Easy! Cheap! Ocean and Desert Battle Mats! Dungeons & Dragons

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

CHECK OUT THE AWESOME EMBER DICE KICKSTARTER: bit.ly/EMBERDICEKS Should I make more of these dollar store battle mats? What themes do you want to see?

[@righter8665]

City theme, like for Marvel Crisis Protocol.

[@emberforge]

Thank you Jeremy, happy to welcome you all in our Ember Dice KS! :)

[@doctamoose]

More mats!

[@scottmcfarlane7524]

Yes which DR"S you hit as well...mine runs out of those mats all the time(thou that might be my fault LOL) PEG UP!

[@liambriankelly1601]

Loving these mats! Just getting into frost grave and would love to a cobblestone city or snow mat!

[@crimsonpsyphi7196]

I would love to see a volcano terrain theme for one of these

[@PersonMan1234]

This. ☝️

[@JamesEarlCash]

yeah, lava/volcano one would be cool! And maybe a marsh?

[@ericvaughn2617]

Just a bog standard mountain would be cool too

[@adysykes5174]

A lava field terrain would be amazing 😁

[@adamalbee]

Came to suggest exactly this!

[@MikeBeals]

For more in this series, I’d like to see a ruins, medieval city street looks, and maybe a futuristic starship look,

[@angelx9724]

Starship is of particular interest to me.

[@travisshallenberger9486]

Honestly, this is the 3rd video and I'm still digging the idea. I see these and think "What about volcanic/abyssal terrain?" or "How about lunar scape?" The idea that really grabs me would be bio-hive terrain. Something in the style of Tyrranid/Xeonomorph/Zerg where the landscape has been altered to be part of a larger living body. And of course anything you can think of to tie terrain in with undead. Necromancers are always fun!

[@graefx]

I love the lunar scape idea. That would go well with my NASA punk space dwarfs

[@nikopaseman7147]

I love these. Bio-Creep is a great one, and fitting for the channel, I think. Very Nurgle or Eldritch as well.

[@Designsy-wl9nr]

Dude, now I really want a lunar scape!

[@Jeannot2073]

I mean if you enjoy making the mats and go for more styles, just do it. The idea is great so why not explore further ? This channel for me is all about accessible easy crafting with great new ideas and techniques, so keep the theme going Jeremy, rock on dude !

[@remklovs]

This 100%

[@KareemFloat]

note for future silicone endeavors. white/mineral spirits is your friend for thinning it out.

[@philhelm1318]

I think that clear acrylic caulk may have worked.

[@GrandManDan]

A mountain and/or snow battlemap would be awesome! These are so fun and keep killing it man!

[@nikopaseman7147]

I would love to see his technique for a frozen lake mat. Though... a snow mat using that stuff for Christmas villages might be durable. Just wouldn't want it to be the white version of the desert mat.

[@highvalleyhobbies]

LOVE this flexible battle mat series. Fantastic way to build a lightweight, easily storable collection of beautiful mats. Also thankful for showing your failures so we don't make the same mistakes!

[@TheMiniChest]

I love that part. It also reinforces the idea that you're 100% going to destroy terrain that you worked on, at some point. Mistakes are a huge part of the hobby, and that's valuable information for newbies.

[@talynteasley3802]

Love the series. It helps with a lot :) A mossy graveyard would be fun to try sometime

[@karstedt9987]

Maybe with flock or static grass texture too, just for fancy.

[@rickershomesteadahobbyfarm3291]

This would be awesome.

[@KingNamazu]

a medieval fantasy/age of sigmar city mat would be cool, especially with raised sidewalks

[@rickershomesteadahobbyfarm3291]

That’s awesome. I’ve bought those mats from Harbor Freight a few times before. Anytime I keep quail I like to put padding on the ceiling of whatever pen they are in. Quail like to jump straight up in the air when spooked and they can injure themselves hitting a hard surface. I’ve had them break their own necks and even expose their own skull when they get spooked. This stuff helps with that. When you said that your American viewers we’re having trouble trouble finding it I was already pulling up the comments to say Harbor Freight lol.

