PowerofWill wrote:
Natarn wrote:
I converted this guy with a paper banner years ago. However, after learning how to sculpt better banners, I decided to give him a new one.
Can you explain how you make banners? It's something I would like to do someday, but I can't seem to figure it out.
The conversion looks good, and so does the paint job
![Yeah baby 8)](./images/smilies/thumb_up.gif)
I will try to give a little step by step guide here, but it would be easier to show you!
You do need to be a little bit handy with the old green stuff, but it's not particularly hard.
1. Drill a hole in the hand of the model so it can hold a wire.
2. Insert wire and cut to length. Glue wire in place.
3. Whittle a couple of sections of matchstick to make the rough-hewn limbs of the banner (the cross piece and the diagonal piece). Cut these to the right length.
4. Superglue the wooden limbs to the main wire. Just the wood, not your fingers!
5. Mix up a teeny-tiny amount of green stuff, roll it into a tiny 'sausage' and wrap it around the wood to make it look like it's tied together. To make this green stuff rope thinner, use a tool to press a narrow line down the middle of it - then you have two thin ropes instead of one big one. NB Only do one rope at a time and leave it to set, otherwise you'll just squash your lovely rope when moving on to the next piece, no matter how careful you are.
6.Coat the wire with a thin layer of green stuff, then scrape it off to look like carved wood.
7. Use green stuff to make the fabric of the banner. The main tip here is to use some smooth rubber gloves so that you do not leave any finger prints in the green stuff. Cut it square-ish and cut some jagged bits in the bottom of the banner. Still using the gloves, pinch the edges to thin them out a bit. Bear in mind that the banner does not have to be as thin as it would be in real life - it's so tricky to work with such thin greenstuff and it doesn't hold its shape well. Look at a GW flag or banner. They are really chunky, having a fair depth to them, but we still 'read' them as being fabric banners.
8. Attach this flag to the cross piece while the gs is still fresh. Shape the banner a bit with tools to give it a bit of shape - perhaps as if it has just caught in the wind or it is flapping behind as the warrior is running forwards. Just use your imagination. Where you've joined it to the cross piece, make a tiny piercing ready to take the next lot of ropes.
9. As usual, leave the gs to 'go off' thoroughly before sculpting more little ropes to look like it is holding the fabric to the cross piece.
That's about it. Just try it out. The more practice you get, the better the banners will become.
Just remember to be patient and let the gs set at each stage before moving on. If you try to do too much in one go, it'll just be a disaster!
I hope this helps you.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/happy.gif)
PS: If you turn back a couple of pages, you'll see the different stages of the Uruk banner I made, which might make it a bit clearer.