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#BlackMagicCraft #Episode137 #BASICS
In this video I try to shed some light on the very basic things you need to know when just starting out with tabletop crafting and terrain making.
MY BASICS PLAYLIST
• It's OK to be a BEGINN...
VIDEOS REFRENCED
Mod Podge (BMC Basecoat): • Black Magic Base Coat!...
My Black Wash Recipe: • ⚠️How to Make a *BETTE...
Terrain Tutor Guid to Countering Warping: • A guide to countering ...
How to Cut XPS with a Knife: • Basics: How to get goo...
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What did I forget to include? Let's make a list! 1. In some regions XPS insulation foam comes with a thin, clear, protective film on it. You want to remove it before you use it for anything.
I know you have "Basics: How to get good, clean, straight cuts in XPS Foam (Black Magic Craft Episode 030)" But one of the things that I struggled with in the beginning when working with something like a 2'x2' piece of xps and going straight the proxxon - the xpos is never plumb from the get go. Getting a clean cut isn't necessarily the problem - if you follow the tips in episode 30 , which is a great place to start , it's more about but how can you get a piece straight and plumb - if you ended up with a crooked piece from having a not squared end of xps or forgot to get it squared off with the knife or even ran it through the proxxon and bumped it or ran it through cockeyed. How can you get it back to square easily?
Did you watch the video I made about cutting foam squares? It's been a while since I made it so I don't remember exactly what I covered, but that was essentially what it was about.
@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial yeah, I went back and watched it. I was meaning more like big pieces. I invested in one of the large T squares which helped, along with practice. Just didn't ever think about the foam not being square from the store, so starting out things kept coming out cooked, before I started checking for the foam being square. Kind of "duh" moment. Maybe it was just me though.
Ah, gotcha. I misread 2'x2' in D&D tile terms as 2x2.....what you're talking about is a lot more difficult, and there isn't an easy fix. This is why when I do large pieces I attach them to mdf and overhang the foam on all edges then run it through the proxxon where the mdf base acts as a guide. The proxxon is just too small as is to use it for cutting 2' pieces accurately. I've seen some people build the machine into a larger table which works awesome if you have the space for that but I'd say most don't.
One other method is clamping a metal straight edge on top and bottom of piece, being sure they are in line with eachother, then use a handheld hotwire to make the cut using the two edges as rails. It's a bit tricky though.
06:21 I can tell You all, that alcohol does not work. I've been drinking three days straight and paper stays in place.
hillharryass!! im crying totally got me! I thought it was serious at first!
Saw your recent post about struggling with content creation and some suicide awareness stuff, and I just want to say thank you for the amazing content you create. You got me into the crafting game. I cannot even play D&D steadily with friends but I love crafting. Keep up the great work, forget the haters and just do you bud. You do amazing work, keep it up! You are very inspirational to those of us who only wish we could do what you do for a living!
I've been building military models and dioramas for 50 years (I'm old!). I've been using various techniques and discovering others for decades! This is the best 'basic tips and tricks' video I've ever seen. GREAT JOB, Jeremy!!! Thanks
Do you have any of your dioramas online?
@@travis8106 Yes, I post photo reviews of each of my projects on Armorama (as Bravo36)
One thing that I didn't quite "get" as a total beginner but am slowly coming to understand is the crafter's eye--that ability to take a look at something in the dollar store or craft store or big box home improvement store or even just your yard and say "hey, I can totally use this to do *blah*!" Example: tons and tons of people in the crafting world do the whole wadded up ball of tinfoil to get a good stoney texture on foam but when I was adding lava rocks to my grill a while back I picked one up and said "aha!" and started using that instead. It's not really better at texturing but it is effectively reusable forever unlike the tinfoil balls that eventually lose their sharp points.
I know what you mean. We have been buying these Actimel yoghurt shots for years. Yesterday I though" Oh OH, wait, barrels tanks, boilers, player sized potion botles. Know my craft room has a box for empty yoghurt bottles...
