nurgle army. It's almost like the universe is telling me what my next project is going to be...
i was thinking about the possibilities for nurgle trees throughout the whole vid too lol
As I see it, it's pretty much the same thing he did but just sculpt on pustules, cysts, and other disgusting features. I love nurgle.
Dungeon tiles!!!
Since I want to paint something like the Sylvaneth Treelord and don't have the money for it right now, I decided to attempt to make one myself. Gonna watch this in the hopes that I have the stuff to use that knowledge.
Great to see the struggle, tinkering and resolution of your plan 😎🌳
Great-looking result! And good advice about stepping out of your comfort zone.
After finishing my very first campaign with my uncle as the dm, it's really cool to see this tree come to life because we play on roll20.
Stunning. Your novice experiments are better than my best stuff. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
I am with you on modules, I am trying Strahd now and it is a f***ing chore!
Another way to make a tree is to use some stiff wire to make an armature shape and wrap it with some plaster cast strips. The plaster cast strips make a great bark texture and to finish it with some leaves, just dip the branch tips in white glue and roll in flocking. The width/height and number of branches is only limited by your time and desire to put in work. I used this style to make most of a wargaming table in a weekend, not counting painting (done before flocking) time. I didnt even need to modpodge to seal before painting. i Got them painted up super quick with rattle cans of black primer and to shades of brown. After that it was just a quick wash and drybrushing.
Funny, I just used the Gulthias Tree recently.
Sept I made it turn from a regular tree into a wiggling mass of flesh and blood with the apples turning into sacks of blood.
Cuz of the whole vampire angle.
Turned out great! Looks fantastic.
Was really skeptical about clay-made trees but you make it look easy!
Making a good looking tree as never been so easy!
Great build. Going to have to try this. Thanks
FANTASTIC! Great end result! You are a great all around creator. Love everything you do. You are becoming my go to guy for all my future creations. Im in the watching hours of tutorials and pinterest pics stage. Im soon going to dive in.....
BMC coming through with some mad sculpting skills! Looks great as always man.
Thanks!
The talent in a bottle - The Black Wash.
Man, good job going out of your comfort zone. This thing looks freaking amazing.
Tree looks great. I think you should make a few for creepy terrain. I could see the tree growing out of a ruined house or in a cemetery.
I agree modules don't scratch the itch for worldbuilders.
Great tutorial! I will try to make Weirwood Tree with this technique for Song of Ice and Fire :D
It turned out great! Nice job.
Tree looks cool. Thumbs up 😁
just made a Gulthias Tree, playing Sunless Citadel and was inspired by this, thanks BMC!
That's one of the better dead trees I've seen, good job.
Thanks man
That's dope. Never tried clay or sculpting, but that turned out really good.
My tree is coming along nicely so far. I used a different air dry clay, there was some cracking, however I'm still pleased with the results. I knew the black magic base coat would hide many mistakes. I will be posting it soon on the TTCG, hopefully this weekend.
Awesome, I watched all you videos. Amazing stuff and I learned a lot from watching them. Thanks.
Great work on the das tree make. I might actually give the das/white glue mix a go.
Sweet! Makes me want to go sculpt some clay. Cheers!
Bro it looks really good
nice due, the tree actually looks sick!
Awesome tree man!
Okay, at first thought wow you are making a tree...big deal. Then as it came together I said "wow what a great tree"! Nice job.
I recommend purchasing a dehydrator to help speed the process. I got one on Amazon for less than $25. I wish I would have seen this video sooner, we just finished that module last night 🤙🏾
If you've got a tractor you can use actual tree roots primed with Spraycan primer for instant spooky-trees!
When you run a module its ok to change a ton of stuff. Most if not all actually encourage you to add and change stuff.
you really have talent sweet tree
Great video, as always !!
Great work! Did you use any varnish or sealer to make it durable or is it not necessary? Many thanks!
It turned out really beautiful. Hope you will use more clay to sculpt from scratch in the future.
Natural wood can be put in the oven to prevent the moisture from potentially ruining paint job in the future.
Well I guess you know that being a builder. Anyways. Love it
If you do another one, you could make it hollow for faster drying time and if the hole is big enough, hide a smaller figure like a chest or a twig blight inside it
This turned out great!
Looks great!
That tree looks sooooo good :D
Yeah, its the sad truth that, as readily available as they are most types of "air dry modelling clay" sucks; about the only way I've been able to minimize shrinking and cracking is to work with stupidly thin layers and even that's not a guarantee. Good call with using actual twigs as armatures; there's no better way to get a natural shape. In the end, despite all the difficulties, I think this turned out looking amazing!
On a semi-related side note; I know plenty of people (myself included) who simply cannot run pre-made modules as printed. For me, what time I might have saved in the prep stage by having a pre-written module is eaten away entirely by all the little tweaks and changes I wind up needing to make so that the module has some depth and because we all know that players are going to want more details and more interaction with even the smallest element included in the module (which is why we love them) but of course modules rarely contain those things.
Love it I was thinking same thing to sculpt using real tree pieces cause I hate clay
It's amazing 🤩 I love it 😁
Some model railroad vines climbing up this would make it even more creepy.
And now you have a large tree miniature that can be used for a limitless number of other sets.
Totally awesome.
Your etched in lines make the mini pop
"pretty darn decent" gotta take this into my vocabulary :-D
Dude, add affiliate links for the German amazon and you'll cover most of Europe in one go.
