Hey guys, I've been asked a bunch of times how I do my bases. I made a few pictures, one of each step.
1) Glue your model to the base, along with some random bits you might have lying around. This can be pieces of an old model kit or a building, or just pieces of cork or bark to represent rocks. You can also use some small rocks to add some more different textures to the base. It can be interesting to add the model on top of some terrain to really make it feel like it is part of the surroundings. What is important in this step is that I keep the firing arcs in mind and keep them clear as much as I can.
2) Earth is never really flat (besides the Netherlands then maybe). So a flat base will always look mechanical. To make it look more organic I add modelling clay to the base. This can be any clay, as long as it dries up/cures hard. The cheapest option would be Das Klei or some other clay that dries by air. Do note this needs some PVA to remain stuck to the base. I still had a lot of greenstuff lying around that was getting a bit chunky so I used that instead. What I do here is I fill in some areas around rocks so they look half burried instead of just lying on top of things. I use a sculpting tool to spread the clay around, and carve in the firing arcs when I am happy with the look.
3) Now it's time to add your sand or texture paint. Cover all places you want to have sand with PVA/texture paint, then immediately when you added the sand clear out the firing arcs again. I used the same sculpting tool for it as I did for the previous step.
Now leave it to dry. If you added actual sand to the base you might want to give the whole thing a coating of watered down PVA to prevent it all from chipping. After that you're ready for priming!
And for good measure, here is a finished base!
I hope this is of some help for you guys. Best of luck with all your bases!
Edited by Sarcon