I have recently been clearing my 10yo daughter room. Old toys, unused 'stuff' and 'things'. What a treasure trove! My favourite: My Little pony, she had like 5 or 6 wings from some various ponies that were lost or given away. Also, kinder egg toys (all those little levers and gears!), jewelry kits (hello beads and gems!), dog-chewed barbie (hair!), ikea cardboard storage boxes (got rid of cardboard, too damaged but kept gear-shaped nuts/bolts that were holding them together), few small horses and other animals (for statues and conversions)... and loads more!I was laughing like a crazy... and looked at as one too! ;)That was a good day... :)
After I started doing this - I never looked at my trash the same way again.
YUP!!! I see terrain ideas everywhere, packing materials etc I now am hording the plastic printer paper reels for columns. Heck I recently chopped up, glued and weighted my OJ bottle and am using it as my miniholder for painting and it works great. BEWARE THE EYE OF THE CRAFTER Lol.
Tom McClintock thank you, never thought of that! Time to work on my "eye" too!
After watching your videos my girlfriend and I sat down to craft some 3x3 tiles. Something so simple provided so much fun, and, our dnd sessions now have an exciting new element. Thank you, dude, you're like the Bob Ross of mini crafting.
For all my Australian people, the XPS foam is called Knauf's insulation foam at Bunnings Snaghouse (warehouse)
Ah! Thank you!
If you drive past any housing development there is usually some in the bins, also loads of poly foam and other bits and pieces that are new but left over if you arent above doing some of your own recycling
3 years late but thanks mate!
Thanks for being a huge inspiration and also being so open about mental health. It means a lot.
You might hear the name "Blandco" thrown around. Blandco is the most handsome, talented and charismatic member of the Tabletop Crafting Guild.
So glad videos like these get to be made. It is kind of daunting when someone already an expert simply zips through his build.
I’ve been following this channel since the beginning and I can tell you that the basics series helped me so much when I was just starting out. I still reference them from time to time.
Lately I was interested in building some terrain on my own and started to search on YT for some tutorials. Accidentally I discovered your channel and I think it's totally awesome! Things you build, tips you give and tutorials you make are great, really. My skills in crafting got to the next level thanks to you. I just want to thank you for what you're doing. Dont stop:)
Great to see a basics video that increases accessibility to the hobby. Please don’t feel you have to apologize for a topic. It’s your channel. It’s great. Do what you like. Thanks as always!
not sure if anybody already said so, but EVA stands for Ethylene-vinyl acetate.
Beginner here. I sure wish I'd seen this a month ago. I did exactly as you said. I watched a bunch of videos and bought enough stuff to do miniature everything - ponds, mountains, paints galore (easel and canvases), sawdust, tapes, glues, rocks, wire, clay, tools, and for sure...Popsicle sticks! AND THEN I needed containers to put things in and got shelving for the containers. I live in a small apartment. Please know that before I buy even one more thing, I will try to find a video of yours on it first. LOL Thanks for being you!
Watched your videos cause I wanted to build a ship model. Already had a glue gun, got some Mod Podge, foam core, tacky glue, and box knives from Dollar Tree. My ship model is looking epic, and it only cost around $8 US for all the materials! Thanks for making video's! Your Dollar Store builds are super helpful.
completely overwhelmed with the basics? yep! Preordered a 3d printer, and am scrambling to get this new hobby underway
Totally overwhelmed myself. Within a month I got 2k of stuff (new to crafting/painting. had nothing).Been about 10 weeks. Didnt have a clue where to start. So far all ive done is organize (corkboard/shelves) made a hotwire foam cutter, made a case for minis, painted 7 minis, made 3 wire trees, 1 diorama and should be done with a tavern (wylochs) this weekend. Oh and cut around 3000 foam blocks for building some of your things. TY for the content!
oh my god you're seriously an angel, thank you for helping to make this hobby so accessible to newcomers. i learn so much every time i watch one of your videos.
