Asylum Floor Tiles 2

Published 8 April 2026

This is the second post documenting how I made the different tiles for my asylum terrain. The technique is similar to the first batch, but more refined since I'm now working on the larger rooms rather than the small corridors.

Orange painted tiles looking like cake just pulled from oven

I love this intro shot: looks like I just pulled a cake out of the oven!

Room dimensions cut from cardboard templates

Here I cut the room dimensions out of cardboard first.

Cardboard templates glued onto foam boards for precise cutting

Then I glue the cardboard templates onto foam boards. This way I just need to cut around the cardboard and the foam is already perfectly attached. No need to measure twice.

Cut foam tiles test fitted together to verify dimensions

Test fitting everything together to see what I get.

Lines traced for individual tiles and embossed with tilted cutter

I started tracing lines for the individual tiles, then tilted my cutter slightly to emboss between each tile.

Aluminum foil ball rolled over surface creating stone texture

Rolling an aluminum foil ball over the surface to create a stone texture.

Complicated tile patterns that took long but don't show well

For these tiles I wanted something different, so I tried making complicated patterns. Spent a lot of time on this for not much payoff since it doesn't show well in the end.

Interlocking brick pattern with offset and complex crossing lines

Continuing the pattern. I like the idea of interlocking bricks with this offset, might reuse that elsewhere, but the crossing lines are too complex and don't add much.

Chapel tiles test fitted to ensure proper dimensions for safe zone

The chapel is their safe zone where they can sleep properly and meet all the NPCs. Making sure everything fits correctly.

Floor tiles carved with not perfectly straight lines to be corrected

Started making the floor tiles. My lines weren't always straight but I tried to correct that later.

Two small side sections kept separate for modular 6x6 center tile reuse

These are the two small sections for the sides. I decided not to glue them directly to the main structure so I can reuse the middle 6x6 tile in other encounters.

Aluminum foil ball texture rolled across all tiles

Rolled the aluminum foil ball all over.

Tiles painted black with reference photo of paint tubes for color plan

Painted black. Now I can start adding colors. I took photos of the paint tubes I wanted to use so I'd remember my plan if I had to stop mid-session.

Paint tubes selected for blue tones in second room

For the other room I wanted to go with blue tones.

Bright orange overbrush looking weird but trusting the painting process

First overbrush layer with bright orange. This is where you really need to trust the process because it looks too weird.

Additional drybrush layer making tiles look much better

After an additional drybrush on top, it's starting to look like something. I'm happy with this.

Blue room started with very bright turquoise base coat

Same principle but on the blue room. Started with very bright turquoise.

Yellow drybrush creating multiple relief levels on blue tiles

Another lighter drybrush to create multiple levels of relief, this time with yellow directly.

Each room with distinct color scheme looking good at this stage

Where I'm at now. Each room really has its own color and I'm quite happy with the result at this stage.

Tiles with slightly different tints using cream drybrush and diluted oils

I don't remember exactly how I did this, but I managed to give slightly different tints to each tile. Possibly did a huge cream-colored drybrush over everything to soften the colors, then maybe added slightly diluted oils on certain tiles to give them different colors.

Final drybrush layer reunifying all tiles with consistent tone

I think I did another drybrush on top to reunify everything.

Overly busy room with complicated pattern and ugly damage that failed

My other room - you can really see I overdid it. It's way too busy. The pattern is complicated, the crossing lines are complicated, and the way I tried to damage the tiles by removing chunks looks ugly. This didn't work at all.

Orange cake-like tiles perfect for pharaoh or tomb themes

Still my favorite "cake" shot. It really makes you want to eat it. Very happy with how this turned out. I think I could reuse this for pharaoh or Sahara themes. I can see this in a tomb.

Miniature on tile showing scale and proper fit

Giving an idea of scale. Checking that the miniature fits properly.

Finished orange tiles with better lighting showing great result

Another angle with better lighting. Yes, I'm happy with how this turned out. Looks really good.

Large floorboard-style tiles being started

Starting on the large tiles that are more like floorboards.

Three versions showing dark brown overbrush and progressive light brown drybrushing

Showing the different versions. Far left, I just did an overbrush of dark brown. Middle, I added a light brown drybrush on top. Far right, another even lighter brown drybrush.

Acrylic inks added to select boards for varied tints without uniformity

Added different acrylic inks to color and give slightly different tints to each board. On each square, I selected one or two boards max to give a slightly different color so it's not too uniform.

Oil wash applied unifying floorboards with weathered look

After applying an oil wash on top to unify everything and give a slightly weathered look.

Red room tiles with strong red base coat

Moving to another room, the red side with quite strong red.

Tiles painted with purple tones for variation

For these pieces I wanted to go a bit purple.

Pink drybrush added using vivid colors to be toned by wash

Adding an additional pink drybrush. I'm starting to use really vivid colors because I know they'll be toned down by the wash later.

Purple and blue inks used to vary tile colors slightly

Same thing - I reused different inks, purple and blue, to slightly change the color of some tiles compared to others.

Brown wash applied to darken tiles slightly

Applying a wash on top, a bit brown to darken it slightly.

Orange drybrush over initially very red tiles

Orange drybrush on my tile that was initially very red.

Acrylic inks modifying stone tints to reduce uniformity

Again using acrylic inks to slightly modify the tint of some stones on the tiles to make it less uniform.

Finished red tiles after oil wash application

After the oil wash has been applied on top.

Failed tile with overly complicated pattern still disliked

Still the one I like least.

Failed salvage attempt with drybrush masking everything like swimming pool bottom

Trying to salvage this with a drybrush, but it masks everything and you can't really tell what it is. Don't think I'll be able to save these tiles. They look like the bottom of a swimming pool. Definitely not what I was aiming for.

The takeaway from all this: keep it simple. Most tiles turned out well, but the lesson is don't make patterns too complicated. Bold color choices can be enough on their own.

I'm glad I documented the different steps because it's really full of very simple small steps, lots of layers that we add but which ultimately allow for a very good result.

Really don't hesitate to properly sculpt the foam and add the stone effects with the aluminum ball. What I generally do is I start by tracing with a pencil where the cuts should be. Then with a cutter I go over it and with the tip of my mechanical pencil I widen the borders. I go in one direction then in the other.

Then I roll the aluminum ball to give texture but it tends to bring the pieces of foam closer together, the ones that I had previously separated. So I go over again with the mechanical pencil. I tried skipping the step before, or after, but really best results are obtained when you do the aluminium ball before and after widening the gaps.

Once this texture is done we put the layer of black paint and glue and then we do an overbrush with the main color. Then we do a dry brush with the secondary color. Then we're going to give a slightly different tint to certain elements with colors that are close to the main color. So if we do something in red we're going to tint certain areas a little bit in orange or a little bit in yellow, a little bit in brown, things that are similar.

Then we're going to do a wash with oil paint over it with the color that will unify all that. And then only then we're going to do a dry brush again with the same color as initially. And all that allows to bind everything while making a little bit of difference.

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