Circle of Orboros - Sacred Ground

By John ‘Scarab’ Salmond

Materials Needed

• Quarter inch foam core poster board
• White glue
• Half-inch dowel
• Screws
• Large washers
• Foam
• Masonite Quarter Inch
• Toilet paper
• Cell-u-Clay
• Picture Wire
• Rock
• Tree Roots
• Fine sand paper
• Craft knife
• Clumped foliage
• Static grass
• Paint
• Brushes

I started this project in June of 2006 as a WIP project on the Privateer Press forums with the intent of putting it on the Terrainthralls site. This was an idea that came from the thought of adding more ground to a game board without taking ground from the board. This is a piece of ground that is sacred to the Circle of Orboros and had to be relocated because civilization was encroaching on it. At least that is the idea behind it. It had to be moved to a safer location.

I started by cutting out a piece of foam core poster board in a circular shape. I used a half-inch dowel for the center support piece. I pre-drilled holes in the dowel so the screws wouldn’t split the dowel when it came time to put a screw in it. I cut some scrap foam to glue around the dowel and the foam core for the main shape. Before gluing the foam I used a screw and large washer on the topside of the foam core with the dowel on the other side and attached them together. I then glued the foam to the foam core board and the dowel with white glue. I wanted the dowel to support the structure so it had to be screwed in between the top and the bottom.



I then attached the bottom Masonite board to the dowel with another screw and washer for the support. Once I did this I used Wall Joint Compound (WJC) to slap on the foam and the top. When the WJC was dry I took toilet paper dipped in watered down white glue and applied that around the edge. Once that was applied I took my craft knife and shaped it to look like it was hanging earth.



I made three foam centerpieces for the sacred stones. I put WJC on them as well so I could carve the ruins in them. Once they were dry I sanded them and carved them so they could be attached.



When doing a tree I start by creating the main structure of the tree. I started to use a different product for the tree that I would not recommend. I would use Cell-u-Clay (Paper Mache) for the entire tree. Just layer it if you are going to have a thick trunk. Sometimes I may place a rock on first so I can have the roots crawl over the rock. I also added some blank trees that are not part of the Sacred Ground piece just to give you and idea of a stand alone tree.



Shape your tree after you have the main structure finished. Smooth the surface of the tree by wetting your fingers and rubbing the Cell-U-Clay making it smooth. After every application I always put the tree in front of a fan to speed the drying process up. I can do the next step within a half an hour usually (sometimes sooner depending on how thick the area is) at this stage when doing that. It won’t be completely dry but dry enough to work with if I am careful.




Once the tree is shaped start adding extra roots.



Remember to add webbing in some cases to the top of the tree if that is the type you are looking for. Doing the webbing will tie everything together. Remember that Nature does not like straight lines and exact patterns. Keep things the same but different if that makes sense.



You can always add more roots so you have more depth to your tree (I went a little overboard on this example just for kicks). The Sacred Earth piece was just a one-layer root system. When you create a stand alone tree you can put it on sheet styrene because the Cell-U-Clay doesn’t stick to it. After it dries the tree will come right off, pretty sweet.



Once you have finished the large root system use real roots from trees or plants to add the small roots. I also used the small roots to make vines. I did that for my Trollkin Village piece. The Sacred Earth piece does not have the extra roots added.



For the rough bark wait until the main tree is done and then apply a fine layer of Paper Mache to the tree and work it with a knife to create the bark look.
Wait until you are almost finished to apply the picture wire (already pulled apart and shaped). I added Paper Mache over top of the wire for support. I have found using picture wire is the best for holding foliage but it is also time consuming to pull apart with a craft knife.



Glue the stones on the top leaving room around the center piece. Add Paper Mache to create the dirt underneath with real small rock and a few large rocks mixed in. Use this same technique everywhere but the center piece. Even if you plan on covering the area with grass I would still recommend doing the dirt first like Mother Nature. It will give depth to your work. I also did the same to the top.




I painted the earth with a medium brown with a dark brown wash over top. I then dry brushed it with several shades of lighter brown. I did the same to the dirt below. I then painted each rock dark grey and dry brushed with a lighter grey. I applied clumped foliage to the tree and some hanging roots that I had.




The Circle logo in the middle was carved out of the WJC and then painted light yellow. I used a light green wash and then went back a used the yellow to dry brush the middle of the logo to help it look like it was glowing. I also dry brushed the light green on the stones to add to the glowing effect. The stones were painted with a medium grey and washed with a very dark grey. Dry brushing them with different light grays before the green highlight was added.



Another option is to make some smaller floating pieces for added effect. The step was made by putting a very thick gauge wire through the foam pieces before applying the mud. All the other steps are just smaller versions of what I have already covered.




When I did the grasses and finished work I wanted the top and bottom to be very different to show that they were not from the same place. I also used real roots and randomly applied them to the underside of the earth to impress upon the viewer that the earth was ripped out of the ground. I made sure to add more roots around the tree.






If you have any question feel free to contact me. You can use the forum or make comments here. This was a fun piece and I added the other style of tree into this tutorial that I created doing the Trollkin Village. This piece was finished sooner but I learned tons from this that I applied what I learned to the Trollkin Village (that is why I included the trees from that piece). This is one of my favorite pieces that I have created. Hope you enjoy.

Later,

John ‘Scarab’ Salmond