I just want to thank you for all this info!…. I am one of those that just stumbled upon your videos, IT JUST POPPED UP! I’m an extremely crafty person and have spent the past hour watching several of your videos. In awe of this art. I’m not someone into D&D but am inspired to use this art in another way. I’m huge into Christmas, when decorating the inside of my house it looks like Hallmark Christmas on Steroids 😅…. I’ve been looking for inspiration on a long term stable way to make a gingerbread house village. I’m loving this and it’s not a huge craft investment, I have most of everything you’ve suggested….. again THANKS YOU!!
I've done a lot of 'garbage crafting' - reusing plastic bottles, bits of broken toys, and the like. I showed a friend a building and they were impressed. Then I pointed out that the structure was an old shampoo bottle, the front door was a plastic bread wrapper clip, and the elevator was an old plastic film canister (ask your grandparents what "film" was). His eyes got wide as he started to recognize the various shapes of items others would have tossed. "How did you even think of that?" he asked. See things not as they are, but as they can be - the Crafter's Eye... :)
Thanks so much for this. Knowing it's ok to start with cardboard is great. Thanks too for the suicide awareness post. So important. Thank you so very much for all you do.
I was disappointed initially that we would not get to the painting part of the building this week, but you mentioned so many useful things here, that by the time the video ended, I was grateful you made it. And now I have to watch the 4 other videos you linked here because I found all the subjects of great interest.
Around 18:20, BMC mentions breaking down the big foam sheets into smaller sections. On two different occasions (the only times I've bought it) Home Depot/Lowes ran it through the wood cutter for me. At the time, I was making foam battle boards for 40k and had them cut into 4'x2' sections. Those were incredibly easy to manage and I later cut the extra sheet into smaller pieces for different purposes.
good place for foam is ask the local insulation installer, he will usually have a mountain of cut end pieces you can get for free or for real cheap. another great video for knowledge BMC.
Who are these 20-28 people who always give you a ‘thumbs down’? Your channel is awesome and even though I’ve adopted the virtual table top, your channel makes me want to craft and your stuff looks awesome. You are very professional. Thanks.
Maybe they are ex-girlfriends? I dunno. They are always there though.
I am just getting into the hobby myself, and have found all of your videos super helpful! In regards to buying XPS foam, I actually found that my local Home Depot sold little 2ftx2ft squares, made breaking into the hobby and transporting it super easy!
Agree with Knight's comment. You are by far my favorite crafter on youtube. There's some amazing folks I see on twitter but they share their work, not the know how and examples of step by step like you do. I hope you can take some comfort in the huge group of us that appreciate what you do. BMC is the consistent, solid, useful, and professional crafting channel I go to weekly. I used to (and still do) look forward to RuneHammer videos each week. The two of you guys are truly inspiring and I know he was struggling for a bit too. Stay strong man. Love your work. Tell Hankerin to put out more content if he's up for it =) Ever considered doing scatter terrain for caves? I'm running Cavern of Archaia and there's a lot of shroom stuff going on in there. Would love to see the BMC version of a mushroom forest in a cave system. Good luck Jeremy.
You can buy chipboard pads at Staples although they come only up to 11x17 and you have to buy them in huge stacks (400-800) for $70-$90
Haters are like taxes. The more success you have the more there are. But they never outweigh the gifts that you bring to the table!!! You inspire me and all of us to bring our own gifts to the table. So do like that singer and shake, shake that bullcrap off!
I found this to be super useful. I am new in the hobby and totally dig it. But you hit the nail on the head I heard 1 million different things from 1 million different sources. This was the first helpful one I actually watched out of the two many to count before.
readi-board is the best. Not only is it great for terrain, you can also make some really cool RC plains out of it
Great video and thanks for alerting others about the floral wet/Oasis foam. Definitely a no go for crafting.
