Arena Rex Forums

I have done some rudimentary shading and highlightning on the arena floor now, which can still be tidied up more, and the inner walls definitely need some tidying work too. But still, looking better I think.

I am starting to get a little bored of the very colourless grey I have painted my arenas so far. Even though it matches the official playmat, a lot of other people paint their arenas in more yellow, sandy desert colours, and I like that a lot. I am thinking when this one is done, I will make a smaller round arena, and paint it in warmer colours.

Here's a shot with some models and magnetised hazards.

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I liked the look where the edges of the holes were wood. in my opinion you are right it looks gray and lifeless. I would try painting some of the outer ring where you scored the foam board as wood it would help add "Natural color" to the ring. Other than that I LOVE IT!

I know what you mean, but at the same time I also want it to look cohesive. But trying the make the stonework floor parts a little warmer is not a bad idea, I will consider it.

But the next arena will definitely be warmer overall.

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I do think it looks great beyond my current abilities. if you make the worn planks on the floor a sun bleached wood color that would help alot without breaking up the cohesiveness of the arena

I would suggest Painting all of the rough sandy bits (not the bricks) a pale yellow color. It would give it a warmer daytime feel (lively). The stones will stand out more as being stone and the entire arena might look less like it is dusk outside (or less dead?).

Often times landscapes will look grey at night as our eyes need the light to see color. This leads me to my second suggestion: A much more complex option would be to go with the night time theme and add torches, complete with Painted glow.

Good observations. I suppose it would be possible to do a light yellow wash over the sand, to warm it up... but I could also just make another arena and leave this one grey. I'll see what I feel like.

The torch idea is super interesting I have to say. That's one to ponder.

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I ended up going with Cap's suggestion of making the scored parts a bit warmer. But also just making it look a bit warmer in general. I bought a sand coloured spray and went to town, and I am hoping that with enough white drybrushing, it will eventually look cool. Right now it still looks a bit messy.



I know it might seem illogical to get a sand colour, and then apply it to the non-sand parts of the arena - but the point is that I want the sand to look white and pale, to match my bases and such...

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My Arena Rex painting log

I think it warms the arena up nicely. The golden bricks/white sand works well as a contrast also.

Do you have access to any acrylic craft paints? Here in the States they are sold under brand names like Delta Ceramcoat, FolkArt, and Americana and they typically come in 2 oz. bottles like this...


They come in a HUGE range of colors and are only a buck or two each, so would be perfect to do your drybrush highlighting. They also always have coordinated gradients as well, so you could go DARK-MIDDLE-LIGHT-LIGHT+WHITE and get a nice effect IMO.

In all honesty they aren't nearly the quality of Vallejo or GW paints, but 100% of my minis have been at least partly painted with them.

The Arena Looks way better! I like the Idea of dry brushing the the stones lighter.

Thanks for the suggestions! I do use craft paints for work like this, the cheapest ones I can find in a local shop of knick knacks... they don't have a huge selection, but decent enough.

I find it really hard to drybrush these relatively flat and smooth surfaces though. It's very difficult to both get enough paint on for it to be noticeable, but not just leave splotches of pure white. I'll keep fighting, but it doesn't feel straightforward - more like a neverending experimentation and trial and error. But hopefully at some point I will get to a result I am happy with.

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My Arena Rex painting log