# Another 3d background attempt.



## ChrisOmaha (Jul 31, 2012)

Hello,
First time poster but a huge thanks to this forum for helping me out a ton with my first 3d background. I decided to give one a try but I am a bit of a perfectionist and not at all artistic so the only way I was going to glue something into my tank was if it came out looking 100 percent real. Unfortunately like most projects this took a life of it own using way more time and money then planned so there was no way I was turning back towards the end. I am not sure if these formations look like anything on this world but with my artistic skills it was a challenge. I was very interested in function like caves and shadows so there were compromises made at the expense of realism. I also wanted a design that would make more use of this 65 gallon tall tank and draw fish up more and give it more dimension to take advantage of the extra depth and height this 36" tank has. The few fish I have so far love to cruise around the top edges instead of hanging at the bottom, they also love flying through the cave systems so its a total success.

The photos fail to capture the shading and lighting properly, I could not find a camera setting that was close, it looks more rock like and less purple/red in real life, closer to the first non filled pic. I started out with many layers of quickcrete and struggled to get colors I was completely happy with, I tried new colors every layer but the only realistic ones I could get were basic browns and I had trouble duplicating the same colors the next layers. The way it looked going on versus when it dried and when it was wet were all three different shades which made the color hard to judge. Highlights looked good going on but dried very bland. I was also concerned about the amount concrete and or color that would rub off so I decided I wanted to seal it somehow. I ended up buying white drylok and just using that, I nailed a good charcoal color the first try and touch it up with brown highlights. I was satified with the drylok colors and results after one and a half good coats. I wasted tons of color tint with quickcrete and in the end achieved everything I wanted with a few table spoons worth of tint in drylok. I am still glad I have the quickcrete base though, there is a couple milimeters of concrete and more in places that needed it, it feels very durbable. If the drylok ever wears through the colors behind it will still work.

I am open for any feedback positive or negative, let me know what you think.


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## fusion (Jun 21, 2012)

Looks good, i like the bridge

Why did you go with quickcrete? i ask because im making 1 and was going to use just Drylok.


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## ChrisOmaha (Jul 31, 2012)

fusion said:


> Why did you go with quickcrete? i ask because im making 1 and was going to use just Drylok.


I debated the two a lot and i figured quickcrete would fill in better and give a more realistic uniform texture than I might be able to get with just foam with my sculpting skills. Concrete naturally has a rocky texture so I figured it would be harder to screw up between the two. I was also very concerened with durablility in the long term and figured a healthy coat of concrete would be tough to beat. In the end the thickness of the concrete definately helped fill in the joints, I am sure it is stronger too. On the other hand better realism can surely be had with drylok though if you have the detail exactly you want it in the foam. Drylok was far easier to work with than I assumed, getting the concrete mix and tint right was a pain and messy, drylok just came out right. I also thought quickcrete would be cheaper which was not really true because I about ran out and I did run out of black pigment. I barely used any drylok and it barely used any pigment. If I tried again I would probably try to use just drylok and do as many layers as it took till it seemed sturdy enough to me.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I like it. But, I think it is going to be very difficult to catch fish in it.


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## TropheusFriend (May 15, 2005)

Floridagirl said:


> I like it. But, I think it is going to be very difficult to catch fish in it.


Lol! It can't be any worse than mine . I hope I never have to catch one of my Tropheus!!!


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Good job on the background. Especially considering it was your first attempt. The concrete will give it durability and texture, so good call on that one. 
The gradation of the color hues on the background mix well within the tank. I think you managed to capture an element of realism in that regard. -Good job!


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## Storiwyr (Apr 24, 2012)

DanniGirl said:


> Good job on the background. Especially considering it was your first attempt. The concrete will give it durability and texture, so good call on that one.
> The gradation of the color hues on the background mix well within the tank. I think you managed to capture an element of realism in that regard. -Good job!


Agreed!

Also, the blue lobster is awesome.


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

I think it looks great! Lobster...*giggles* That, my obviously northern friend, is a blue crawfish. Tasty snack when you boil them and suck the heads!


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