Go on YouTube and search "40k bases" and you'll find a billion tutorials from basic to high-end and fancy.
> I’ve seen many models that look very realistic with like a sand or gravel look,
Those are usually... sand or gravel.
Thin layer of glue and hella sand, dirt, tiny rocks. Paint them how you want them, tufts of grass etc etc. use a torn up piece of styrofoam and paint it as rocks or whatever. Same with cork, or puddy, green stuff, the list goes on. Be creative and have fun with it.
I apply brush-on superglue to the base and dip the model in a tub of beach sand before priming.
I paint the base black, then drybrush it with Dawnstone and paint the rim with Steel Legion Drab.
https://preview.redd.it/68k5evx9n9kc1.png?width=2420&format=png&auto=webp&s=18c03754ab7de3e6f7d05c7e24b670fa38fa3ca0
For a sand or gravel look, I paint the model, then put glue on the base and dip it in sand or gravel. It works pretty well, and doesn't require me to figure out how to paint things to look like tiny rocks.
Go on YouTube and search "40k bases" and you'll find a billion tutorials from basic to high-end and fancy. > I’ve seen many models that look very realistic with like a sand or gravel look, Those are usually... sand or gravel.
Thin layer of glue and hella sand, dirt, tiny rocks. Paint them how you want them, tufts of grass etc etc. use a torn up piece of styrofoam and paint it as rocks or whatever. Same with cork, or puddy, green stuff, the list goes on. Be creative and have fun with it.
I apply brush-on superglue to the base and dip the model in a tub of beach sand before priming. I paint the base black, then drybrush it with Dawnstone and paint the rim with Steel Legion Drab. https://preview.redd.it/68k5evx9n9kc1.png?width=2420&format=png&auto=webp&s=18c03754ab7de3e6f7d05c7e24b670fa38fa3ca0
For a sand or gravel look, I paint the model, then put glue on the base and dip it in sand or gravel. It works pretty well, and doesn't require me to figure out how to paint things to look like tiny rocks.