I NEED Better Backgrounds! - Experiment

[@Sheen..]

You could also try a brown background color, as a tree stump for example. Could look interesting.

[@tripleUnicorn]

I like this idea a lot. I also think having a more sand color based background for sandy substrate enclosures could look really nice. I did like mixing the highlight colors; having a little cream and a little mossy color is interesting visually. All in all a lovely video, and cool experiments.

[@hitech7772]

I was thinking a dark brown background. 👍🏻

[@kory5179]

Brown would go good with the green highlights on certain sections

[@moleculeman27]

Well played, Petko. You have invented anti-ASMR.

[@robinferdinandsen7122]

Was thinking the same... had to turn down the volume for the cutting and brushing 🤣

[@juan2three6]

Dude it was soo uncomfortable lolol

[@Mac-po1sr]

Gave me flash backs of the ASMR styrofoam cutting video he once did. More like PTSD than flashbacks actually.

[@5oclock_Charlie]

I wasn't sure what you were referring.. But I just hit that portion in the video.. Eeegh thats horrible, volume down!

[@MrTrigun1]

Really want to thank you man. All my life I've been scared of spiders. Then about 3 or 4 years ago I found your channel. I watched all your videos, branched out to other tarantula and invert based channels. Now I own four baby Ts myself, and I have a new found love and appreciation for all things creepy crawly. In honor of that I named my new Psalmopoeus irminia "Petko". Thank you!

[@RamoArt]

From an artists perspective I'd say the more variation in color the backgrounds have the better. But you seemed to have figured that out yourself when you added the green dry brushing in some areas. A very dark brown would probably look more natural than black because black is a cool color whereas the substrate you use is a very warm brown, so it doesn't really go together

[@RealMelodyBlue]

I'm an artist also, good idea you have!

[@dtoons1100]

Seconded, by fellow artist

[@hikariizuki1693]

I think if he put small stones at the bottom it could blend in too with the black, or add more green at the bottom like growing moss

[@krlllmn]

The 3rd one looks good. I guess you should use that for enclosures that will have sand substrate. The color goes well with sand. While the black backgrounds go well with dirt. Great video as always, Petko!

[@headrockbeats]

You can use a sandy color for the background too, especially for enclosures with a light substrate (e.g. sand). Desert rocks are often sand colored. Source: Living in a desert my whole life.

[@binkyboo4793]

I think black for the base, with dark grey and a bit of green on top would be ideal. To be fair, they all look pretty appealing.

[@janikauta2275]

"This is not sand for the texture. This is sand for the sand."

[@noraleestone2859]

LOL

[@Demyxu]

A dark red-brown would be good for the substrate to kinda go for the woodsy feel. For sand, I'd use a more sandy brown or something just a bit darker than a khaki brown that way it can kinda blend up from the sand. You can also have that fade up into a lighter color by brushing either another lighter brown or maybe even a grey/offwhite near the top. Near the bottom I'd add a hint of red-brown to add variety. At least from an artistic perspective that's what I would do to give it variety that still emulated the environments.

[@brutusinthesin5883]

With the light grey backgrounds you could try dry brushing black in the cracks.

[@DR-gt2vh]

Instead of painting brighter color on the BG with "dry brush", you can try applying thinned dark color to a bright background using a technique called "washing". Maybe you can use "glue-spray" to add some sand or substrate to the bottom of the BG for better blending in.

[@keldelp]

I like the variety of backgrounds and your creative process.

[@mmolesworth0]

I love how creative you are and appreciate the build videos! A painting tip, once you are done with the dry brushing, you can apply a “wash” (which is just watered down black or brown paint) that can help with shading in the recesses. Hope this helps!

[@tarantulamum4322]

maybe a cork bark background, or maybe try something that's got a hide built into the background

[@tkuhel12]

Looks great! You are so creative! By the way, I could listen to you talk all day. Love your accent!

