Realistic Moss

The Tin Can Tree project is coming along quite well. Now that the base is all flocked, it's time to add a little more character to the setting.

Imagine you're walking through a forest.
Brown trees surround you.
There's grass and brush underfoot.

What's missing?

All those little things: Leaves, moss and other organic features to fill in the terrain.


There's not actually a ton of stuff to say about this article, but if you continue to read, I'll talk a little and show you more examples of how you can use hobby moss.

It comes down to basically just gluing a bunch of moss around your terrain where it looks goodn while trying to keep realism in mind. You're not just distracting from the basic green of your flock, you're building an overall scene that every little detail adds to.

You can find moss at hobby stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby. It's great stuff. Comes in different shades of green, brown, some is leafy or has other "brush" type features and other types are more like mushrooms.


You can paint moss too. Washes will shade it (especially since the moss will absorb liquids) and you can dry-brush to highlight it.

The colour and texture of moss is already quite realistic. Painting will probably be unnecessary.



Keep in mind how moss grows though. It likes to climb up stuff or wrap around branches. You'll also find it hiding in dark, dank places and under roots.


This actual gluing is done with white glue. No need to thin, though you won't need to use a whole lot.

Sprinkling a little in the water effects you'll see later works well too. Looks just like moss and plant-life floating in the water.



If you're working on the base of a miniature, you can still use hobby moss. Obviously, you'll be working with smaller batches though. Most likely, you'll end up tearing up tiny bits and gluing it under foot. This can create a really nice effect, because anything that "lifts" a base up to interact with a model really pulls realism together. That is... you don't always want your mini just standing on a mostly flat base. Crushing dirt, leaving foot prints and stepping on moss that curls up around their feet builds a more interactive appearance.