We all know, or are recently informed that, branded weathering powder can be quite expensive and if you don’t have access to a modelling shop in your area it can also be quite the hassle to acquire said items. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here is my take on a budget version of your very own weathering powder!



Since pastells are more or less pigments on a stick, it’s what we are going to use to make our powder, they also tend to be a lot cheaper by the bunch. Now! What you will need is the following:

Soft pastels of any quality, most arts &/or craft stores have them.

Mortar & pestle, or coffee grinder(an older or not the one you grind your daily coffee with)

folded paper

leftover empty paint bottles (as seen above)

With your shopping list done you’ll want to start of with choosing a color from the pastells and placing it into your mortar/coffee grinder, then grind them to bits with the pestle (or press a button).

It may help you if you are using the mortar to break the sticks into smaller pieces and working your way through. Another tip is to take the lighter colors first, such as white for ash or dust to prevent them from getting contaminated with darker pigments. Don’t forget to clean out you mortar & pestle before switching colors, unless you want an interesting mix of pigments later.

When you have completed your grinding, it should in general look a bit like the following. Now get your folded piece of everyday paper and empty bottles, it’s time to fill up!

The paper is used to ease your filling of containers so pour the powder onto the paper then carefully fill your pots with it, and you are mostly done!

You can also mix some pigments to create a different tone to your powder, for example: More variations of rust or dirt.

Once you’ve had your fill you can apply it directly to any model of your choosing with an old brush or cotton bud, as seen with my Red Knight”. Or you can mix some up with water to create a muddy paste that is later applied onto a desired area, left to dry and then carefully removed with a damped cotton bud, leaving some in the recess, as seen with my steampunk Mobile Golem.

For those that want a metallic powder, I would direct towards grinding down a lead pencil or some graphite otherwise are those all my tips for making your own weathering powder and I hope you’ve liked what you’ve read. Thank you for reading 🙂