[@trevorpierce9341]

I love that you so excitedly embrace whatever the fans enjoy. I never feel like you do it reluctantly just because it will get views. You always put your all and try to be creative and bring something new every time. You’re the best man.

[@atomicgearworks]

I would love to see more videos of other things from the dollar store, like terrain pieces, or converting cheap toys into minis.

[@kl1thedominion]

I'd love to see more of these. I also wouldn't mind seeing some "next step" videos for how to take these cheap mats to the next level.

[@BillAllanWorld]

Dang, dude. You are on fire with this series. I gotta say, your projects are inspiring me to get back into the crafting game.

[@Evil_Misfit_]

Been following for years and still to this day LOVE your builds. I like how you're considerate that other people may not have the funds to do huge builds

[@HollowRoll]

I've been loving the 'return' to cheap terrain recently. I like the more involved projects also, but it's nice to have more achievable terrain

[@andrewhalverson6974]

I would love to see something for Spelljammer. A space mat with fun fantasy-space themed scatter terrain. Maybe even a ship?? I got the Archvillains mind flayer set that would be ripe with inspiration!

[@Maestria00]

Funny as it is, I'm currently starting a game of Five Parsecs from Home and I got no scifi terrain at all. I've been wondering how I would do the mats and this mini series on how to craft them is something I am really looking for haha. Usually, I go with the fabric + caulk approach, but I really like the "fixed" mat idea you got going. Thanks man!

[@mtgemperor]

As I stated last week, I'll be making my Idols of Torment board out of these techniques! 😁

[@valasdarkholme6255]

A nice frozen tundra / snow and ice themed one would be pretty cool. I think you could get another video or two out of this idea. I'd certainly watch a couple more.

[@queencityminis]

I love the idea of butting them together. That bridge is great.

[@Venator1900]

I would absolutely love a swamp version of these.

[@elysesmith8460]

Picked up some of these the other day for a snow terrain. Wish us luck!

[@jherazob]

Yes please, do continue, a short playlist of these will be useful for various folks :D

[@nickdavis5420]

Love too see a jungle version of this . These mats are great the perfect amount of realism versus the miniature they look like they exist in the same world.

[@the98themperoroftheholybri33]

If you're wanting water texture, I'd recommend using Vallejo water effects, they have Atlantic, Mediterranean and pacific ocean colours

[@Zuraneve]

I would love to see more battle mat videos! Some ideas for terrain: underwater (might be too similar to ocean), volcanic, clouds, space/galaxy. You keep making the videos, and I'll keep watching them.

[@greggbenshoof2626]

Yes, please make more mats. Love the ideas I get from your videos.

[@jordanbeard6687]

Play mat video idea: taking these nice but "basic" mats to the next level, little upgrades and details you can add to them. Adding rocks, adding scatter terrain, how you do trees, etc. I know a lot of that is techniques you have gone over before but for new folks just finding your channel that could be fun and help them get that info.

[@AsariGreenfire11]

I'd love to see a city/town one ❤ this is a an amazing idea. Maybe kids foam mats could be an alternative if you can't find what your using.... Or a roll of foam.

[@biddybaxter]

More mats please! I'm loving these back to basics videos!

[@teagan_p_999]

Yeah, I want to see more. I love the budget videos. I'd love to see it with a subtle grid...

[@EngHag]

I love these mats, can't get enough of them. Thanks for this design, I will actually make one of these in my own style.

[@darthhall6187]

Love these videos, so useful, and easy enough even for a beginner. Definitely like to see more. While it seems easy enough to get in N. America, latex caulking is really hard to find and expensive in the country I live in, so it wouldn't really be worth it for me personally. Its interesting the things you discover that are common place and cheap in one place, but virtually non-existent and expensive in another.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

Where do you live?

[@darthhall6187]

@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial I live in Japan. None of my local DIY stores stock latex caulking, only silicon. And online I can only find really expensive non Japanese imported brands. It seems latex just isn't used for caulking here. At least as far as I can tell. There are so many things I've found to be common in Europe/N. America, that are just not used here.

[@talasmanca]

Wonder if adding some fine sand to the desert mix would help with depth and dry brushing.

