This is the Neuschwanstein castle, near Füssen, Germany. It’s located in the foothills of the Alps in the very south of Germany, close to border with Austria.
I’ve been here twice, once as a kid and then as an adult. Would I go back? I’m good.
The actual inspiration for this box is the route to the castle. The buses will only take you so far and you still have to walk a paved road that seems to wind on uphill forever.
And then there are all the stairs to climb in the castle itself.
I use this memory as motivation when I’m on the treadmill and have it on incline. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
First I prime, sand and repeat until I have a smooth surface. Second, I paint the background using quality acrylics.
Next, I modeled the mountain using paper clay. I did it in two parts, adding the details of the rock work after the base dried. I painted the entire mountain black first then added greys, light browns and green on top.
Then it’s on to the greenery.
I made the castle using mat board, wood dowels, card stock, a little bit of paper clay and matte acrylic paint.
I like to use the inexpensive matte paints that you can get at a hobby store. The sheen from regular acrylic paints takes away from the miniature effect.
I used pastels to create the effect of sunshine and the tree shadows on the road.
For the trees, I used different modeling scenery and matte acrylic paint. I also used the roots of some weeds to make the tree trunks.
