Makeing Moss and lichen

[Ron McGuire]

I have carved a woodcock and want to put him on a piece of wood and make the piece of wood have moss and lichen on it. Does anyone know who this might be done? Carving and painting. I tried getting a piece from the forest but the wood was rotting so there was stuff falling off it and the moss wouldn't stay but boy did it look real. I'm kind of new at carving and the guys I carve with didn't have an answer just alternatives which are the way many others have positioned a woodcock.

[vllsr]

Ron:
Not sure about growing it, but any hobby shop with model railroading stuff will have moss and lichen available in bags. Just brush on a little Elmers glue and attach what you want. I use it with a Christmas Village we put up, looks good to me.
VLLSR

[AlArchie]

I've tried to use mosses and lichens, but they all seem to disintigrate over time.....not good choices unless your scene is protected under glass.

So, I've been thinking and here's something you might try. Get one of those stainless steel scrubbing pads and spread it out where you want it on your scene. Once satisfied for presentation, remove it and either spreay paint or use an air brush to paint the material moss- like.

Just a suggestion, as I have not tried this. Might work....

Al

[Paul_Guraedy]

It is a slow and painstaking process;but, for lichen I use Artist Paste. Put it on with a toothpick. You can find a sample by doing a search for "The Rival".

[Wildbirdcarver]

1. Ron, Ernie Muehlmatt in one of his books discribes how he makes moss. I have done this in one of his classes and so I'll try to remember the steps to take.

1. carve a mound (slight) in the area you want moss.
2. don't sand it too smooth
3. stipple in many small holes close together with a small diamond needle point or a small steel needle point bur. Connect the holes by running the bur over the walls of the holes you have made.
4. dump out the dust
5. seal with your favorite sealer...mine is TeeKay's or deft sanding sealer with lacquer thinner 50-50.
6. after dry, brush on gesso
7. after dry paint with moss green (acrylic) and dry brush with a yellow
Give it a try...not hard, just boring making all those holes.
Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out. Dick

[jpittssr]

I used some elmers glue and hardwood router dust.
mixed into a past the applied. when it dried I painted it.
If you want to see how it turned out, look at the buffalo in my gallery

[Dileon]

I use elmers wood glue and press in saw dust that I made with kutzall burr.... when dry I use a point tool to make holes in a few place in the saw dust and then around the sawdust in order to push up fuzzy grain. When you paint it you need to stain the area with a water down black then take a dry junk towel and wipe it off...leaving black inside the holes and cracks.......then let it dry. Dry brush olive green covering the areas you wiped off and do not put green in the holes and cracks. Let that dry (I use a blow dryer)....on top of the olive green you will be dry brush lightly for highlights a lime green....when you are done...it should look like moss. The lichen I would do like Paul does his, as it has more body then moss.

[Ron McGuire]

Thanks guys I will probably give a combination of these a try on a practice piece before doing the real thing. Thanks again. Ron

[Wildbirdcarver]

I like the idea of putting in black (dark color) in the holes made for moss. Appreciate you posting this idea. DM