I bought a buttload of it already not realising how powdery it is. For filler material on large sculpts which will be covered in epoxy putties.
RIP your lungs. Get rid of it entirely.
Thank you! ‘Modge Podge’ drives me crazy!!
So, I haven't actually attempted any terrain stuff yet, but you did inspire me to make some much needed things for my workspace using corrugated cardboard and some hot glue. I made a brush stand, and some stadium style risers for my paints! I'm new to the channel, but I've gotten a lot from your videos!
AH! You beat me to it! I was working on a video on this very topic. Oh well... yours turned out to be very informative and very much promoted the hobby for which I am very grateful. Keep up the inspirational work.
Great to see your craft room coming along so nicely. Truly a fantasy workshop for you to create in and your viewers to enjoy watching you in. I know I like to see shelves of your prior builds and figures painted up. Keep up the great work and we will continue to enjoy and be inspired by your creations.
As usual, lots of great info. I truly appreciate it when a 'professional' takes the time to explain stuff so the beginner can jump in and become part of this great community. Thank you sir and please, please take care of yourself!
You are speaking to me! 😍 Totally overwhelmed with all the vast amount of content. Finding your basics series to be fantastic thank you!
I remember discovering miniature wargaming back in 2009. I collected all the minis but by far the terrain crafting was my favorite aspect of that hobby. Eventually I gave it up because even the hyper-simplistic, step-by-step tutorials available online all produced mediocre results in my hands. Circa 2017, I found you Jeremy. Your explanations, you suggestions, and your attitude on making something your own and not having to do everything perfectly or "by the book" awakened something in me. I'm glad videos like this exist to give others the same foundation of skills and inspiration to pursue the craft!
Dude - you so should pin this on top of the Guild FB page. Rock on! - Edit - "Your first build isn't going to be very good anyway.." - I followed one of your build videos and my first build was AWESOME and is what got me hooked. Just sayin. Cheers!
Random Man Things BMC gives everyone else an edge in that he's encountered the setbacks that thwart the beginners and showed us how too avoid/fix them
@Black Magic Craft There is one thing I would like to see besides the basic tools/materials.... I recently became an empty nester and inherited my son's room! Now I have a game room to myself, but... how do you organize your room for crafting and for play?
Thanks big help.i love your show. I'm just starting with all this. I played D&D as a teen and now I'm 50 with 2 kids. And I dusted off my games for first time in many years.I'm now starting to play with my children . and for the first time I'm using miniatures. And I am loving it. So happy to find you.
"Hardboard" is HDF or High Density Fiberboard. It's a harder and denser version of MDF. You can find bigger sheets in many lumberyards/hardware stores. For EPVC, talk to a sign printer. They fairly often have misprinted signs that they're happy to get rid of without having to pay their trash/recylcling company to haul away. And while you're asking about EPVC, you might want to ask about coroplast (corrugated plastic), which is basically like corrugated cardboard, but, you know, plastic. 8-) Buying full sheets of either is pretty expensive, not least in shipping, because you're not buying by the truckload.
This has been the most useful, instructive video I've seen so far! thanks
Thanks for all the awesome videos
This was really helpful. Thank you for this resource.
This really helps! Thank you.
As i have just started, thank youuuuuuuuuuu so much!
I needed this, thank you.
Pour les français: Le "Mod podge" 11:23 c'est du "Vernis colle", on peut en trouver en magasins de bricolage (Leroy Merlin, Castorama...) au rayon peinture ou dans les magasins d'art créatifs (Cultura...) au rayon de décorations de petits objets en MDF. Certains l'utilisent pour coller des serviettes en papier sur ces objets.
Excellent info as always! I have learned so much from BMC! Thanks a million for all the tutorials and helpful info you put out for us. Also, looking forward to the new room tour!! : )
Thank you for all your hard work sir.
