The Joy of Crafting

The peace and tranquillity of making things out of foam

Back in March, I talked about how playing role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons is fun with friends and good for your mental health.

When you sit around the table many of your everyday worries disappear while you focus on the adventure ahead.

All you need to play are someone who knows the rules, a few friends and some pencils, paper and dice. You can then have the Dungeon Master describe the world, the players talk about what their characters do and the story goes from there.

Any battles can just take place in the theatre of the mind. However, many people (including myself) like to use miniatures, battle maps and terrain to make those moments more immersive. They can also help keep a clearer picture of where everyone is located, especially if many people and creatures are involved.

To begin with, I drew or printed off maps, but as time went on I wanted something more. Lots of the terrain and buildings were quite expensive so I had a look on YouTube and discovered Jeremy and his YouTube channel Black Magic Craft.

He explained that you can make some decent dungeon tiles with some xps foam (the stuff often used for insulation), a craft knife, pencil, and some foil.

Scrunching up the foil and rolling it over the foil gives it a good stone texture. Then, with some black paint mixed in modpodge you can cover the foam and then paint it. With a wire brush or a pencil you can even make a wood like texture.

They did not take long to make and with some imagination and watching many more YouTube videos and channels I was off to the races.

I created a town map, a spiral staircase, a stone slab with eldritch symbols for Call of Cthulhu games, and more.

As my skills improved I used cardboard, plastic bottles and other bits and pieces found around the house to modify an MDF airship model, and make large ships, ancient ruins and a large roof. Using tea lights and the material you use to stuff in cuddly toys I made some big fiery smoke clouds to use in a burning town.

Over time my brother and I also purchased a few pieces of 3D printed terrain and things. These could all be combined to make battle maps that would make everyone look forward to the next reveal.

It opened up a whole new way of looking at things.

I wanted a statue of Cthulhu but they were all too expensive. Then I found a yellow Cthulhu money box that was as cheap as chips. I bought it, and with some paint, I ended up with something that was nice and creepy to put on the table.

More recently I decided to make a Blood Bowl pitch for the game store, Bulwark Games, just down the road. I wanted a challenge and also a way to say thanks to them for all the hard work they put in.

I was very pleased with the results and was so happy to see people playing matches on it.

All of these creations have added to the various games. More excitement, more tactical actions around the battlefield and more laughter as plans go awry.

However, one of the greatest things about crafting was just how therapeutic it has been.

While I sit planning, crafting and painting I find the everyday worries disappear for a little while. At times it feels very meditative. It is just you and the materials at hand. You stay in that moment as things come together. Before you know it you have something that you have made.

Any mistakes that crop up never seem to matter. You know they can either be fixed or an alternative can be found. They don’t have to be perfect.

The act of creation is a powerful thing.

Whether it is a drawing, a painting, making a model, building some shelves, or creating dungeon tiles it is worth having a go.