WELCOME TO MY CLINIC Diorama Co

BELOW IS JOHN'S POWER POINT PRESENTATION
FROM THE
'CUSTOM STRUCTURE SHOW'
Boston, Massachusetts
November, 2010

Note: This is a first draft of the clinic and minor changes may be made

Back to 'OUTBACK MODEL COMPANY"

.

WELCOME
TO MY CLINIC
Diorama Considerations and Construction Techniques Part 1

THE ART OF DIORAMA

BY JOHN HUNTER

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY JOHN HUNTER UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

A SHORT BREAKDOWN

§A BRIEF PROFILE

§INSPIRATION

§TOOLS AND MATERIALS

§COMPOSITION AND METHODS

§THE PLACEMENT OF DETAIL

§TELLING A STORY

A BRIEF PROFILE

§HOME TOWN: STAWELL, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

§HOBBIES: MODEL RAILROADING

§BUILDING DIORAMAS

§SCALE: O MODELS ON30 LOGGING/MINING /CIVIL RAILROADS

§PLAYING DRUMS

§OCUPATION: PLUMBING/ WELDING AND INDUSTRIAL SALESC

§CO OWNER OF "OUTBACK MODEL COMPANY"

§MEMBER NMRA DIVISION 3

§FAVORITE MODELLER: BRIAN NOLAN, FLORIDA, WHO WILL BE SADLY MISSED

§MARRIED 26 YEARS TO LINDA THE LOVE OF MY LIFE WHO HAS BLESSED ME WITH 2 BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN ADELE AND KAREN

MY HOME TOWN OF STAWELL
A MINING DISTRICT SURROUNDED BY BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES
OF MOUNTAINS AND LAKES

THE DEFINITION
WHAT IS A DIORAMA
A miniature scene, wholly or partially three-dimension, depicting figures, structures and scenery in a naturalistic setting

TYPES OF DIORAMA

§Dioramas for fun

This is a very common type of diorama and there are many hobbyists that make this type. The pursuit of a hobbyist in this realm is often not so much the pursuit of diorama making but the pursuit of the subject matter. Hobbyist diorama makers often stick to a specific theme in their diorama’s such as World War II, fantasy battles, model railroads or other themes.

TYPES OF DIORAMAS

In a nutshell, a diorama can be defined as a scene that captures a moment in time. We often think of dioramas as being small in scale but they don't necessarily have to be small scale. Sometimes dioramas are life size as in many museum dioramas.

This definition of a diorama is pretty broad and covers a lot of ground but that is the nature of a diorama. It can be almost anything as long as it captures a moment in time and displays some type of scene with multiple objects. This display of multiple objects and how they interact is the second most important aspect of a diorama because it shows us a scene.

TO BEGIN, WHAT DO WE NEED

"INSPIRATION"

What is inspiration? Where does it come from? There are no easy answers to these questions, no formulas to follow or guidelines, inspiration comes from many places.

INSPIRATION

COUNTRY DRIVES

MUSEUMS
A GREAT SOURCE FOR INSPIRATION

FROM OTHERS
LOOK, LEARN AND ASK

THE INTERNET

THE INTERNET IS A GREAT

PLACE TO FIND INSPIRATION

THERE IS NOT MUCH YOU

CAN'T FIND ON THE WEB,

THROUGH FORUMS,

MODELLING SITES, AND GENERAL SEARCHING

TOOLS AND COMPOSITION

USING THE SIMPLEST OF TOOLS

GETTING THOSE SPECIAL EFFECTS USING BASIC PRODUCTS

GETTING STARTED ,THE MAIN INGREDIENCE
COFFEE, BEER, BURBON & COKE
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SIMPLE TOOLS

SIMPLE TOOLS AND GLUES

PAINTS and CHALKS

CHARCOLS and PENCILS

CHALKS
and PASTEL PENCILS

TEXACOLORS AND MARKERS

TILE GROUT

THE METHOD

§THE RULE OF THIRDS

§CHOOSING A SUITABLE BASE

§LOOKING AT THE LAND FALL

§HOW BIG IS YOUR SCENE

§PLACEMENT OF DETAIL

THE RULE OF THIRDS

Dividing the base into thirds. The most important elements are placed where these lines intersect
(see diagram )