Near the end of the video you mention the level of interest and wanting to expand, new tools, better materials. What would be the next level for a Beginner becoming a Novice(Novice > Advanced > Experienced > Pro). Perhaps another idea for future videos. I started out doing Warhammer 40k miniatures for 3 years and got burnt out after that time and have now started crafting terrain just for kicks. I do know there are some tools and supplies out in the world that would be nice additions, but I would like to ask a Pro level crafter how to enhance the crafting game. Wonderful video, thank you for the refresher.
I personally think a basic hobby knife and cardboard is the most beginner you can get, in my experience. From there, a better knife like OLFA and foamboard are a step up. Getting into XPS foam and hot wire cutters is yet another step above that. Of course, all that can depend on personal experience and preferred medium :)
Really helpful advice, especially the bit about just trying it out to see if you like the hobby. Thank you
FOUND IT! Thanks this takes a LOT of mystery out of getting started! Let's see what I can build...
Great video content. Note: Chipboard is used in book binding and picture framing. So you can often get it a crafting stores like Michaels. I think asking for chipboard at the right store will get the best results. PS: I got really funny looks when I broke my 4x8 XPS down in The Home Depot parking lot. Luckily, the 2-inch thick board was already scored every 18-inches or so. Fit very nice in my mini-van Mazda 5.
Recently found your channel, really like the quality and content of your videos! Not a tabletop modeller myself but have picked up some great techniques and ideas from you. This video was certainly helpful, good luck with the renovations!!!
Just found this having found you fairly recently. This was very useful and closed out some questions I had so thank you! Loving you videos!
Found you through the Miniac videos! Awesome content. Thanks for doing all this.
Not new at all to the hobby, but always on the lookout for good tips and advice and seeing how others do things and what they use - which I have definitely found here on your channel. Great stuff! Only found this channel a couple days ago, but I'll be sticking around and checking out your videos.
Thank you for this video! I've made a few terrain pieces in my teen years and enjoyed it quite a lot. Now as an adult I want to get back into the hobby and this video really helped me create a list of the basic supplies I need to start creating again. I also saw that you have a video of great beginner projects that I will look into for sure.
Hey man, Literally binged watched the large majority of your videos this weekend! Love your intro and all your work so far, really good quality So full of inspiration, roll on payday and I'll order up some supplies.
Thanks for the help and all the inspirational videos and ideas for projects. It’s been a big help recently for me and your channel is my go to
Foamcore is also great for making GM screens.
Thank you 🙏🏻 Just what I was looking for
Well done on your production quality of your videos. It’s not easy, and you do a hell of a job.
I was let on to your channel by a relative, good content man! Made my first house yesterday and it turned out awesome!!
I've been in the hobby for 45 years, but I really welcome this kind of vid' once in a while. I always learn something new or I am reminded of something I'd forgotten (that's happening more and more these days!). So, many thanks for this and I'm off to get some ModPodge to try out.
Your knowledge and videos have been amazing. I have since followed your tutorials and have built many projects myself and thus elevated my game play, Aloha
Thanks, for this. I am doing a kinda video log starting this month of me starting down this path on my gaming channel. I appreciate the tips and tricks I get from watching your videos.
Thanks for the video! You inspired me to get into crafting and now bringing my students into the crafting scene as well! Also, I find it cool that we share a name (I learned that a few weeks into exploring your channel) So, from one Jeremy to another, thank you for what you're doing here and keep up the great work!
This is an awesome video. I have been in the crafting thing for a long time and knew most of this stuff but for anyone interested in crafting. This is a great beginning video. Awesome.
Thanks so much for this video! I'm coming back to role-playing games after 30 years away, and your video is EXACTLY the kind of videos I'm looking for right now -- all my best!
Chip board is used a lot in book binding too, so finding supplies through stores fronts that cater to book arts may help. Otherwise, look out at Michaels for when they do the sales on artist paper pads, and maybe give paper mache a thought unless you've got a need for a lot of paper used elsewhere.
