Customizing an MDF Terrain Kit for A Brutalist Cyberpunk Dystopia (Feat.

Head to squarespace.com/danahowl to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code danahowl
In this video I build my first Brutal Cities MDF kit, fully customizing it for use in various tabletop games!
Brutal Cities: brutalcities.com
My Website: howlcorp.com
Support Me on PATREON: / danahowl
MUSIC:
glaciære - “Sinking your toes into warm sand”
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
glaciære - “Polar bears”
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
glaciære - “Watching the snow through the window”
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
Stevia Sphere - "First Taste of Success"
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
Stevia Sphere - "Abandoned Project Ideas"
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
Anonymous420 - "Ride to the party"
chezmonplaisir.bandcamp.com/t...
glaciære - “Drinking wine and playing gameboy”
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
glaciære - “Pool Water Dripping from the Diving Board”
steviasphere.bandcamp.com/tra...
All music used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) License
creativecommons.org/licenses/...

[@STSGingie]

The Square in squares pace getting longer and longer in every video is low key a delight.

[@brutalcities]

I cackled

[@philurbaniak1811]

Sq⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜re... Space 😄

[@tragonius]

put a Bill Makes Stuff art book drop and a Dana Howl Square Space plug, and you might have the runtime for a Best Picture nom (to be clear, its funny every single time)

[@STSGingie]

@@tragonius *whistles for an only just excessive amount of time*

[@johntailby74]

How much longer before it becomes a square space video with inserts of content?

[@metajock]

Very Judge Dread. Yes, please, build a lot more of these, please!!!

[@brutalcities]

Omg the leaves and tiles look so great, the speed paint sitting on the bottom part of the tiles is so easy and effective! The speed paints look great too Dana, good to know that’s another option that works with MDF if people don’t want to use oil paints for weathering. Lovely work thanks for sharing!

[@DanaHowl]

Thanks so much Ryan!!! I’ve been putting off learning oils for so long, eventually I will cave in and put in the time to learn the process and I’m sure it will be my new favorite thing!!! Thanks again for sending over these kits!

[@brutalcities]

@@DanaHowl most welcome! you can always use a spray booth or wear a respirator with organic compound filter or have a small fan blowing outside if the solvents are too much too! But you do live in Canada so maybe harder in winter haha. But your method works well anyway! I’ll also say I’ve just launched 6mm-15mm scale kits so if anyone needs terrain you can use for legions Imperialis and more have a look!

[@kevinsoney3051]

This is beautiful in it's decrepitness. It has a very lived-in feel, almost abandoned sense. You captured the feel of dystopian, post-apocalyptic, futureness, but when you dressed it up with Star Wars pieces, I was instantly taken to Coruscant's seedy parts or to Andor's industrial area in the opening scene. I really like the way you show and briefly explain the techniques you're using. As others have said, this is a good one. I will return to many times as I build my terrain. Thank you for showing me the Splatoon graphics. They're perfect for this type terrain. The black and white printing on colored paper really works. With the Star Wars add-ins I keep seeing when Anakin was chasing the bounty hunter through Coruscant's alleyways.

[@oliviataylor5029]

"That authentic downtown Toronto look" had me cackling

[@dwarrenmsp]

Brutal Cities AND Splatoon? Now you're speaking my language!

[@funkaoshi]

This turned out fantastic. Great use of those speed paints.

[@WylochsArmory]

You did not go too far at the end.

[@johntailby74]

The building turned out very nice and convincing. It reminds me of Peach Trees Block. That sea foam speed paint does a great job on the tiles.

[@brutalcities]

You should see the one actually inspired by peach trees then haha

[@wombora]

These MDF Kits look amazing and even better after your touches. i really like the splatoon art/posters it really looks totally scifi

[@acrylicchemist1432]

The building turned out great! For any aspiring concrete terrain painters, IMO adding some dark green spots/streaks to buildings helps diversify the weathering and shows signs of water run-off/moss/mold deposits.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

I agree, he is an amazing designer, his stuff is absolutely beautiful. He sets a standards to measure oneself to.

[@captainhotsauce]

I disagree that the last bits went too far, the finishing touches really tie it together imo. Incredible work!

[@willmendoza8498]

Wow. One of your coolest projects to date. Such nice aging effects

[@Bluecho4]

I would love to see more videos of this terrain getting built.

[@philurbaniak1811]

👍👍 this is extremely cool and I would love to see more 👍😮!

[@wrenmacneil7703]

awesome building! The posters make it all look very real. Would love to see you paint more of these building kits!

[@subedai]

Looks great, I'd definitely watch more of these buildings coming to life. They are perfect for inspiring me back to my Infinity collection.

[@janmarcinowski]

Awsome outcome. One of your best!