The shipping prices form North America are ridiculously high if you need stuff sent here from your store links.
Eventually I'd like to set up the affiliate program in more countries, but its a big process to do so. That being said do people across europe often use the german Amazon?
Black Magic Craft the German Amazon covers a lot of the neighbouring countries, including most of eastern Europe, the Netherlands and Austria, some with their own prime programs, plus shipping costs from there are bound to be fairly even all across mainland Europe, since it's basically in the middle.
If you have to pick one, it's the best choice IMO. The interface is in 3 languages (German, Dutch, and English) and it's the one with the widest variety of products out of the EU based ones.
That said it does have flaws, a lot of the third party sellers do not ship outside of Germany, for instance, but that applies to most of the EU amazons anyway.
Yep, its better for us in the nordic countries aswell :)
Us Brits would use .co.uk :)
I'm in Sweden and I use the German amazon allot
Very nice! It looks like the upcoming Reaper Tree of Despair from Bones 4 might make a decent stand-in. Not as cool as this one, but pretty close.
Check out sculpt all it's a two part epoxy clay like substance that taxidermist use, way better than regular clay.
What do you do with all the things you make? Would you make custom pieces if people order from you?
I use them for my games, and store them in my game room on the shelves you see in my videos.
I don't do commission work because people likely wouldn't be willing to pay the high cost to appropriately cover my time.
What kind of sand do you use? And how do you make your own black wash?
“Play” sand....for sandboxes...which is different in every city. Doesn’t matter, get sand, any sand, use it. Don’t overthink it.
I’ve got a video on making homemade wash, just search for it and it will pop up.
Black Magic Craft yeah you mentioned it right after I asked lol. Thanks for the help. Love the tree! Do you have any builds that have trees with leaves?
Nice job, especially since it's not in your bailiwick. I would have brown-washed the tree, but the overall effect is nice.
Rockin
Did you notice our creepy coincidence?....how I described the craftsmart brown and how you described the craftsmart grey in your last episode. Super weird.
Heh, it's easy to get carried away looking for sophisticated off-colors. I've gotten back to basics lately.
I was in a 3.5 sunless citadel one shot a few weeks ago
I have always enjoyed that adventure, but yeah I rather run my own adventures than someone else's, it is much easier to remember your own material.
Does anyone know where the cheapest place to buy MDF board in Canada is? BMC is Canadian, and he mentioned Dollarstore in a video from years ago, but I couldn't find any. TIA for your help!
When you're about to give up but you find that one video you need ;))))) 3:04
I didnt realize til 3/4 of the way through the video this is the exact same tree I need for Curse of Strahd XD I don't know where to get that clay though. I am wondering if I should use some other type of clay, or use model magic with glue in it, like in the video. I love the idea of putting real branches in it ^-^
Neet build dude it looks really narly and creepy gg
great work.
Dang good job...thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
👍 Thanks! Really enjoyed that!! 😍 ✔️ 🌟
A lot of my friends who use chipboard a lot use a scroll saw to cut it.
Meepo is best kobold friend forever!
I'n my game, the players gave him a pretty quick execution :(
I'm running the Citadel now, and a trapped door cleaved him in two. (My PCs called him Dungeon Jar-Jar)
I know the feeling...I'm suffering with Hoard of The Dragon Queen...I really don't like premade campaigns.
Awesome tutorial! Now for me to get out of my comfort zone...
Do it!
Don't knock yourself this is amazing work. I would have run screaming from clay. Curious did you give XPS a try? Or would it not work pinning and carving?
AMAZING!!!
Looks pretty good to me. Very surprised you didn't use a wire armature though.
Making wire armatures just isn’t appealing to me at all
Maybe someone already mentioned this, but couldn't you just coat the tree in PVA glue after it was dry but before applying paint? Or, use clear PVA and a matte varnish after painting it? Just curious.
Awesome video! I also need to craft this tree for my own Sunless Citadel game. :D
Great looking tree, been putting off making trees for far too long; really kinda stupid since I went and bought everything I need to make them. Think it's time to stop procrastinating.
That's what she said x 25
... just... brown! lol :) btw, great job man!
Awesome....
How do you spell that color you used? Bra-uhn?
watching you carve that chip board pulling the knife towards your thumb was giving me anxiety... lol
I’m a professional carpenter, I know how to handle a blade. It’s all good.
Black Magic Craft I remember you saying that, and I believe you. But something about watching people handle knives makes me cringe. I think it's a me issue.
The thing is the way I was doing those cuts was actually the safest way to do it because I was in the most possible control. It’s like when you see chefs chop veggies. It looks scary but it’s actually best practice (if you know what you are doing).
I get it, that’s how I feel seeing people doing things at great heights. Even if they are professionals and properly protected.
Das clay?
I want to watch this video, but I'm playing this module in a live stream DnD show and I hate spoilers.
I made a tree! Using tree!
You can use the same sculpting technique with green floral foam blocks and soak it n PVA. Works perfectly.
Floral foam not a very safe material to work with. It has some pretty severe health risks. Soaking it helps, but it's still not a great material to use.
Yeah, I always used a mask, but you're right, it's nasty stuff.
You guys should make a crafters guild discord server
That is a good dead tree
Thanks :)
just...
b r o w n
My black wash isn't staying in all the small crevasses. Too much soap? It's changing the color of the piece and that's about it.
Try my improved recipe. I have a video with how to make it, it works far better than the just soapy water method.
groovy
eh the tree seems more medium then big but it's well done.