[@jsully416]

My wife got me an Ember D20 for our Iron Anniversary, and it is fantastic! Looking forward to these new sets!!

[@WiccakultPerkussionist]

i don’t have any specific ideas but i really love these and would love to see more

[@tylerkinnear2679]

Two more cool and easy mats. I liked the little additions in the last one, like the cobblestone road and rocks to give it some depth. Having said that I would love to see a snow scape with some depth so it's not just plain caulking rolled on a mat.

[@SipNCreate]

More of these - please. Would like to see snow and cobblestone. Also, I like your water, but would love to see some more experiments with the water. Thanks!

[@peterclose1545]

A medieval village map with roads that come to a "T" intersection and a bridge over a little stream. Maybe a well in the village square. Try to make it feel/look different depending on how it is oriented to the viewer. You do a wonderful job. Thank you so much.

[@dkbibi]

A few years ago I actually made a very similar ocean tile with PVA "puzzle mat". I painted the whole thing with craft paints and I did use clear caulking and I can't remember which brand but it worked great. It wasn't super fun to work with, especially because it smells vinegar-ish and is hard to wash but it did a convnicing enough water tile. So clear caulking does work, just depends on which brand you use.

[@bmccloksey]

I love the simplicity. I would also love to see what it would look like if you went all out on one of these.

[@FelixTheAnimator]

Some dried-out air dry clay (Crayola) ground up in a coffee grinder makes great lightweight sand/pebbles! My kid loves the stuff & I'm always finding dried out little nugs of the stuff everywhere. I just grind it up & put it in a tub for basing later.

[@demetrinight5924]

I'm enjoying the battle mats. I think you have one more video with them before viewers get board. The water mat looks real good in the close-up. The roller texture with white cap dry brush is surprisingly effective. The simple beach setup works well too. I immediately see an Egyptian coast with the way you have it laid out.

[@bretlemieux2489]

You should keep making the cheap mats you make awesome stuff! Much love to black magic crafts!

[@scottbeale1825]

I want to see you try a mat with a grid! You could maybe use a chalked string and snap it on there like you do when making long lines in woodworking.

[@vintagezebra5527]

I’ve tried that, but there’s always a bit of spatter. That can be a great look for certain themes though. Taping them off is neater but takes a looooong time using brushes and craft paint. Airbrushing your taped off grid lines can go a lot faster, as drying time is reduced.

[@ArcRevenant]

Loving these! Would love to see more. It would also be cool to see how you'd do some drop in pieces for where the edges meet of different terrain types. Sandbars at the beach, rocky outcroppings, things to break up the straight lines. Thanks for the videos!

[@MrDaxjack]

Would love to see underdark terrain, maybe as a battle mat or maybe as tiles ?

[@TheBinger033]

Ya! Underdark!

[@chrisboyd4433]

I like the idea of a lunar mat. I'm also thinking this would be great for a space mat to use with One Page Rule's FTL starship games. Mostly black with some silver/white/yellow splatters for stars and some drybrush "nebulae" in cotton candy colors.

[@anthonyparenti1370]

Love this series! More would be amazing!

[@PuddinTaim]

After grass/dirt and stone tile, my go-tos are cobblestone and wood planks. A big cobblestone mat and a bunch of large-ish tiles of wood planks and you got the floor plans for a town. I've seen some interesting things done with wood grain vinyl floor mats & drawing lines with permanent marker, might be worth looking into?

[@antonjonsson424]

I like it. A mat makes a big difference and ties together the terrain for your game

[@danielschwarze781]

I love this series so far, as I am looking for projects for my kids and this is very accessible. For the water I'll try a different approach: leaving the caulking white and colouring in with DIY contrast paint. That way there should be an easy gradient. Love your stuff!

[@spruceandsquirrel]

I am loving this series!! Maybe some snowy ruins for Frostgrave? ;)

[@talboomerik]

Definitely love these simple and straightforward ways to get some good looking battlemats. I’ll be on the lookout for these mats or something equivalent in Belgium.

[@hardcoreish]

Love these! Please do your take on a lava/hellscape terrain play mat and flexible lava river. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@Fnordathoth]

Loving this battlemat series!