[@blotcho84]

The finishing touches make it look just perfect~~

[@nutherefurlong]

Happy to see more of these buildings and all the detail you put into them

[@Artmesa]

Spectacular build!!!

[@teoiny1]

A really great result with the weathering! I will certainly be trying it myself.

[@tiziano77]

I love these kits, I would like to see you paint more of them!

[@bicskeiz]

Looks fantastic! Both the kit, and Your work on it!

[@johnnycooper7019]

Dear Dana, What a brilliant tutorial - thank you for sharing. Please may I say I would like to see more of the brutal cities building tutorials. Please have a Merry Christmas. Best Wishes Johnny

[@spinymausgames1866]

Can't even tell the original base was mdf, super cool!

[@TheMichaellathrop]

I really like the use of the ash for weathering, it adds an extra layer of filth that I can instantly associate with human habitation over a lot of the pigment powders that give a sense of natural grim and or nature reclaiming a structure.

[@Gibbtall]

Those windows could get a real easy upgrade with some blister plastic tinted with translucent markers, my brain craves an orange glow from them. Love it!

[@DanaHowl]

I know right!!! I was right on the verge of doing exactly that!! Just ran out of time and had to edit and post the video!!

[@ethankillett1997]

This is so freaking cool. I love some good, grimy post modern sci fi terrain. Great job, Dana!

[@CarlosEriksson]

My absolute favourite thing about your channel is how everything looks a bit, "okay" at first (just like when I paint), and then by the end of the video it's always such an amazing result (unlike when I paint).Your videos are such phenomenal examples of, "trust the process"!

[@freeheelski6284]

Brilliantly timed Dana. This is superb guidance for my Empires at War 6mm mdf building kits. Your tutorial is very much appreciated…(l do miss the crazy music between your video sections. I’d love to see it back..!) Thanks Dana.

[@sprootown]

Very nice buildings...especially the clean seams. As good as any hand built or plastic scenery... Thanks! I'll check out his mdf models. 👍😊 ps I just bought some Acrylic paint pens...fine enough to color your posters and the control is easier than a brush!

[@apink2054]

Really creative to use the Splatoon assets!

[@benjaminjack867]

God I want these terrain kits

[@capnskustomworks]

Some authentic Northern ashtray “dirt”, along with maybe a few small sticks? 🌱🌱🌱 Gotta create with what’s at hand, I feel ye! Hahaha!!!

[@PeterIsATeacher]

I'm weird so I always try to match Dana Howl's "squaaaaaaaare spaaaaace" ad read, but I still can't judge it right. Somehow it's always longer than I think it will be lol

[@DKarkarov]

I think the issue with the door is you just started with too bright a color, it needed a lot of grunging up. You did really great work here, final result is really awesome and well done. This is just a great kit in general thanks for calling this creator out!!

[@DollaJames]

This looks great, I love the brutalist look. I think I need kits of Boston and Toronto city hall

[@tiddles4x4]

Fantastic video, Possibly your best yet. I will certainly be trying some of the Technics you used on some MDF buildings I have.

[@lilfett]

The splatoon stuff is brilliant, and I never would have known without your video! Also, I really dig you taking us on the journey of different weathering experiments because I love seeing what different variations do (but don't always have the resources to test myself). I think MDF (and these kits specifically) are sick but I'm always worried the lack of edges/depth will make them seem way too flat (aka I can't rely on a dry brush 🙃) so this was very helpful - would love to see more!

[@joshbecka6110]

Dirty from an ash tray?!?!? Well makes sense

[@roadgoeseveron7128]

howl city here we go

[@jeannefrenken3284]

This looks awesome, would love to see you build some more!

[@nuazak]

adore this building and weathering- don't think you went too far! more like this imo, build howl city!

[@christomsharpe]

Love it’s cute little face, presumably unintentional but I can’t help but think it’s a happy little building now that I’ve seen it 😬

[@Toasty1231]

thanks for this one Dana! Im building a lot of MDF Kits from Warsenal so this was helpful!

[@Digitaldryad]

I adore this, so so cool

[@lordnovas]

That looks great. I love the smell of MDF.

[@jonbauml225]

You're the best at concrete. So realistic

[@emdeo]

das conk kreet babey!!! yeah I kinda wanna see Howl City!

[@theandf]

I definitely want to see more of these assembly + painting videos! I do think the end result is too "grimy" for cyberpunk, where I would expect a brighter and cleaner aesthetic (this is subjective of course). But for post-apoc, zombies and general scifi this rocks!

[@LARPBeard]

you really took that building to 11! Can't wat to see what you do with the rest :)

[@kristyhowe1]

just YES!

