Windows and Shades - The Easy Way!

[Keep It Rusty]

I classify windows as part of my wall construction, so I figure to post this here!

It's no secret that doing windows can be more than a little repetitive — especially if you have a large building with many, many of them.

I always like to add curtains and shades to my windows to give depth and realism, but it can be a very time consuming part of any given build. I set out to re-balance the scales yesterday and the results are definitely worth sharing! So here we go...

First, I cut out strips of paper/card stock of the color shades I wanted. I then weathered them with pastel chalks.

For the curtains, I use the ultra thin, tissue-like paper you get in packs of acetate (window glass) that separate the sheets to keep them blemish free. I age this paper with light alcohol stain (Driftwood) and then cut it into strips that I concertina fold and roll between my fingers. This is the result:



Then, I scanned them all together on my flatbed scanner.

I use an Apple MacBook, so I also use "Pages" – Apple's included, Microsoft Word alternative. It's powerful and very intuitive, so I recommend it fully if you also own a Mac. In the following video, I demonstrate how I handle these scans once I import them. I have already imported the images and cropped them for convenience sake before the video starts:

https://youtu.be/KIK1MC8tsqg

Here are a bunch I printed at slight different scales for my larger and smaller windows:



And finally, here is the finished effect on my Swee'Peas build (which I will be posting in full soon):



A good idea, as I have done on the front of the building, is to add windows that have curtains blowing through an open window. This helps sell the illusion that all the windows are fully rendered!

I post lots of stuff at my blog here, if you want to check it out: www.keepitrusty.com

[Mark Dalrymple]

Really cool idea, Craig.

Cheers, Mark.

[ReadingBob]

Pretty slick idea.   

[Keep It Rusty]

Glad you think so. Three birds with one stone any day. Hope it helps!

[Larry.h]

Craig. Thanks for the how to on your great window treatment. I've done drapes and I've  done shades, but never both together. Makes a great looking window, especially the way you made the shades and then scanned them.

[Keep It Rusty]

Craig. Thanks for the how to on your great window treatment. I've done drapes and I've  done shades, but never both together. Makes a great looking window, especially the way you made the shades and then scanned them.

Me neither! In fact, that's what gave me the idea. Making them practically and then scanning them maintained the life-like quality from scratch-building. Have a single print that could 1) be a shade 2) be a curtain 3) be a window blackout made for a quick install process.

One thing else I did was use pastel chalks on the prints themselves. Sometimes to add more shade in the curtain folds or to dirty them up.

And that acetate backing is perfect for the job because you can fold it many times and it appear natural at a HO scale (but of course, scanning and printing means you can resize even a real curtain to HO!

[postalkarl]

Hey Rusty:

The windows and shades look great.

Karl

[Keep It Rusty]

Thanks Karl! I'm glad you like them

[GPdemayo]

Great job dressing up those windows Craig.....

[Keep It Rusty]

Thanks Greg! If you happen to use this method I'd love to see your results!

[fbernard65]

Craig,

Excellent tip for the curtains.

Frank

[NEMMRRC]

Groovy.


One thing I learned online from another modeler from the UK (ukkarl I believe) is to add some depth to the window treatments. Instead of gluing the window treatment right up against the glazing it helps to add distance to separate the "glass" from the "curtains". Just add a spacer when gluing the window treatments. This way you even get a shadow of the mullions cast onto the "curtains".


Thanks for sharing your video.


Jaime

[Keep It Rusty]

Craig,

Excellent tip for the curtains.

Frank

Thanks Frank! That's so cool.

[Keep It Rusty]

Groovy.


One thing I learned online from another modeler from the UK (ukkarl I believe) is to add some depth to the window treatments. Instead of gluing the window treatment right up against the glazing it helps to add distance to separate the "glass" from the "curtains". Just add a spacer when gluing the window treatments. This way you even get a shadow of the mullions cast onto the "curtains".


Thanks for sharing your video.


Jaime

Thanks for this Jaime. I have been curious about adding distance between the acetate and shades. This might be my next experiment!

[tom.boyd.125]

Craig,
Glad you understand using software that help your modeling skills.
The window treatments look great.
Tommy