I'm getting ready to paint the backdrops for my layout. What colors are suggested for the sky? Thanks Paul
Paul, Using Home Depot Behr paints, last time I used "Azure afternoon" and in my recent repaint, I used the the blue just one shade less on the same color chip. I think it was called China something or other. I think going just a bit lighter is the way to go. Of course, that is just one opinion, and several others would work.
Paul - Many modelers render their sky backdrops a decidely too dark blue to realistically represent the typical sky color. However, there are several ways to approach the problem that should result in a realistic presentation. 1. Get several blue color swatch cards from your local paint dealer. On a nice clear day, go out and compare the small blocks of paint color to that of the sky about 30-45 degrees above the horizon. Once you've established a fairly close match, choose a paint one step lighter than your match and order that. 2. Take a properly exposed photo of the same sky location recommended above (including some horizon and foreground features to be sure that the color balance/reproduction is accurate). Print out a matte copy of the image. Take it to your paint dealer and have them use their color matching machine to replicate this hue. 3. See if you can find a Sherwin William paint dealer that still has a reference to their old Ethereal Blue paint color, which was for years a widely recommended shade of sky blue for model railroad backgrounds. Below is an example of the background on my layout that uses Ethereal Blue paint. NYW&B
Yes, the blue sky is a much lighter shade as you approach the horizon. On a very hazy day, the blue sky directly overhead will be almost white as it reaches the horizon. I used an ordinary rattle can to lighten the blue backdrop close to the ground. It only takes a little! (Later, I air brushed clouds using templates.)
Paul - Many modelers render their sky backdrops a decidely too dark blue to realistically represent the typical sky color. However, there are several ways to approach the problem that should result in a realistic presentation. 1. Get several blue color swatch cards from your local paint dealer. On a nice clear day, go out and compare the small blocks of paint color to that of the sky about 30-45 degrees above the horizon. Once you've established a fairly close match, choose a paint one step lighter than your match and order that. 2. Take a properly exposed photo of the same sky location recommended above (including some horizon and foreground features to be sure that the color balance/reproduction is accurate). Print out a matte copy of the image. Take it to your paint dealer and have them use their color matching machine to replicate this hue. The above statements by NYW&B I agree with totally. Sky colors vary according to location. Get about 60 miles away from the city here in my area and it definetely lightens up. Which suggests that you may want two different colors of sky if you are transitioning from city to country. The pollutants in the city air definetely affect the color. And if you are modeling the Pacific Northwest or the Southwest even more so on the colors. There is a reason for that Montana State slogan of Big Sky Country.
Tips above are good. I would suggest one more step if you are going to do clouds. Take several pictures of cloud formations over a period of a week or so. Study them. Use them as a basis for airbrushing the patterns and color variations within the clouds onto the backdrop.
All of the advice here is great. A problem, though, is that Paul never mentions what part of the country he is modeling. Here in Santa Fe (which I will model), depending on the day, the skies are surrealistically, unbelievably blue--from deep, dark blue at the zenith to turquoise blue at the horizon. In Florida, the skies are a very light turquoise at the zenith to white at the horizon. There are so many variations in between depending on 1) elevation, 2) pollution, and 3) humidity. NYW&B's sky (see photo above) is perfect for many places--but not at all suitable for the Southwest. In creating a backdrop, I wouldn't start trying to find blue paints before I had paid a visit to the part of the country I was modeling and took photos there. Keep in mind, too, that the time of year effects sky colors as well. The more white, the more humid the atmosphere. The same advice goes for clouds, which look completely different in New Mexico or Colorado (where they are closer to the ground) from the way they look in Seattle, from the way they look in Florida, from the way they look in Boston or Cleveland.
I think Chaya is referring to fair weather clouds. Storm clouds in the east can be literally at tree top level, where in the Southwest they are generally at 1,000-2,000 feet. I've got a 4,600 foot mountain in my back yard that helps me to judge. Today's thunderstorm clouds have a ceiling of 8,300 feet, or about 2,000 feet above the ground. I think I'm one of the few modelers that actually does stormy weather backdrops? This sky isn't blue: Nor this one:
Hey, I like those shots, Pete. You know, I've always liked those layouts of the Northwest, too, that show it with light grey skies, cool lighting, and rain puddles.
Depends on where On a warm, calm day where I live, the sky can be sorta tan with an orange tint. On a windy day, it could be blue. Go outside and look. It tends to be darker straight above you and fades to almost white at the horizon. I'd suggest getting two cans of paint: one a sky blue color, one white. Mix it up til it looks right to you. Unless you're modelling Southern California, then get a can of orange and a can of beige. LOL
I am guilty as charged. However, I have found that it helps to go just a bit dark because, unlike the real thing, painted skies often get burned out during photography, and in person most people don't notice they are slightly darker than they should be.
Very cool, Russell And thanks to everyone for their input. I bought a can of Porter medium-light blue. It is a pure blue, which should work well for an October sky in the Eastern Kentucky mountains. I plan on using stencils for clouds, and will over spray a white mist to blend the sky into the horizen. Thanks again.
On another list, the following was explained. Paint the background sky blue - then paint your far horizon hills. Give the horizon area a very light overspray of white, together with the bottom inch or so of sky. Now paint in a slightly closer range of hills and give all the ground and horizon sky another very light overspray of white taking it up over the bottom 3" of sky. Paint another row of hils and overspray all lightly and up to about 6". Now paint your foreground hills - don't overspray. You'll now have a very realistic "fade into the distance, with sky lightening at the horizon" backscene - there were pictures, but I have lost the link. Shortliner(away up here in the Highlands
For those of us modeling the East, a grayish haze is often more appropriate with just a hint of light, light blue. The digital sky in this scene from my N scale layout comes from a photo I took at Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, PA in June 2006:
