I have finally completed putting the plaster/vermiculite mixture down for my scenic base and have painted it my basic earth color. I also got around to painting the valence. I will paint the facia after I complete my scenery.  The next step is to put down the ground texturing which, per Joe Fugate's scenery DVD, is a mixture of plaster and dried tempera paint. This sifted onto the scenery base. The area is wetted before and after to make the plaster/tempera mixture adhere. My first attempts have not been without some issues..

No, I am not trying to create a diorama of Mordor here..

My tempera had a very powerful black that had a disproportionate effect on the color. It created more of a cinder color then an earth color. I also ran into trouble with some areas coming out very pale and other with a richer color. I think this was the result of insufficient wetting in some spots.

This close up shows how in some spots I didn't have enough moistore and in others excessive water sprayed after I sifted ran down creating rivulets. I think I need a "gentler" mister. The one I have doesn't really do what I need here..

This image shows my next attempt in the foreground. In this one I cut the amount of black in half. However, I did not pre-wet enough and everything came out with a kind of chalky texture that rubs off easily, just like Joe warned about in the video. In the bottom left you can see where I rubbed my fingers on it. On the bright side.. its more brown.

In this image you can see my third attempt which came out much better. I wet the ground much more heavily. I let the water soak in then wet it again. After sifting I did my best to mist it gently. The brown is more earth-like although I think I need more yellow. I think my tempera paints tend toward darker color. It doesn't rub off and has a nice texture.

This picture shows the "good" patch in context. You can see the color is a little too brown compared to my basic earth color. However, it does have a nice texture and it would probably be just fine.

My next step is brush off my earlier attempts as best I can, add a little yellow to this, and spread it through the enture scene except where I plan to do water later..

This has been a learning experience for me. It takes some practice to get the color and texture right. I am going to try to find a bottle with a finer mist. The one I am using is from scenic express actually. Its a nice bottle but it doesnt have as fine a mist as I might like.

I will update with more photos after I complete more of the texturing.

Regards,

Chris