[@johnbrennan9617]

I'd love to see a similar take of this type of thing, but utilizing the Ultimate Dungeon Tile technique of having the circular mats

[@simontemplar3359]

I'd love to see woodland or mountain terrain. This is such a cool idea though! Absolutely amazed!

[@Ray-dw3wg]

Hey, just an idea, you might want to experiment with sand texture additive in paints. Pick up a quart of white flat paint and the sand texture from a hardware store then mix them together with whatever color you need and it makes a nice rough surface. Might work for well for dirt, roads and a desert look. Also sometimes the sand peeks through the paint to add a cool pebbled look.

[@jasonmcintosh3661]

Love all of the quick mats. The simplicity is awesome.

[@Karlmakesstuff]

Oh wow! I'm halfway through making a canvas backed water mat myself, and the next step I had planned was silicone caulking 😮 looks like I'll have to science further. Thank you for this!

[@Karlmakesstuff]

If you want a bit more texture on the desert mat, mixing in some baking powder gives it a cool grit.

[@BlackMagicCraftOfficial]

I think it was just this particular silicone that was the problem. Others would definitely be thin enough to use.

[@Karlmakesstuff]

@@BlackMagicCraftOfficial thanks :) I've also been digging around in some fishtank decoration channels, looks like mineral spirits are used to thin down silicone into silicone paint. Will definitely be testing that one 😁

[@SecularMentat]

I like how you're using your house carpentry experience in your builds. You're sorta inadvertently pushing us all that direction too. We're all out buying insulation foam and caulk guns that I'd imagine some people wouldn't buy otherwise. I see your evil genius there Jeremy. :D

[@colinmatter4697]

More mats! Volcano terrain! Weird / eldritch terrain! Basic ass cave terrain!!! You know we want it all!

[@reddragon162]

I think you should do more! They're easy to do that anyone can get done cheaply.

[@brentrevello134]

I think you should make simple and inexpensive scatter terrain to go with the mats. Possibly using random foam inserts from packages.

[@FloraChang-oc4kf]

The solvent for silicone sealant/adhesive or caulking is ascetic acid, so the domestic, solvent is distilled vinegar. I hope this helps in the future. 😊

[@MattAfoster]

Tyranid inspired map please especially with 10th edition coming out A grim grimy Nurgle inspired map would be awesome too!

[@nekrataali]

What happened to the Nurgle city? Seems like a good time to go back and re-visit that project by making a cityfight mat.

[@djhollowman9567]

Really love this idea and I'm looking forward to trying it with my nephews. Also, thanks for sharing the sponsor, I'm visiting their site now.

[@garettvernon339]

Keep the mats coming!

[@DoaTheJackalope]

I love how you got into a groove on this concept!

[@elijenkins2181]

I love this project and would love to see more, would a gloss varnish have worked on the water mat? Conversely would a wash of some sort helped with the depth on the desert mat? Either way really simple and cheap method

[@anthonywaggett9317]

I'm loving these mat videos. I'm looking at making a few myself, one similar to the first one you made - perfect for Infinity, one for a spaceship interior (Kill Team), one for Gaslands another for Carnevale and I'm also considering trying to make a hex grid mat for Grid Wars. All these will be of the folding variety. It would be good to see how many variations are possible.

[@TheRealClutch1010]

Love the mats, cheap ways to increase immersion for a session. I'd love to see a hellscape, cracked terrain with red "glowing" lava running through it. In fact it could be easily painted a different color to make it a different astral plane. Swamp would be my another go to mat, nothing good ever happens in a swamp!

[@ericadams1446]

Make more!! Do a space one!!

[@josephskiles]

These look great! I wondered if mixing a little play sand would give the desert some extra texture?

[@timothyyoung2962]

I haven't found any of the cheap matts at the local dollar stores, but Harbor Freight does in fact have them. I'm going to take what you've done the last few videos and take a swipe and doing a wasteland style matt. Our group plays a lot of This Is Not A Test, Space Weirdos, and Stargrave so a wasteland style will probably be used the most.

[@airshipofawesomeness6841]

Can't wait to see more modern/cyberpunk builds! That's been the biggest thing I've been working on (your shipping containers were my inspiration). However these mat ideas are great, and I'm curious to see what you come up with next!

