Process with Pictures
Process with Pictures
Well, I went home and took a nap. Eventually I decided to do a small batch of rocks for everyone to see. It's not much because I was mainly doing it for pictures. But here you go.
First start with a clean slate. For those in apartments, that lack the room, or just don't want to go to a better place to work. Then make sure that you protect your work area.
Second, get everything that you need ready. As you can see, I have my buckets, salt, cement, water, and pans. You'll see later that I'm not using gloves, but I don't recommend it. Please, use protective gear such as gloves and eye protection (I was wearing my glasses)
Now, pour some salt in the bucket. Since the bulk of the mixture is salt, you will need as much salt as you want rock
Now, add your Portland Cement
Now, Mix the dry stuff together.
Now, Add water slowly. The more water you add at once, the more the salt melts. You need to work relatively quickly. Don't leave it unattended. Personally, I like to add a little too much water at first, and then add a little extra cement until I find a texture that I like.
This is an example of the thickness and texture. It was a little more watery then I wanted, but I was starting to get tired, so I went with it. You can get it pretty thick and be able to sculpt out of it rather well.
Now, just put it down with your method of choice. I tried three different things last night.
----Regular, randomly dropped method on a pan
----In a bucket with salt for a free-form shape. I placed layers of sand for indentions and caves.
----A bunch of small pieces. I'll later cement these together to attempt to make a Tonga Branch look alike
And that's all there is to it. Clean up is easy. Just use LOTS of water and you can clean your equipment up in a bathtub.
