Miniature Diorama

I've been working on a several stop motion puppets based on creatures from the 1933 version of King Kong.

To showcase my puppets I decided to build a diorama. The diorama will be the bottom of a jungle ravine on Skull Island. I'm going to need a large rock. Also a portion of an old uprooted tree trunk.

To build up the tree trunk I took a cardboard tube from a roll of aluminum foil. I hot glued chunks of styrofoam to the tube and roughed out the shape of the trunk with a file.

Next I mixed a batch of Mache which I tinted with brown acrylic paint. I applied this over the styrofoam trunk with a palette knife.

I'm using Durham's Wood Putty to create the root end of the tree. After mixing up a thin mixture of it I painted the putty over the base of the tree. While this was drying I began work on the rock.

For my rock armature I filled a plastic bag with shredded paper and wrapped it with Duct tape till I got the general shape I was looking for.

Then I mixed a batch of wood putty and saturated burlap strips with it. After squeezing out the excess putty I began draping it over the armature.

After this dried I mixed up a thick batch of putty and using a palette knife applied it over the entire rock. When the putty reached a leather hard stage I carved it to create an irregular craggy surface.

When it was dry enough to be safely handled I removed the armature to facilitate drying.

I was left with a light weight, hollow putty rock. I was pleased with how the putty handled and would definitely use this material again in the future.

Next post I'll be creating the roots for the tree trunk.