[@goforitpainting]

Cool as always. 👍

[@brandonsaffell4100]

I picked up some Gauche paints after Dana Howl talked about them. They're pretty great for weathering and washes. Really great metallics too.

[@smosmo1]

lovley, you really made the kit your own,

[@jackthemayor2518]

Honestly a little bit of "trash" and "mystery dirt" kind of helps sell the whole dirty city look.

[@Riley-uy5pe]

splatoon enjoyer has logged on

[@roadgoeseveron7128]

i need this for my batman miniature game setting, good tips for my arkham/gotham buildings

[@thomaswhite8251]

great video! Would recommend the Epson ET-7750 by the way if you ever wanted to take the dive into a colour printer.

[@SanguineVoyeur]

I've been trying to figure out how to capture the splatoon "vibe" in minis for a while. Drawing from the cityscape itself makes a lot of sense. Nice work!

[@mrgunn2726]

I been Brutalized! Great work Ms. Howl, may I have some more please?!

[@jonnil1997]

I love Brutal Cities so much, which I could afford it

[@pookacara]

This l9oks fantastic. Wow!

[@ChristopherDessens]

This has got me pumped to finish making the Brutal Cities stuff thats been sitting in my to do pile for a while

[@brutalcities]

YES! Have fun!

[@graefx]

I love these kits

[@JanMazurek]

I like what you made. Good job

[@chickynugs]

Great vid, but the icing on the cake was the truth of Toronto, it does smell like cigarette ash.

[@RyanEdwardsVA]

Such a cool build. Love it! Brilliant touch with the Splatoon stuff, haha.

[@GarryWButler]

it looks awesome

[@danielallott]

Now just need some infinity models to go with it 😁

[@brutalcities]

The most balanced game!

[@ChampionofTerra]

Awesome video! I am planning on getting some of their terrain for infinity and this video was really helpful :)

[@brotherpink8594]

You did an amazing job! Big city Japan is 25% buildings that look like this!!!

[@adrianbk698]

Really solid and practical video as always! I like your attention to detail and how you talk through your choices. The leaves look amazing; can you post a link to the supplier please? Also, it's great to see an Australian business being profiled, and I agree, Brutal Cities does a brilliant job with their kits.

[@TheGamingWard]

This was an incredible vid.

[@Nigelius]

Great use of a supposed flaw in the speed paint 1.0 range. To me, all Army Painter need to do is remarked the old formula as a product more focussed on blending and weathering.

[@BrettBallanger]

Really cool to see you using some inspo from Splatoon. I'd love to see you doing a video from the stuff from Infinity.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

Thank you for the weathering tips. I want to avoid oils, still a total noob at painting and the hobby. I have been trying to get that result efficiently. I think you nailed. It.

[@cirivanili8835]

squaaaaaaaarespace is back! :D

[@angelx9724]

I really need to save up for a bundle of brutal cities, been looking at them for years.

[@Kitsune_.-]

Those look awesome. Splatoon , I love it

[@mathuxley7264]

Very enjoyable content

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

Looks like downtown Hamilton as well lol

[@firesotormlizard01]

Any chance of you sharing the file of images you collated? Would love some sci-fi posters and graffiti on my terrain.

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

Yeah, It def has more of an abandoned look. But it still looks sweet.

[@malmcg6803]

The way I recognized the kamabo corp logo in the first second of the video.....

[@Hobbyrepubliken]

Fucking love brutalism. But irl it looks best combined with lots of plants

[@DanaHowl]

I'll add plants to the next one!

[@ShallowVA]

Splatoon tabletop miniature skirmish game WHEN??!

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

First?

[@DanaHowl]

Congrats!!!

[@WylochsArmory]

Well ain't this a coincidence.

[@DanaHowl]

I was just about to comment on yours saying it looks like we did a subconscious collab!!!

[@OldHammerMiniPainter]

Never considered MDF before but omg… grimy AF but ❤

[@RSOULIER75]

Rrally like that building. Effectively a bit very weathered but ... look like detroit instead of toronto😅

[@soledude]

👍👍👍

[@geronimo8159]

I'd love to have some, but they're not exactly cheap 😬

[@f.g.5967]

Does it count as brutalist with so many tiles? Honest question

[@brutalcities]

She RUINED it 😂 jokes aside, Brutalism typically does not use tiles as cladding they are a cladding hiding the honest expression of the structure. Brick is fine, concrete fine. But if you’re referring to the laser engravings, I tried to represent the in situ form work panels & form tie holes. Tadao Ando is known for having the most beautiful form work details, or placement of the panels & form plugs :)

[@fixit9844]

In howl city, you can be come

[@nickdavis5420]

Hmmm howl city looks like it needs Batman

[@anothernate3302]

No, you did not go too far.

[@sourwyrmple8998]

How do I become friends with Ryan?