How to Make Tundra Mountains for Biome Projects

Warm the clay in a sunny window to soften it before use. Meanwhile, prepare your work area by laying out the wax paper and gathering your supplies: paint, powder and photo.

Knead the clay once the it has warmed through. Use your photo to shape the mountain as much as you can on the wax paper. Accuracy is not required.

Bake the mountain in the oven to harden it after you form it. After it has been removed and cooled, begin painting with a neutral color, such as white or light gray. Let it dry for four to six hours. Using your photograph as a guide, paint the mountain's base colors. Add shadows and highlights where necessary. On the section without a photographic reference, apply the base colors where they seem to belong. Watch where the light from above naturally creates highlights and shadows.

Let the paint dry overnight to be safe. Take the mountain outside or to a well-ventilated area and spray the lacquer onto it. Let it dry for at least an hour. Once it has fully dried, cover anywhere that you don't want the powder to go with a cloth. Spray the lacquer on just the top. Roll up a sheet of paper or use a small funnel to place the powder on the mountain's peak while the lacquer is still drying.

Remove the cloth after the second lacquer application has dried, and you have blown off any loose powder. Add small stones covered in lichen -- or colored to seem that way -- along the base, as well as small bits of vegetation or other additives.