A playable Jungle table



This tutorial isn’t about how to make terrain; it is about what to make to get the best results. It is about finding that balance between playability and realism. Everybody has their own idea of what makes a fun gaming table. I like the look of a jungle or wooded table, but they can be a bit difficult to play on sometimes. So, how do you get it to look like a jungle and still have room to move your army around in it?



After many years of getting it wrong I think that I have finally got it right. It is all about tricking the eye into seeing something that isn’t really there. When you paint a miniature you want it to stand out. When you make a piece of vegetation you want the opposite. You want it to blend in with the other plants and look like it belongs with them. You have to make it appear to be a dense jungle while still leaving enough room to play in. This can be very hard to do but I think that I have solved the problem.



I call it “the rule of three,” and here is how it works.

Rule 1, start with color; you should use at least three shades of the same color when making your plants. The more shades you use the better, but three is the minimum to make it look natural. That means three shades in one plant if possible, or three different plants if not.

Rule 2, type of plant, again you need at least three different types of plants to make it look natural. Nothing surprising in those first two, you have probably been doing them already.

Rule 3, is the game changer. I now make my plants in three different sizes. Each size of plant does something different, but needs the others to look right.


The first size is the large one or more commonly known as trees. I have found that they work best if you can fit a miniature underneath then. I now make my trees so that I can fit a fist underneath the branches. With this system you can get away with a surprisingly small number of these.



The next size is the medium, or more commonly known as bushes. These generally range in size from one to three times the height of a miniature. Again nothing surprising, you already probably have plants that fall into these first two categories.



The last size is the small one, the ground cover or grasses. This is what makes it playable and look natural at the same time. These should ideally be about knee high on a miniature, but anything from ankle to head height will work. The idea is to keep them small enough that they don’t get in the way of playing the game.


The small size ones are what give the patch of vegetation its full look. As you can see in this picture with the small size ones removed, the forest just doesn’t look very full. They make the forest appear to be dense while actually leaving room for you to maneuver. The only time they should ever get in the way is when a model needs to move to that exact location. In which case you just push it to the side and continue moving the miniature.



The medium ones are there to bridge the gap in sizes. When you remove them the forest looks very unnatural. Again when they get in the way, just move them to the side, and continue playing.



The large ones are the only ones that need to remain in place as per the Fifth Edition rules.



I like to make my vegetation out of soft materials, such as silk flowers, yarn, and pipe cleaners. Not only are these materials very cheap, but they tend to hold up better when vehicles and monstrous creatures are around. For some reason everyone seems to enjoy driving tanks over the top of things.

Just another excuse to show off your trees?

Good Tutorial, will need to try something similar with a icey/tundra scheme that I'm planing.

Do you intend to make a forest with snow on the vegetation, or are you talking about making an ice crystal forest? A buddy of mine once made one of those with the crystals from an old chandelier. Anyway you made me realize that this would work for things other than vegetation also. Now I am going to have to make three different sizes for my sons Necron crystal forest, and a bunch of little ruble markers for the city fight table.

Most likely crystals/other landscape....not many trees on tundra!

If I ever make it I'll post it up and reference this, would like to see your version too!

I like this. My Cadre originates from a forrest world so a map like this would be fluffy for me.

I have to admit the jungle is very cool, especially the colours (generic green jungles and forests irritate me for some reason... ) The tutorial is very helpful, definitely going to remember it. Nice and simple, with pictures to go with it. The comparison helped a lot as well, when I saw the comparison shots I realised what you meant.

A tundra tutorial would be good. Certainly help me make my board, thats for sure.

True there aren’t many trees on tundra. However there are smaller bushes. Maybe if you made small very hardy looking plants, and placed them in sheltered locations, like behind rocks, or in low spots. It might be fun to have a summer, and a winter version of that tundra table. Anyway my point is that even a small plant can add a lot of color to something.


I am glad you like it! The best part is that you can use whatever color you chose to paint your cadre in.


Yes the colures are cool. So far I have made a set in purple, red, orange/yellow, and even green. My favorite is the orange/yellow. I also found a lot of flowers with that particular mix of colors for some reason. I am glad that the comparison picture helped you; it was a little tricky to do.

Since Kais'Saal pointed out to me that this would work for any type of area terrain, I have tried making it for a desert table. The rocks are in three different sizes.

you're a genius, this is exactly why my table's had this funny look to it.

We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us.

So, keep sharing these great ideas

Also, i would like to see these 'crystal formations' people have been talking about

Thanks, but if I was really a genius then I would have intuitively known this and not wasted years figuring it out!

I've moved this topic to Modelling Forum; there is some simple but effective scenery here, with good tutorial and reasoning included.

E.

After going through all your posts I only see mention of your friend making his crystal terrain from an old chandelier. Did you do the same or did you find another source for your crystals? Also, did it come in green or did you stain them somehow? (I assume stain because they still appear to be mostly transparent.)

Awesome work again

Unfortunately the pictures don’t do the crystals justice they look much better under proper lighting. Most of the crystals are made from clear plastic, but I also used some glass as well. I used Tamiya Color clear green, to get the tinting that I wanted. If there is enough interest I can do a tutorial on how they were made.

I'm definitely interested in seeing how the crystal forest was made.

Tutorial would be great though more than anything I am interested in what the plastic came from that you started with. I cannot even start to guess at the moment.

Oh man that is exactly what I've been wanting to build for my Necrons!!! Where did you get the crystals from? I have been looking high and low for this kind of thing.

I was going to make some smaller pieces using the green plastic spurs you get with the Necron kits cut into crystal shapes. Something like this: (image from dakkadakka.com)


Any info or/and a quick tutorial would be appreciated.

Rus'el

I finally got around to making my green jungle terrain.


This new jungle terrain also illustrates my point of the necessity for multiple sizes in area terrain. Wherever possible I made these plants in multiple sizes and each type of plant was done in a different shade.





What do you think, do these Kroot deserve the +1 to their cover save?