Most realistic rock you have ever seen....

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I don't see how you can have a grudge about it when you've never tried it. Speaking on behalf of the majority here who use render, the landscaping detail and colour you have outlined is not possible with polystyrene and render so to live up to your "realistic" standards as you said, latex or fiberglass would have to be used (having stein fiberglass enclosures, good luck cleaning it if you use it on the floor!). Never having worked with these products I cannot speak about if this is a practical option.

another monotone render inspiration shot for the majority :)

That's cool. I'm mainly talking to the select few that want to take it too the next level. Some people (like me) prefer a real looking rock is all. I thought I might be able to convert some of the mono-tones to colour, or at least inspire some people of what some formations actually look like in the top end. It's not just the colour, it's the detail, shapes, texture etc etc. It sounds like some of you are being defensive about it. If you are happy with single colour fake rocks that's great! But they just aren't for me. And like I said earlier it makes me cringe when I see them. Same goes for fake plants that don't look real etc too.
 
I don't see how you can have a grudge about it when you've never tried it. Speaking on behalf of the majority here who use render, the landscaping detail and colour you have outlined is not possible with polystyrene and render so to live up to your "realistic" standards as you said, latex or fiberglass would have to be used (having stein fiberglass enclosures, good luck cleaning it if you use it on the floor!). Never having worked with these products I cannot speak about if this is a practical option.

another monotone render inspiration shot for the majority :)


I also use a mix of 1/4 water with my pondtite which helps keep away some of the glossiness.
It would be hard to hear that someone does not like something that you have worked so hard on but that is someones personal taste and in real life someone would not tell you something like that but that is the idea of a forum , to hear the good , the bad and the ugly comments. I would not take Snowmans comments to heart as he would not mean anything buy them other than it is not to his taste. I thought the first one you put up was ok looking and I like this second one you posted but that too is just my opinion on it.
 
Just a quickie; would herpers be prepared to pay for realistic faux rock product, similar to Universal Rocks, moulded directly from oz rockwalls, but more reasonably priced?
 
I honestly believe you went about wording your post wrong snowman. Yeah my rockwall is one color, I like it, I'm sure if my bearded dragon didn't like it he wouldn't spend all day on it climbing it, running around on it.. Sleeping on it.

I do not believe you meant to sound like such an *** by you kind of did. People do put a lot of work into these kind of things and we all can't be artists. I for one. It is impossible for me to paint or build something without something looking bad or out of place. I just don't have that touch but yeah, I'm very curious and interested to see what kind of rock wall you can produce and for your sake, I hope it is 100% genuine realistic looking rock otherwise, well, it'll be awful.

(mods, don't mean sound harsh, wasn't trying be mean or put him down, just replying to his post as accurate as I can)
 
I couldn't care if he likes it or not, I'm happy with it which is the only thing that matters. As in my original post, I use what I know and that's render. There isn't much information out there about alternatives however it's always something I'm open to learning about.

I think this discussion is good so people have insight into what outcomes are available with different products.

And for my own curiosity, further information on the cost/practicality of fiberglass etc is more than welcome
 
I honestly believe you went about wording your post wrong snowman. Yeah my rockwall is one color, I like it, I'm sure if my bearded dragon didn't like it he wouldn't spend all day on it climbing it, running around on it.. Sleeping on it.

I do not believe you meant to sound like such an *** by you kind of did. People do put a lot of work into these kind of things and we all can't be artists. I for one. It is impossible for me to paint or build something without something looking bad or out of place. I just don't have that touch but yeah, I'm very curious and interested to see what kind of rock wall you can produce and for your sake, I hope it is 100% genuine realistic looking rock otherwise, well, it'll be awful.

(mods, don't mean sound harsh, wasn't trying be mean or put him down, just replying to his post as accurate as I can)
If I can't make it I would buy it. Water Rat has some real looking rocks he made that are up to my standards. He may post some for you to see....
As for insulting me... I just say things bluntly... I don't always get the subtleties of human emotion. That's why I mentioned I suffer from aspergers earlier, it's not an excuse, I just don't express myself the same as 'normal' people. I mean no harm, but I'm also disappointed with all the mono-tone backgrounds being produced. Perhaps I feel a little embarrassed for them? But I don't begrudge them having a go and using them. At the end of the day the backgrounds are for our benefit. The animals don't care if its blank melamine with shelves or a decorated fake rock. They will act the same with both.
 
The best way to get colour on looking natural would be airbrushing, i thought about investing in one (around $100) but my artisic abilities are very limited.

I can understand what you are saying about how some background look but i guess it comes down to purpose of the piece. A 60x60cm cube viviarium with some geckos would look great with a dark coloured background and a lot of fake plants or branches covering 70% of the background, would not matter if putting as much detail as real rock as it will be mostly covered. A fully exposed background looks great if it has the different shade in it, but it is very hard to achieve a nature look (not impossible, just alot of time an effort).

The problem with mass produced backgrounds is either low quality (exo terra) or very limited designs (universal rocks). It would be great if there were around 20-30 different colours and designs to the Universal rocks.

The other deciding factor is price, with Universal Rocks now being overseas the prices on all there items have skyrocketed (not that they werent pricey before).


Rick
 
If I can't make it I would buy it. Water Rat has some real looking rocks he made that are up to my standards. He may post some for you to see....

With step by step instructions (from either of you) :)
 
:D hehe created a monster. Im considering ripping foam out and replacing it with the tonne of Lego my parents still have from when I was little :)
I can imagine making her whole house/enclosure from Lego! Would be easy with all the cords and stuff :D
 
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Same!!! And "rock" ledges would be super easy and strong too! I think most of my old Lego has rounded corners from me chewing on it to get them apart lol. Now how to get it from nsw to qld...
 
pudube6y.jpg

Hers one I did I think it looks good but the paper ruins it

Sent from my GT-I9210T using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
I'm working on a rock wall I think even you will like snowman, will be 900x900 taken from natural rock.

heres a small hide I done playing with some colours.
 

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Hi snowman, great pics mate thanks for sharing, must have been an awesome weekend.
Hope you dont mind but im going to save some of them pics for future reference, there exactly what im looking for.
Your opinion on other ppls back grounds, well your entitled to it, i would be quite proud of any of the backgrounds shown on this thread so far, and for me its not the colour but the texture of the rock. I understand alot of ppl use sand? for texture, does this not come out like sand papper?
 
Hi snowman, great pics mate thanks for sharing, must have been an awesome weekend.
Hope you dont mind but im going to save some of them pics for future reference, there exactly what im looking for.
Your opinion on other ppls back grounds, well your entitled to it, i would be quite proud of any of the backgrounds shown on this thread so far, and for me its not the colour but the texture of the rock. I understand alot of ppl use sand? for texture, does this not come out like sand papper?

I havent tried sand on top of it but i use render, its got a few pores in it and allows claws to grab hold. My monitors climber verticality up and down it with no issues and use the rough parts to help shed.


Rick
 
Here's a tip for most of you.

When photographing your 'rocks'
don't use a flash or artificial light. It messes with the true colour of your rock.

As for the suggestion of using an airbrush, that will work for the base colours. But the final layer will still look better dry brushed just to pull the highlights up
 
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