The Art of The Diorama

A few readers have emailed me asking how I learned to make dioramas. Well most of what I do has come about by and trial and error. I'm also always on the lookout for books or articles on techniques and new materials that can help take my work to a new level.

One such book is The Art of The Diorama by Ray Anderson : Amazon.com: The Art of The Diorama (9780890240922): Ray Anderson, Roland Patterson: Books

To say Ray Anderson is a master craftsman is an understatement! His attention to detail is amazing! If your a fan of miniatures and dioramas you can see some examples of his work here: Model Makers—Ray Anderson

Another book I have found useful in my work is Terrain Modelling by Richard Windrow. Just the section on building trees was worth the purchase price to me!

While on the subject of dioramas I thought I'd share a few pictures with you. I've made some progress on my Skull Island spider pit diorama this week.

Here is a wire mesh frame stapled to a wood base. It is going to be a cave in the ravine cliff face.

Using sections of burlap impregnated with mache I covered the wire frame.

After the cave dried overnight in front of an electric fan I primed it and painted the interior. Then I installed the cave into the frame that will form one of the ravine walls.

I added burlap and wood putty around the cave entrance and left it to dry. Tomorrow I hope to get the entire frame covered in a first coat of burlap/wood putty!