[@TheDarkDen]

thx ^^

[@y.a100]

i actually usually like to get a big piece of styrofoam and make one massive background with details and stuff, than cut it to 2 / 3 equal pieces and use it for 2 or 3 different terrarium that i place near each other, the background kinda makes it seem like its connected, like continuation and i really like it, but glad to see you experimenting with this type of backgrounds i really like the end results. also highlights are usually used on darker bases to bring out details, using light color highlights on light color background as you seen wouldnt work properly for this application, i like also glueing pieces of carved styrofoarm to backgrounds i make to add detail before painting, you can make branches or roots using this technique and a lot more cool stuff, try using some brown colors that works well with light green highlights on some black/dark colored background imo

[@dj_spaulding]

Awesome enclosers Petko!!👍👍👍 But I think next time, we can do without the Styrofoam cutting montages, 😵 (it's like nails on a chalkboard) 😂

[@Smilomaniac]

Petko, bre, you have super interesting stones, cliffs and rocks in the world in Croatia, beautiful white stone and marble. Why not collect some for the enclosures? You can use them to break up the saturated brown bottom so it fits in nicer with that grey one with the green drybrushing.

[@dougiesmith4787]

Another fine display! Well done. I have had terracotta coloured backgrounds in the past. Might be an option? Keep up the good work.

[@JabbuGuy]

Yess new video! i just discovered your channel a few days ago and i am hooked. it's very inspiring and you have good knowledge and personality : >

[@Gargboss]

Drybrushing for applying visibly brighter colours than the base colour, washing for applying darker colours than the base colour. Washing is even simpler and kind of the reverse of drybrushing. You thin down the colour until it is watery and runny and slosh it all over. Thanks to the high water content the pigments will move into the recesses when the paint dries. Combine both for even better effects! You could start with a dark/middle grey as the foundation, apply 1-2 brighter drybrushing steps, then wash with very thin dark brown/black. If you're still willing to improve: a few green spots for algae/moss. That was a good idea, just needs some practice to develop an eye for the places where it looks natural.

[@morgan1985uk]

You should look into buying a hot wire foam cutter. It will really help you make more detail background.

[@AutumnalAussies]

I'd recommend checking out some of Serpa Designs terrarium builds, he goes over his background painting process in several videos and had some really nice realistic ones that are very aesthetically pleasing.

[@ttsgaming91]

2nd this @serpasquad

[@MerynMTG]

I like #4 the best because the grey accents are complimented well by the bright webs. So maybe if you use the black and grey again, you can add some light grey stones in the enclosure to match with the background.

[@awesomeanimalswithalishav5874]

The variety is nice. More colors added to the backgrounds and different techniques would make them look more natural. Try doing a black background, then a wash of watered down darkened grey, topped with a dry painting of the light grey and then splatter tiny specks of yellow. Rocks are usually more colorful than you realize. Try looking at a rock you want to match, like granite, and see what colors it is and how the colors change as crevices will be darker and areas more exposed will be lighter. Matching the background color to the sand is sometimes a nice touch as sand around rocks has often come from the rocks breaking down, so they'd be the same color. You can even coat the foam with the sand you're using to make it match better. Australian Outback oranges & browns are also nice and would work well for this type of project. Making the foam into rocks isn't the only thing you could do. Some of my tanks came with foam backgrounds carved & painted into a bamboo forest, a mangrove swamp, and a cork sheet. Look up Exo-Terra backgrounds to get some ideas. I've also made some backgrounds out of actual rocks affixed to the back with silicone. The tank I got for my T. albopilosus came with a cracked glass, so I coated it with black silicone & plastic patches, then added more silicone and a bunch of sticks. More sticks sticking out of the substrate in front made it looked like a forest for my Goldilocks. Since T. vagans are sometimes called Black Velvet Tarantulas, I got a sheet of sticky-backed velvet paper in royal blue for his background and added a skull & some fake roses. It worked surprisingly well, though maybe not for a T that needed more humidity or in an area prone to mold. He seemed to like the feel of it. You could put all sorts of things on the back to have a lot of variety.

[@Djeante]

How does this guy not have 1 million subs yet, like c'mon

[@TheDarkDen]

exotic lair stole all the subs :'D

[@Djeante]

Lol

[@placebosand]

@@TheDarkDen Actually I came from exotic lair. I like your style of the videos much more...

[@asylumental]

They way you are making the backgrounds reminds me of sculpting battlefields for table top games such as Warhammer

[@brookssaunders8733]

With the lighter backgrounds you could use a wash much like you would when painting on a plastic warhammer miniature. For the cream backgrounds you could use a watered down brown paint. The watered down paint will flow into cracks and dull down the base layer. Once the brown wash is dry then you can dry brush with the cream color to bring back some highlights.

