How I build large scale dioramas! (3 Viewers)

[JohnReid]

I slept on this overnight and I still like this idea the best.Why?Well number one is the fact that because the R/H side is kind of walled off,it forces the viewer to look at the diorama from the front and slightly to the left to get to best view.
This puts the airplane/man on center stage high and on a pedestal so to speak.
The viewers eye would more than likely go there first, which for this diorama is a good thing.I want the main storyline up front this time, unlike the dog/airplane storyline which would be discovered almost by accident.
The views eye,I am hoping will then work its way down level by level expanding on the central storyline.I may have to re-work the clothes line idea and put it closer to the house rather than stung across the backyard,where it would command too much attention.
The pilot's car and the wreck in the backyard fits into the main storyline OK and the third car parked at the lowest level in the L/H lane way and maybe even half in the garage,should not be a distraction away from the central story.The rest is just eye candy like they say.
It is almost like a shadowbox without the box as it limits and directs the viewers eye where I want it to go.
Questions and comments?

 

[JohnReid]

Working on this composition is the most fun that I have had in a long time.This is the really creative stuff that artists live for. In fact once your done with the design or mock-up the rest seems a little redundant and really is done more for the viewer than anything else. Wouldn't it be fun if all we had to do is make mock-ups and then let others do the hard stuff,like actually making it.Just kidding!
This is where the artist/craftsman comes in.I find it easier to be the artist than actually getting my hands dirty but I get around this by staying open to creative changes as I go along, as it keeps me interested too.This is especially true when I reach about 2/3rds along in any project when boredom starts to creep in.If I can just press on through this (so far,so good) and get to see the light at the end of what can be a very long tunnel ,then the anticipation of seeing it finished begins building .
In fact even early on when your sitting there making nail holes in the boards behind the toilet or bricks one by one, it can be a long road.
I don't think that I will ever build again exclusively from plans only.I did that for a long time when ship modeling but I still turned it into something more interesting,a diorama.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I now have a renewed respect for architectural models.For anything other than the simplest design a scale mock-up is a must.I would hate to think about the amount of wood,time and money that I would have otherwise spent if I had not worked in foam board first.
Next I will paint matte black all the areas that are the base/frame.Everything unpainted black, will be actually modeled in a life like way, in 1/16th scale.
Then I will have to cut the already made 1/16th facade in the appropriate place and add it to the R/H side.The only other facade left to do after that will be the L/H garage/shop area.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Here you can see the visual barrier set up that I made on the R/H side.There is a large fence that runs down the backyard and lane way on this side that I will leave in the realistic style.It is not a see-through fence so the barrier idea will still be in place without a massive black wall.
The airplanes wing I may hang over the edge of the fence, just a bit, for added interest.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I will put the fence's gate with a couple of stairs on the side near where you see the car in this pic.I have left the L/H facade blank for now until I finally decide on the garage/shop idea.That little area at the bottom of the fence and the lane way will be done as a stone wall because I would like to retain the angled look.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

This is where I am now in 1/16th scale.The airplane is 90% finished and the old wrecked Model T is done.Next will be to build the wood base and step the different levels accordingly.Still a long way to go!

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

Which backyard?
Yesterday:

I am still stuck on which backyard to put the airplane in??? I waiver back and forth but ...........I would like to settled this in my mind before proceeding on even though the final decision could be put off until after I build the 1/16th base.
As soon as I put the clothesline in the other backyard I started to see the possibilities of the "airplane in the middle yard "arrangement.It also opens up a lot of possibilities for the garage/shop idea.The neighbors pristine backyard with the clothesline will now be in more direct contrast to the rest of the diorama and would help to emphasize the chaos/order sub-storyline.


Today:

Well I finally asked for help on this.So why not go to the top ? I have admired Shep Paine and his work for years,in fact it was Shep that inspired me to get in this stuff in the beginning.But this is the first time that I have ever reached out to another artist on such a basic question of the overall composition .
He advised me that the airplane should go in the middle yard but elevated on saw horses for visibility.I was planning to use jacks on the wheels anyway but that just confirmed that part of my plan.He likes the airplane center stage but he really did not expand too much on why he felt this way but you know what? I think I will trust his artists eye on this one.It sure hasn't failed him in the past. Thanks Shep!

 

[JohnReid]

Who is Shep Paine?

For you younger whipper snappers out there!

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]

I bought this dog-eared copy new in 1980 and have poured over it now for 30 years.This was Sheps first book and it just blew me away!He has produced many others since all equally as good but more specific in subject matter.
For 20 years I was just too busy with other art forms to really get into it.I stopped teaching decorative birds and retired 10 years ago and have since devoted all my time to dioramas.
Shep's profound influence on my work began with HMS Victory when I decided to actually crew it and tell a story back in the 80's.Since then it has been all WW1 airplanes.Unfortunately Shep never did anything in our genre but it really doesn't matter as the techniques are all about the same.
I especially like his shadowboxes of historical subjects,they really are the best that I have seen.
What really interested me the most was his use of models for telling a great story.The "Art" in his dioramas is in the storytelling .This is what really got my attention and has captured my interest in art ever since.

 

[JohnReid]

 

[JohnReid]