Reply To: What’s Your Secret to Creating Convincing Terrain?

I have had the best luck with a mix of old-school and cheap tricks. For hills, I will often start with crumpled newspaper or scrap cardboard to bulk up the shape, then go over it with plaster cloth or a thin layer of paper towel soaked in diluted white glue. It dries surprisingly solid.

For cliffs, I like carving foam insulation board with a utility knife and then hitting it with a wire brush it gives that rough, chipped look without much effort. Riverbanks are usually just sculpted plaster, smoothed with a wet brush, and then painted in a few muddy tones before I add any water effects.

The big thing for me is avoiding symmetry nature doesn’t do straight lines or perfect curves. A few bumps, dents, and random angles go a long way.