[@asylumental]

I've also been trying to leave comments to tell him to lookup painting guides for warhammer

[@asylumental]

Watching the balfouri try to squeeze into the non-existent tunnel was pretty dang funny 😁

[@ianperry8557]

I’m super excited to see you sell your enclosures! I absolutely love their design and of course I would love to support you more :)

[@Roseyforyou]

I really like the black background with a mossy spot. The grey and no-basecolor backgrounds look great with sand. I wonder if you should collab with some artsy youtubers like for example Ace of Clay and/or Ben's Worx to help you nail the background or hiding spot. Imagine if someone made you a hyper realistic rock or a tree stump for your enclosure and you let them have their logo on it too. Ace of Clay basically is the master using clay and dry brushing techniques. Ben's Worx just made a hyper realistic diorama not too long ago, so I would go for him for ideas on backgrounds.

[@nicolaslorenzo746]

The gray one looks nice with the sand, but overall the black background enclosures are the best. Maybe for your next enclosures with sand the background could take on a color of like marble or granite, or something to make it look like Egyptian stones used in pyramids or ruins.

[@Shooshoobella7]

I think as a stand alone color, the black backgrounds look the best. But honestly, having them lined up next to each other, I really liked the contrast between the light and dark backgrounds. I thought it brought more visual interest. Thanks for all the good info!

[@jasongonzales5563]

I work at a saw mill. I have all kinds of awesome bark and tree knots at my finger tips free of charge. I get them dried drill the knots and what not out for hides then secure them in my enclosures. Every one looks different and all look great. Its addicting to do it. But everybody at work knows to out cool bark chunks in a pile for me to sift thru

[@Heatwave5043]

I have to say the third one with the sand looks rather good for it's environment, but if I have to choose I'll say number 4 keeps getting my attention. Nonetheless they all look very good as usual.

[@judygwen4281]

Your backgrounds turned out BEAUTIFUL!!

[@catherinedavis1690]

Depends on the color of the tarantula, if the T is black a lighter background would show it off more perhaps and vise-versus. There is a bunch of grey rock all around where I live so I like the grey too.

[@filipkral8678]

22:34 i have Scolopendra dalmatica in past, and now i have 4 Scolopendra cingulata and they make lots of borrows. Have some big Scolopendra dehaani and hainanum (3 dehaani and 1 hainanum) and hainanum and one dehaani make some borrows. I have Ethmostigmus trigonopodus and Alipes sp, and they dont do any borrow.

[@TheDarkDen]

interesting

[@maryobcidian1773]

Black ones with grey/beuge details are top for spiders with soil, but grey one with sand are amazing too 😍

[@jordanwheeler2552]

ok did anyone else think to themselves "for the texture" when he put substrate on the sand hahaha cuz i did! also that its kinda funny how hes putting substrate on sand when normally its sand on the substrate.

[@blackbetty2946]

Black looks great! Even gray with more desert species. Just have fun experimenting! Thanks so much for sharing

[@crazycanuckmick]

The big walls of enclosures and black backgrounds look amazing. They're artistic. Great job, Petko! 😎👍

[@noraleestone2859]

This is not going to be a popular answer about the backgrounds, Petko, but I like them all. That's because they represent the same variety that's found in Nature. Obviously, some colours will look better with certain substrates. As some others have commented, you can also try using browns, oranges and reds to mimic desert colours. Really, it's whichever background you like the best. If you're happy, we're all happy. :D See you next time.

[@Lightman0359]

Try yellow with a sporadic green drybrush next time in your next sand enclosure. It should give an oasis or jungle beach type vibe. Dark green will show better. If you want an "evil" or volcanic vibe [like for devil or a light colored animal to spot it better], you could do the expanding foam thing again, only carving out the higher surfaces. base the whole thing red, apply a heavy black drybrush [making it almost black] and a very light grey drybrush on the raised flat surfaces. Follow this up with an orange and maybe yellow drybrush in the rounded "Valleys". This should give the appearance of cooling and cracking magma or burning coals.

[@jjones1912]

I'm curious if it's possible to use something like acetone, to melt interesting backgrounds. A quick swipe with a brush with a small amount might melt cool shapes. Would make a very quick job of it if it works.

[@Gargboss]

Yes, that works very well with this material. Just needs to be applied carefully, since Styrofoams melts very quickly under the influence of acetone. Switching to Styrodur (Styrofoam with higher density) likely is a good idea when trying this out.

[@beltzrobert]

A tip from a miniatures painter, get a big fluffy make up brush for your dry brushing step. It makes the highlights look more natural

[@sherimoen617]

I like the whole sand one. I also like #5 background. Color matches depending on what you put on yhe bottom. Great work.

