Terrain Mat Under $25

I set up some terrain on the mat to see how everything looks together. Overall, I’m very pleased with how this mat turned out. It only cost me $25 dollars in materials, not counting the airbrush paints I already had. It also only took me about 2 hours to make, not including drying time. I can’t wait to play some Frostgrave and Songs on Blades and Heroes on it.

After the paint had fully dried, the mat was looking a little flat. Using an airbrush, I outlined the green areas with Vallejo Tank Green to better define them. I then highlighted the green areas with Vallejo Green Zinc Chrom. and Cam. Light Green. Finally, I used Vallejo Ochre to spray some patches on the green areas to represent dry grass. I also used the ochre to lightly highlight some of the brown pathways. This definitely added a little more dimension to the mat.

Starting off, I sprayed the pad with Rust-oleum Nutmeg in Satin finish. The felt really absorbs the paint so several coats were necessary to get an even finish. I then sprayed random patches of the pad with Krylon Brown Boots in Satin finish. I continued switching between the Nutmeg and Brown Boots until I was satisfied with the mottled brown surface.

I then sprayed patches of Krylon Italian Olive in Satin finish. I made sure to leave areas of the mottled brown showing. This gives areas that could potentially be used as roads and paths for different games and is more visually appealing. The 3 cans of spray paint costed around $12. So in total, I’ve spent $25 dollars on this project.

To make my mat, I’m using a 3’x3′ nonslip rug pad. These are meant to be placed under a rug to prevent slipping and to give a rug some extra cushion. The pad is made out of 1/8″ thick felt with a rubberized backing to it. The rubberized backing is great because this will prevent the mat from slipping around when placed on the table. What also is great about this pad is that it can fold up into about a 1 foot square about 2 inches thick, so nice and compact. I found this mat on Amazon for $13.