CHOOSING A BASE

THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF MATERIAL THAT CAN

BE USED AS A SUITABLE BASE

§MDF (medium density fibreboard)

§PLY WOOD

§CHIP BOARD

§A GREAT DIORAMA BASE IS A PICTURE FRAME. IT GIVES YOU THE BASE AND THE BORDER IN ONE

*PRE CUT CHOPPING BOARDS

*POLYSTYRENE

*CANITE FIBRE BOARD

THE BASE
WHERE DO WE START

§USING A PIECE OF MDF AS A BASE I FIRST PAINT A LIBERAL COAT OF PVA GLUE OVER THE SURFACE

§I THEN MASK THE AREA WHERE THE STRUCTURE WILL BE PLACED

§THEN WITH A FINELY SPRINKLE THE GROUT OVER THE SURFACE

§THEN SPRAY A SOLUTION OF WATER AND DISHWASHING DETERGENT OVER THE INTIRE SURFACE

§THIS METHOD IS SIMPLE YET EFFECTIVE

§THE GROUTS CAN BE BLENDED EVENLY ACROSS THE SURFACE IF DESIRED, GROUT IS GREAT TO ADD CHALKS AND DRY BRUSHING EFFECTS TOO. ONCE DRY, GROUT DRIES HARD AND WILL NOT FADE.

THE DOWN SIDE TO USING GROUT IS IT CAN CRACK AND BREAK AWAY IF KNOCKED HARD, I STILL FIND IT A GREAT MEDIUM FOR GROUND COVER AS WEL AS USED IN ITS POWDER FORM TO DUST OVER STRUCTURES TO BLEND WITH THE GROUND COVER

THE PLACEMENT OF DETAIL

§MOVE YOUR DETAIL PARTS AROUND

§SLIGHT MOVEMENTS CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE TO THE COMPOSITION OF THE SCENE

§CREATE MINI SCENES

§SIT BACK AND LOOK AT THE OVERALL PLACEMENT

§ONCE YOU ARE HAPPY START TO ATTACH DETAIL DOWN.

§AFTER A WHILE YOU WILL BECOME IN TUNE WITH THE WAY THINGS LOOK , TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK BEFORE ATTACHING , ITS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE PHOTOS ALONG THE WAY AND LOOK AT THEM FROM A OUTSIDER'S VEIW POINT,

MINI SCENES

§TRY TO ADD SMALL MINI SCENES TO YOUR DIORAMA OR LAYOUT, THIS ATTRACTS THE VEIWER TO AREAS THAT MAY NOT BE NORMALY VEIWED , A VAST AREA OF TRACK CAN BE SOMETIMES BORING, BUT IF YOU ADD A MINI SCENE ALONG THE WAY, THIS CAN ADD BALANCE TO THE LAYOUT, AS WELL AS DISPLAY THAT SPECIAL SMALL STRUCTURE YOU JUST FINISHED.

OVERCOMING THE PITFALLS

SOMETIMES STRUCTURES ARE TOO LARGE FOR AN AREA YOU WISH TO PUT IT IN ,WHETHER IT BE A LAYOUT OR A DIORAMA BASE, SPACE WILL ALWAYS BE A HUGE FACTOR WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE.

§ I USE A METHOD CALLED SELECTIVE COMPRESSION , THIS MEANS THE REDUCTION OF THE OVERALL STRUCTURE DESIGNED TO MAKE IT FIT, GETTING IT RIGHT IS THE HARD PART , I BELIVE THAT AT THIS POINT THE RULE SHOULD BE "IF IT LOOKS RIGHT THEN IT PROBABLY IS".

§ GETTING A FEEL OF HOW THE STRUCTURE LOOKS

COMPRESSION IS ALSO IS SOMETHING THAT IS ACHIEVED NOT BY MEASURMENT BUT BY A SENSE OF BALANCE, THAT BALANCE IS ESSENTIAL TO ACHIEVE A GREAT LOOKING DIORAMA.

PLACEMENT OF THAT ALL IMPORTANT STRUCTURE
SOME SIMPLE GUIDLINES

I ALWAYS PLACE MY STRUCTURE ON A ANGLE ON THE BASE