Large Fade Areas

[daniel_leavitt2000]

While looking at paints for the new bathroom, I was also looking at colors for the basement. Obviously I want sky blue for the backdrop, and it would be nice if it also was a good representation of Conrail blue as well.

That got me thinking. The sky is rarely sky blue. Sure it's bright blue looking straight up, but fades to baby blue or white closer to the horizon. I would like to duplicate this on the backdrop, but that means a uniform horizontal fade about 24" tall and running the 150' it so linear feet of the layout. Any ideas?

[Scottl]

Paint sprayer of dilute white.  I think you have the air source.

[ednadolski]

A uniform color transition like that is extremely difficult to achieve, even with spray painting, especially over a long span.  I've been experimenting off & on with trying to blend narrow 'bands' of successively lighter colors, but it takes a lot of narrow bands in order to avoid a 'striped' look.  Blending is very tricky because the latex paint dries very fast, and it also changes shades as it dries.  Some guys scrub the paint on with a handheld brush in order to blend it, but that is a lot of work to do it over a large area.

Ed

[Scottl]

Pelle does the banding with oil paints and blends, but you can still discern the bands in some of his photos.

I don't think spray painting evenly is an issue over 150' as you will not see it all at once.  Variations with the effect are normal anyway, since the natural effect depends on your viewing angle relative to the sun.  A diluted white mix will build color relatively slowly and it is difficult to overdo the effect, especially for eastern humid skies that are hazy anyway.  I did it over 18' with an airbrush in 30 minutes, but a larger job could probably benefit from a sprayer.

[ryan_wilkerson]

Maybe a printed background would be easier? Not sure what kind of background you're working but printing a gradient is much easier than by hand!

[Dave Schneider]

The sky isn't uniform, so you really don't need to maintain a uniform gradient for 150 ft.  Slight variations won't be objectionable once various scenery elements are added. I don't think that one needs to go to oils to make the transition unless you have tons of experience with them and feel the need to go with what you know. There have been many nice backdrops painted with latex paints.

Best wishes, Dave

[davefoxx]

I always did it the "Bob Ross" way, i.e., wet-on-wet paint and blend.  I would paint the sky blue color from the top down about two-thirds of the way and also paint white on the bottom third.  Using a clean brush, I would blend the two together, leaving the top half blue and fading to white at the very bottom.  If it doesn't come out right, it's easy to paint over it and try, try again.

DFF

[Scottl]

That would certainly work, but I was thinking more along the lines of his 150' of backdrop.  That is a lot of Bob Ross! 

[PAL_Houston]

It doesn't need to be uniform.  Personally I kind of like the "high haze" frequently seen in the midwest.

[nkalanaga]

One suggestion in a magazine years ago was to start with your favorite shade of blue at the top.  Where you want it to fade, add some white to the blue, and paint a strip.  Add some more white and paint another strip.  If you use narrow strips and don't add too  much white at a time it should fade nicely.

Of course, it depends on where you're modeling.  Many places in the western US the sky is still obviously blue at the horizon on sunny days, while in other places, particularly in the eastern states, it can be white all the way to the zenith on an equally clear day.

[loyalton]

Add retarder/extender to keep things wet and allow blending. There's different ones for latex and acrylic paints. The painters who do the fake marble and stone walls depend on the stuff.

[mcjaco]

I always did it the "Bob Ross" way, i.e., wet-on-wet paint and blend.  I would paint the sky blue color from the top down about two-thirds of the way and also paint white on the bottom third.  Using a clean brush, I would blend the two together, leaving the top half blue and fading to white at the very bottom.  If it doesn't come out right, it's easy to paint over it and try, try again.

DFF

This.

[mcjaco]

If people are staring at your blending in the background, that means you model work probably isn't keeping their attention. 

Just sayin.   

[Flagler]

This was done using latex paint and a paint roller

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Model an overcast day.