[@netoj1200]

I think a darker green with a black background would be just beautiful ❤️ Or maybe with a brown blackgroud culd be interesting🤔

[@melaniezagata4402]

That background looks fantastic Petko!

[@fallenmind153]

I don't like the gray ones by themselves but when you pair them with a black one so I think it actually looks better because there's variety

[@MissEwe]

The Dark Den looks AMAZING Petko! As always amazing content 👌

[@carolinecarty1829]

They all look so good. You are a real artist

[@MissEwe]

There are a lot of red rocks where I live - I think a darker reddish brown with the cream tan color would be great for enclosures with sand as substrate

[@Anthlocke]

my suggestion: add some black to the grey to make it a bit darker and use it as the base coat. Then drybrush black on the lowlights and the grey or cream for the highlights, then the green for a few mossy patches

[@bjornvandooren6115]

I like the very first one. Black with yellow. Looks so nice. But maybe brown base with green highlights could be a nice combination. I will definitely try this technique to.

[@mathewm1418]

Napokon neki Hrvatski Pet KZbinr, super videi samo tako

[@MiGWar82]

I like all them especially when they're mixed up to give a pop of color

[@marcelduchna2109]

if you glue 3 or 4 pieces together you can carve more details or you could carve caves instead of pressing a hole in the substrate :)

[@KAXGaming]

Seeing a Tarantula crawl upside down understuff is so surreal. I forget Tarantula's are "Spiders". We rarely see them in these situations because their mass compared to short height drops often kill them outright.

[@valqri6551]

The predaceous ground beetle (the Anthia thoracica) is quite common where I'm from, South Africa, in the Karoo, so maybe adjusting enclosures to karoo conditions could be useful. I hope you get another one :)

[@poisonedtea7518]

the black one really looks good! if yoou want to get aa better moss effect try making a spot with a darker green first and then drybrush with the lighter one over it and (i thinnk someone said it already but still) you could also try a brown backround thats looking llike wood or something...i think it would look nice and i thinks it would be not that difficoult to make, you can just use a bit more of that plaster so it will add more texture! (also, i really love your videos. you made me lose my little phobia of spiders and now i can even handle them wiitout a problem

[@ethandooley9945]

A tree trunk effect could look cool like they have there tunnel at the base of a tree, also would modelling grass work as moss stuck on the background, could add some texture/colour.

[@pinkluver7715]

In my personal opinion; 3 & 4 were best of the selections. The brighter background worked well with the sand and black with cream works for soil.

[@benjaminmcmichael8248]

a tip with your brushes that i run into when i paint miniatures granted that's on a much smaller scale and not really for the same purpose but still it is that the acryllic paint messes them up over time so you may try to find an alternative but it looks great though and i would say for the best results for dry brushing use black as the base colour it works best in that regard

[@benives254]

You could try a wash (heavily watered paint) as well as dry brushing

[@Frogger]

I think black an creamy looked the best. For the Grey backgrounds, try dry brushing them with black maybe?

[@TheDarkDen]

I tried it in Bonitas enclosure and I didn't really like it!

[@Frogger]

@@TheDarkDenOh yeah, you did... Already forgot about that one 😅 I guess over time you'll find a colour combination that really works for you, just keep experimenting!

[@rogthegoodboy3520]

Honestly, I think all of them are good but it depends on the animal inside as well as the substrate and anything else you use. For example the light colored background does indeed match good with the sand.

[@ThePathOfAshes]

maybe have a look into paint washes, you could dilute some black with water and use it over the lighter backgrounds to add more definition to it

[@Raziel1984]

what you could axtually do with those lighter base color backrounds is a dark wash. there you thin up paint to make it real watery and aply it. and with y towel or something you remove a part of the watery paint so it just stays in the nooks and crevasses

[@carolinecarty1829]

The forth back ground looks really good. I am going to try to make those for my six Ts.

[@MrsKatieQ]

They all look great. Good to have some variety ☺️

[@cherbearian]

It's the fourth for me. I'm doing a big foam background for my Kunashir Island Rat Snake (E. climacophora) and am using a brown "mocha" color

[@Mellie_H]

I like the black one best, but I think a cream, or brown base would be cool. Thanks Petko!

[@bonniemullennax6181]

They all look great I love the white against the sand!

[@DoktorHeliX]

Not sure if you ever tried it (never tried it myself, but heard much about it), but you could use a heat gun to diffuse the sharp edges of the backgrounds. Maybe it looks a bit more natural, if you "diffuse" the edges.

