Painting a rock to make it look more like a rock (idea)

How to paint a rock so it looks more like a real rock:

You will need:
- A rock (or two)
- Gravel
- PVA Glue
- Cardboard
- Green Paint
- Black through to light gray paint
- Flock
- a large, crappy brush
- a small, crappy brush
Optionally,
- Polyfilla
- a Hot Glue Gun
- Black spray paint


Base it
Corrugated cardboard is a good choice for a base¹, as expanded polystyrene may snap under the weight of the rock. Stick your rock on with either pva glue or a hot glue gun, building up gravel and polyfilla where the rock meets the base, so as it looks natural. If you like textured (as opposed to flocked) bases, now's the time to stick sand to it.

Spray it
Depending on your taste, you can cover the rock with polyfilla first, to make it look more 'rocky'. Spray your rock either black, or dark gray, making sure to get inside any gaps between the rock and the base. Leave to dry.

Paint it
The base needs to be painted green (or brown if it's going to be sandy). Use a large, crappy brush.

Drybrush it
Pick a pretty dark gray colour, and pick out a largeish, crappy brush, with pretty stiff bristles. Children's art brushes are great. Dip it in the paint, and then wipe off almost all of it on a bit of kitchen roll. Lightly brush the rock (and its base) with the brush. The paint that's left should appear on the raised surfaces of the rock. (You can practice on the kitchen roll if you're not sure how much paint should be left on the brush.). Give it some more coats, with lighter shades of gray, and less paint on the brush, until it looks the way you want. If you're texturing your base, do the same to the sand (but with green, obviously)

Flock it
Cover the base, and any hollows in the rock with PVA glue. Dunk it in the flock, and tap off the excess. For bases this big, it looks more convincing (less furry) if you take a crappy brush, and, when the glue's half dry, paint on more PVA in a poking motion, and flock it again. It should go realisticly clumpy.

Enjoy your better than life rock!

1 - Cardboard isn't very thick, so you might try glueing two or more sheets together, alternating the grains, and then cutting the edge at an angle. The edges can be filled in with polyfilla, and then no-one can tell it's cardboard. If you're feeling really keen, you can use MDF, but it needs to be cut using a saw.