[@frankmchawkingstein5110]

You started releasing these vids exactly when I was thinking about making one of these mats! In my case I'm really taken with the idea of making more otherworldly mats inspired by things like Hellfire Peninsula & Zangarmarsh, but these are just neat regardless!

[@bboysmalltown666]

Id love to see more. Id be curious how you would do a modern city block.

[@jay5729]

very cool! I used foam core to make a cobblestone city mat, but I like the idea of these better. Way more durable.

[@PatrickWaddingham]

MORE MATTS and maybe a few that are more "elaborate" that you would use as a "big boy" war gaming table, or to augment a table by throwing it into the middle of a forest to add a hellscape or some such!

[@robbielowry1984]

Great series! Volcano and ice boards would be cool. I have a question about your desert board (sorry if someone already asked). You said you didn't like the look of dry brushing; did you by chance try an oil wash? I'm curious if the texture is deep enough or if it would all come off after wiping. Thanks for all the great content!

[@bigblacktemplar]

Can you please make modular roads! I would love to see you make roads with the cobble roller/heat method! Or can you glue the mats together and then make a bigger mat?

[@warpedjester]

Keep the ideas coming. I wanted to get into this but I need something that's on the cheap so this is fantastic

[@billdefranza4927]

MOAR! Mars, volcano, post apocalyptic wasteland, post apocalyptic city, space hulk interior, icy tundra, urban blight, Philadelphia.

[@kuhmich]

Awesome video as always ❤ Can't get enough of these battlemat videos. I'd love to see you either add some easy and cheap terrain features like hills and craters. Also I'd be curious to see how you'd combine multiple mats to a bigger one, similar to the "hinges" cyberpunk mat you made, but for a lunar or more earthy surface

[@Dr.J_001]

I'd love to see more mats. Specifically, what would you make for Mordheim / Frostgrave, etc.?

[@JC-gv6sq]

Would love to see this expanded, even the failures would be a great learn before doing video. Is there a way to add height or variations in the mats? Is it possible to cut up 2 mats to give a more natural edges than a straight line?

[@imafool69]

For the water map, gloss modpdge would have done a very nice wet effect, also they sell it at the dollar store. Gloss modpodge over the blue and then dry brush off white over the ridge.

[@tenrai7ken]

I found yoga mats of the same, but maybe slightly thinner material at 5 Below. Might also work good for this if you are making a huge mat or are cool with cutting it into smaller mats.

[@veganboyjosh]

loving the series. would be awesome to see more of whatever genre you come up with. especially like your horror themed/hellscape stuff. fwiw, i found a pack of 9 12x12” foam tiles at a Christmas Tree Shoppe. $16.99. a little more than i was hoping but with 9 tiles that snap together like puzzle pieces, i can make them a little more modular and portable.

[@Trace842]

I like this idea and video, but I think the "paint a square of foam" idea is now complete. The "dollar store only" the should stick around though! Or maybe do a $5/10/20 series, to show what can be done with a certain budget, or a 1/5/10 hour series.

[@kaku_zato]

Looks simple and easy to make. And it still looks nice. I like this method.

[@kevinkee7212]

If you want to make the clear caulk spreadable, use mineral spirits. It will disolve in that.

[@TheSheGoz]

I love this! How could you do a dungeon themed mat like that?

[@tragonius]

looks great, jeremy! i did some ocean tiles once upon a time, and i had luck using the alex clear over my sponge painted grid (patting it with a scrunched up grocery bag for wavy textures). might be a brand thing, as i didnt thin it.

[@orianeschubert4017]

I have a challenge for you. I have cheap (£5 for 6 tiles) small interlocking square eva foam play mats about 30x30 cm and always wanted to make a town /city mat for a fantasy town setting and wanted the tiles to be modular so that you can have different street layouts keeping the interlocking edges for stability. Would love to see what you can come up with as it would be a great help. I have been sitting on them for a while now! 😊

[@ontheedgeofshadow2790]

I'd like to see what other themes you have in mind.. even though I get the jist... perhaps the other ideas can inspire others to go do even more?