Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things you will need:
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Cardboard Boxes Or Other Container
Dollhouse Dolls
Miniature Animals
Miniature Trees
Shoeboxes
Hobby Paintbrushes
Miniatures Animals, Foodstuffs, Vegetation and/or Building Elements
Toy Dinosaurs
Modeling Clays
Poster Paints
Glues Or Putty
Acrylic Paints Or Paper For Backdrop
Step 1
Decide on a scale. This is key, because a diorama becomes believable to the extent
that it looks "real." If you've got a focus (a Barbie doll, a particular plastic dinosaur),
use that scale. If not, try 1 foot to 1 inch--that's standard for classic miniatures and
doll houses.
Step 2
Collect your materials--human and/or animal figures, palm trees or sugar cubes to
build an igloo, or doll house furniture and miniature foods for an interior scene.
Step 3
Decide on a background--you can paint or draw your own or use wallpaper or
wrapping paper or anything else you can find. Remember, though, that the
background images should be consistent with the scale you've chosen.
Step 4
Choose a container. Many children's school projects use cardboard boxes or shoe
boxes, but you can use just about anything. It should be light but fairly sturdy,
especially if you will need to move the diorama around.
Step 5
Build your diorama working from the back to the front. Start with the background by
creating a horizon and sky/ceiling and ground/floor. Then place large objects such
as trees. The smallest objects should be placed the closest to the front. Use glue or
putty to secure the objects.
Tips & Warnings
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If cutouts are too thin to stand by themselves, back them with cardboard.
HOW TO MAKE A DIORAMA TO DISPLAY YOUR MODELS
Once you have decided on the scene you wish to model the next step is planning the
layout, firstly on a piece of chipboard or similar layout the major components to
determine the size of the base. The size of the base is important in the final
appeal of the diorama, too small a base will have everything crowded and cluttered
together while too large will have the pieces disappearing in the wide open spaces.
Other simple rules when planning the layout are to always position the buildings and
vehicles (or aircraft, ships etc.) at an angle to the base sides, otherwise the scene
will look to rigid and sterile. Position the larger items to the rear leaving the
foreground relatively clear making it easier to view the whole scene, also this will
ensure the scene is viewed from the angle to best advantage. If you want to
highlight a particular part of the diorama this can be done by having all the figures
looking in one direction thereby directing the viewers attention to that same point.
The final point to remember is "balance", if the larger items are all to one side
with only a few figures on the other the scene will look out of balance, referring to
the completed diorama, the ruined building and armored car have been positioned
at opposite corners with the smaller items, figures and accessories placed
diagonally to balance and "fill" the scene, if there is an empty space remaining this
can be filled with an extra figure or small accessory or by added some extra
groundcover (the grass in the right front corner). Also don't be afraid to change
things around after the initial planning by adding figures rearranging the scene or
changing the items used, Verlinden's V-100 Armored Car arrived after I had
started the diorama and was substituted for the M-109 as I felt this better fitted
the scene.
The next step is to gather together all the small extras you will use, when it comes
time to place all these onto the diorama you may not need all of these or you may
require a few more to fill small spaces, again be flexible. And finally all the
materials that will be needed are placed close to hand, Polyfilla for the groundwork
with powder color which is mixed in with the polyfilla to give color depth to the
groundwork. The Aquadhere (or any other woodworking glue) is used for the
diluted white glue mix for sticking the smaller items to the base. The various packs
of ground cover scatter will be described in more detail later.
Once the planning of your diorama is complete it is now time to start work. The
thing to remember is that a diorama is basically a large kit in that it is made up of
various sub assemblies which are bought together in the final construction.
The small items of equipment and personal gear must be finished with the same
care and attention to detail as the buildings, vehicles etc., or the diorama will look
like a model surrounded by lots of afterthoughts. The many accessories have been
individually painted and weathered using the same methods of washes and dry
brushing as the main components, the stenciling on the boxes and crates are from
various 'Verlinden' dry transfer sheets. As you can imagine this is fairly time
consuming but the end result is worth the effort and will enhance your finished
diorama.
http://www.stormthecastle.com/diorama/make-a-really-creative-shoebox-diorama.htm