Tip: if you're a thrifty crafter buy a good boxcutter with beefy blades like a olfa. You get a leather strip and add polishing/abrasive compound and strop the blade often and you wont need to replace blades all the time. Woodworking trick that works equally well for foam and the like
Just found this channel. I've been binge watching all of your videos, they are so informative and entertaining even though I don't think I'll ever build any of this.
Great break down bro. Very enlightening
Just started crafting and your channel is excellent, thanks!
Sometimes those large insulation foam sheets from the hardware stores have lines already scored into them so that you can break them apart into smaller pieces which makes it a bit easier to deal with as well. You have to look at one side or the other and you can see the score marks.
What an amazing video! Thank you.
Thank you so much for your recommendations in this video. It has been very important for me.
Hi sir, just wanted to thank you for your content. i started tabletop crafting about 3 weeks ago. and i am learning heaps of you. your video's and explanations help a lot!
Thabk you so much!!! I've been looking for a material explanation video. And this is the first proper explanation.
Extremely well said
Killer video. I too have lived in construction.
EVA= Ethylene-vinyl acetate, EVPA= Expanded polyvinyl alcohol, it's basically the same as EVA just more environmentally friendly, or did you mean the one called uPVC, PVC= Polyvinyl Chloride, it has plasticizers added to it to make it softer and flexible, the stuff your talking about is uPVC= unplasticized Polyvinyl Chloride which is used to make the dense plastic. Either way thank you for all the great info, love the show, keep up the great work.
This video helped out alot! Thanks You!
I discovered the channel recently, and I'm binging it from the beginning. Still some more to go. A big hello from France. ^^
Since many of you Crafters (You, Wyloch, Scotty, etc.) use those fiskers self healing mats and mention each other ever so often it feels like one single giant channel with several hosts :-D This is pure awesomeness :-D
Im a roofer who works in new construction housing developments and i get all my xps foam from the dumpsters. sometimes it has dirt or concrete on it but that comes off pretty easy. same goes for PVC pipes.
Some people know hardboard by as Masonite, Quartrboard,[3] Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex[4] or pressboard. For a puzzle board I would get a two-side smooth board, so it doesn't deposit particles all over the place. For crafting, the one-side smooth would work, letting you glue to the non-smooth side, just don't add too much moisture, or it will swell and start degrading. - I did a lot of research into the stuff last year, for a different project.
Excellent tutorial video
Thank you for this video, it is very informative. I enjoy your builds and catching up on the basics every now and then helps. As for building during your crafting time, I would just class that as crafting on a 1:1 scale. Thanks again.
Oasis foam is made to absorb and retain water and it attacks mucus membranes and tear ducts mercilessly when it is dry. I used to work at a floral wholesaler, and I've been to the Oasis factory.
Nice and concise
I think that one item needs added to the beginner list of tools, especially for those folks who are going to be using XPF foam: a speed square. I recently bought a small one (8") made of rugged plastic for about $4 at Home Depot. I really wish that I had bought it sooner, and it really should in every crafter's tool-kit. If it serves no other purpose, "returning to square" is super fast and super easy. But it is a very versatile tool, and can replace a lot of other measuring devices. Keep up the great work! Love the channel!
Super useful. Watch out for those nasties! I’m sure I speak for the community at large when I say you and the TTCG are an awesome asset to us crafters!!
I found that by using spray foam insulation you can make things like cave pillars very easily. I'm not sure how to get a straight cut on the tops and bottoms of them as I don't have a hot wire, but I've eyeballed it pretty well using an Olfa utility knife. Would you mind experimenting with spray foam insulation and let us know what other creations you come up with? I can see the potential for amorphous terrain, larger monster figures (purple worm comes to mind), and perhaps small structures using this method.
I start to make my 3d dungeon for gloomhaven, thanks for the how to videos. I learn a lot... i have only trouble how to cut perfect hex... I print them on a4 cut the template and cutting on my proxxon.. If you can make one video on hex tile matter. Thanks, good work you did on your videos...