[mattduarte]

well i sold some of my glass art today soo i went to homedepot and got everything i needed to do a 3d background woot woot!! haha.. im gonna use dryloc and going for that underwater cave look.... the big arch in the center is gonna have a hole for the fish to pass thru as well as to let light in and create more shadows.. in this pic the left side isnt cut out yet but i do have the other side cut out now... nothing is glued yet just wanted to get it all laid out.. the bottom right and left corners are gonna be lil cave structres and there will be some others in there as well.. theres a lil log in the upper right corner which i thought was a cool turn out.. and the whole center of the BG where theres no rock im gonna cut that out so the back of the tank which im painting black will show so it looks like the enterence to a big cave..thats the look im going for anyway..

this is my first time doing this soo bare with me lol..

sorry for the cell pic.. gonna bust out the real camera and post more tomrrow

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

Looking good so far :thumb: Keep us updated.

 

[mattduarte]

thanks! heres some better pix of it.. im gonna shape the rocks and lil caves today i should have more pix later tonight..as well

 

[mattduarte]

how many coats of dryloc should i put on before i add the color?

 

[DanniGirl]

Two coats should be fine. :thumb:

(BTW, the background looks good so far!)

 

[mattduarte]

thanks dannigirl!

this question should proly be a no brainer but i should cut the BG into the 3 pieces it needs to be in b4 i put the dryloc right...im guessing it will be a lot harder to cut when sealed

 

[mattduarte]

heres the backgrouns all carved... i still gotta cut the big flat spot outta the center..

 

[DanniGirl]

You're welcome.
The background is looking really good! Love the idea of the cave- and great job on the rocks; has a natural feel to it. :thumb:
It's your choice- you'll be able to cut the styro either way. Actually, if you seal the background (drylok) it will create a harder surface on the outside and the Styrofoam is less likely to flake off on the outside.
However, if you cut the Styrofoam before sealing it, it's much easier to sand it down and make sure the pieces fit together like a puzzle. :wink:
-I prefer the latter method because I don't like to see the seams.

 

[mattduarte]

cool thanks for the advice... today i transfered the fish that were in the tank into another tank untill i finish off this project... the hard part now is moving the tank to the garage so i can clean the remaining lil rocks out and get it nice and clean to glue the back ground in and paint the back of the tank as well... im hoping my wifes pops comes and helps me lift the tank cause im not no muscle man haha...

 

[mattduarte]

got some coats of dryloc on 2 of the pieces of the BG..also put the first coat of paint on the back of the tank...found out fast that oil based paint does not come off the hands..as i went to clean the brush i grabbed the roller and bam instant black hands...and it was my entire palm of both hands... luckly i had some gas i had just got for the lawnmower and it got it off my hands.. now i smell like gas though lol... well more pix to come... heres one to get a better idea of the cave look

off topic... my new torch came.. was on a waiting list for over a year..same brand as my older one but this one is way bigger.. does a 2" wide flame..its hot..i did some work eariler and it gave me a lil sun burn on my face.. adverage temp is 2500*+

 

[Benaiah]

Looking good!! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[DanniGirl]

found out fast that oil based paint does not come off the hands..as i went to clean the brush i grabbed the roller and bam instant black hands...and it was my entire palm of both hands... luckly i had some gas i had just got for the lawnmower and it got it off my hands.. now i smell like gas though lol...

LOL!

NICE! I like the attention to detail surrounding the cave! :dancing:

It's going to look nice once you get it in the tank! What color(s) are you going to paint the rocks?

WHOA! That's a little intense. Nice setup though! :thumb:

 

[mattduarte]

haha ya that torch is a beast.... i got 3 colors to mess with charcol, buff, and brown...i was planning on doing the first coat of color in all brown..then when that dries ill hit it with the buff..then follow up with the charcol over everything.. im hoping the charcol will thin in some spots and show some of the lighter brown colors... i cant wait.. the living room looks naked with out the tank lol

thanks for all the comments!

 

[DanniGirl]

Drybush the charcoal color on and you'll get the thinning/transparent texture that you want.

 

[hbbyhorse]

background looks great! can't wait to see the end result

 

[mattduarte]

thanks! this is the right silicone right..GE1..

 

[DanniGirl]

Yep!
:thumb:

 

[mobafrontlover]

Loving the background had 2 that I did first one my 7 stripe first one I ever got figured a way to get behind it so it was let him die or rip it out so it got ripped out and second one looked great but going to get a bigger tank have a 120 now getting 150 or bigger and ordering 10 kipili

 

[mattduarte]

i just finished with the last coat of color being drybrushed on... im really happy on how it looks.. im uploadin some pix right now ill post them in a few

 

[mattduarte]

sorry for the crappy cell pic.. im charging the batt on the good cam... but here ya go..