[@sameguy6854]

Dude it looks amazing with all those enclosures greetings from Denmark

[@galakstiv]

Number 4 looks better. For sandy enclosure, I would suggest to try to imitate rocky desert with brown or dark red under coat, and dark yellow over coat / dry brushing.

[@Kamimankunekaze]

Hi ! love your work :) the backgrounds I prefer are the ones with the dark base and a bit of green for the moss. For your sandy environments, if you don't mind buying tones of different paints, you could try to mimic sandstone. With a reddish/dark cream base, and lighther hilight.. could give a canyon look to the enclosure, or remind the colors of the pyramids stones for you egyptian beetles :). you also could try to add the washing method if you start with a not so dark base. which is the opposit of the dry brushing. (you add a lot of water to the darker paint, apply it, and remove the excess with a tissue. the goal is to mark the inside of the cracks in the surface. I saw this by watching video of people creating miniature environments or painting warhammers :') anyway, thank you for your videos they are awesome !

[@karynsztabaluk1479]

Great tutorial, absolutely love your collection. You and exotics lair got me into keeping. I sub to soooo many keeper's channels tho. Tarantula Kat called you "Dork Den" in last week's vid and i thought it was so funny. You guys are awesome

[@snakefabel]

i have never been close to death than when you started marking and cutting the styrofoam. i actually had to take my headphones off, lol. great video, though.

[@stevenmaxwell8001]

try black base and three shade of grey and over the top with dry brush cause you could make darker and lighter greys with cream and black

[@Alejandro-zv1zq]

All of them came out really nice !!

[@Dogtroll]

Actually, this was an experiment but really when you think about it once you start using this method more practically it's really more about the fact that it gives you more options for decorating your enclosures based on what type of animals you're putting in the environment and what substrate you're using. So you can't really say that any of them look bad in the truest sense.

[@616Entertainment]

I feel like it's been a while since we've had a scorpion centric episode. Can we get some scorpions soon please?!

[@Chris_Toop_Tarantulas]

I use adhesive aquarium background, they have rain forest, woodlands, Mexican with cactuses and more, just cut to size, I’m so happy with the look plus they go on outside 👍

[@elbundy]

cool to see how effort turns into quality :D

[@robinferdinandsen7122]

I actually like 1 when the plant is as light green as it is. But 2 and 4 for sure. Also how about using ivy? There are so many different leaf shapes and even bicolour options and they vine and are hardy 😊

[@zackparkinson696]

amazing vid like always i really like the black background more

[@toff_ant2198]

Please do a video on how to make your enclosures they are awesome especially the swing open doors

[@ibrahim-sj2cr]

14:00 dont write off the background with no base color with the green/grey bits on.. i think it would look good with a sand substrate

[@FuriuZGaming]

Hey petko, i used to camo paint airsoft replica’s, where i used a technique wich was using different real plant leafs out of your garden & laying them on your background & then painting over it with spray paint. It looked super natural & for camo purposes it worked amazing. Might be an idea for backgrounds 🤟 Also, try dipping a sponge in moss green and dip it in the “cracks” of your background.

[@Doppleganger1983]

try building up some layers on your paint work. i.e black base followed by a heavy drybrush of dark grey with a light drybrush of light grey on the highest points so recesses stay dark. you could also try that with browns. look up some videos for drybrushing bases (for modelling) it's the same principal except you will be doing it on a larger area. what you've done so far looks pretty good. next time you do a background for sand base it in dark grey, add light grey drybrushed on top with a light drydrushing of white on the highest details, it'll look great. practice is the key, you can try it with all the polystyrene you cut away.

[@morgan1985uk]

If you flick invisible uv paint on a background for a scorpion you could ad a uv light and do a feeding and watch the scorpion and the enclosure fluoresce.

[@lindagrant801]

Love the variety!

[@jb222111]

I think the black backgrounds look very realistic! Fun watching you make them, seems you know how to do a lot of stuff! 🙂

[@skywyn7360]

I would try a brown background with green highlights and for sandy substrate i would try something between a sandstone and terracotta color.

[@Mac-po1sr]

Black looks best but I like the variety and the light color looks very good with sand.

[@tatsurey640]

question. Where do u buy ur taratulas/pets?

[@kowal6969]

Black backgroumd with grey highlights looks the best

[@crypticsavant420]

U could always try shading your backgrounds with a hue of a color of the species your keeping