Why are rocks & ruins nearly always grey?

[Buff Redux]

This isn't the full Mal Wright rant but I was just looking at the artwork in the new Frostgrave rulebook. The new illustrator is from Spain and her first picture is a landscape full of rich terracotta tones covered in snow. It looks amazing.

My ruins have been shades of grey since day one. I blame GW and the Grimdark world of 40K.

My theory is that many people were influenced by GW and they were influenced by the rocks in the local area. Notts / Derbyshire rocks are predominantly limestone of various shades. If they had been based in Cheshire we would all have red / brown rocks and ruins.

[Essex Boy]

A good point well made.

[valleyboy]

Because if they were pink they wouldn't be rocks, they'd be elephants

[ochoin]

Can I join in?

Why are spear shafts painted brown: light or dark? Wood ages quite quickly to a weathered grey (usually)unless painted or oiled. Have you ever seen anyone paint their spears grey?

(ooh, that feels good)

donald

[Etranger]

Can I join in?

Why are spear shafts painted brown: light or dark? Wood ages quite quickly to a weathered grey (usually)unless painted or oiled. Have you ever seen anyone paint their spears grey?

(ooh, that feels good)

donald

Pikes were often oiled & could be painted too, at least from the Renaissance onwards. The collection from the armoury at Graz, which toured OZ a few years ago ,included hundreds of pikes, c~1600 . They were oiled and remained 'brown' in colour (& probably polished regularly too). 'Throwaway' weapons like spears probably didn't get such TLC though. (Pun intended).



Looks like the same for the Royal Armories collection too.


( Didn't you ask this before? http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=390572 )

[grizzlymc]

If GW had started in Sydney, they would have been honey brown, like the skin of an Iranian girl under her Burqa, If they had started in the Andes, they would be painted every colour of the rainbow. If they had been started in Arequipa, they would be a creamy colour with occasional small fragments in a pinkier shade.

[Buff Redux]

So much variation yet so many of us follow the Codex version.

[grizzlymc]

But, Count's miniature representation of Newcastle on Tyne is actually made of limestone blocks. Other rocks make different looking slabs.

[Count Belisarius]

REAL limestone blocks, carefully chiselled down to size and then Dremel'd to add detail and carefully stuck together to make each individual building unique. And heavy...

[Willz the Wargamer]

Knock down a wall in your house and see what colour the dust is, most times its greyish. Until you knock down a red brick wall then its reddish brown with lots of grey. Then knock down a 1960's block of flats and its back to greyish.
I suspect the Games Workshop grey colour comes from the fact that most buildings in the 40k universe appear to be grey.
Plus dark grey / black to light grey / white is an easy colour to show contrast on.
When I dry brush I add white to highlight raised parts or edges to probably the answer to your question is artist licence.

Willz.