Just outside Acre (1 Viewer)

[mestell]

Hello Ken -
Thought I would show you the progress I have made with my diorama of the siege of Acre. I also once again want to thank you for your help and sharing of your knowledge. Your great instructions and "how-tos" have made this so very easy for me to create a diorama that I am very pleased with. I had a lot of fun at the Chicago OTSN show this year but I got the most out of your scenic clinics while there.

I wish I had confidence in myself to paint a backdrop for the diorama, I hesitate to even think about it. I believe it would look better if I just left it plain or perhaps paint a solid background color such as sky blue. My "paint and brush" artist skills are really lacking.

Mike

 

[Wraith]

Yikes! Mike, that looks freakin' awesome mate. That's a seriously cool dio.

Simon

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Great work Mike! I am so glad to see someone take the information and give it a try.
As far as the backdrop goes...don't be afraid to try something simple to start with. The worst that could happen is that you have to paint it out...I know as I started that way.

One of the first questions I would have is...are your scenic sections built in place? If so can any of the vertical elements be easily removed so you do not have to paint around everything?
If not then it will be pretty easy to do as you can reach in and paint without obstructions.

I know that you have plenty of images of the area already as you have been doing research. I would find a good one that has open sky and pick a midrange colour and have it matched at a home improvement store. Interior latex with a flat finish will work best.
If you can ventilate the area and cover the scenery the easiest way to get a good effect is to use a spray can to create the azimuth, or upper area of the sky. This is usually the deepest blue. I have used a product available at craft stores called Color Tool as you can control the opacity very easy with this product. It is flammable and it has a bad oder... so beware.
If you have an airbrush you can avoid this nuisance and use one of the water based paints to do the same thing. Blend in the deeper blue of the azimuth into your latex base colour so the change is gradual.

For the distant hills look at your images and find a distant hill line and match that colour. Mix this up from inexpensive craft paint as I used in the clinic and apply with a wide brush. If you wish to detail it more then use this colour as a base and create a palette with some other colours in that family but more intense. Use a smaller round brush and dab some colour following your photographs to simulate more mid-ground detail. This should be enough.

One other suggestion:
If you really want to extend your grove of palm trees the best thing would be to photograph them and make colour prints on matte paper with your scanner/printer. Cut these out, darken the edges of the cut paper with a marking pen and seal the surface with a matte spray like Testors dullcoat for durability. You can then glue them on your backdrop where you want. This can also be done with other elements if you are careful.
Experiment and have fun...this is one of the most interesting sides of this hobby and in the end you can get the biggest bang for your buck.
All the best!
Ken Osen

 

[nmrocks]

Mike,
As far as Palm trees, I haven't tried this myself however looks pretty promising:
http://www.cybermodeler.com/tips/palm.shtml

Ray

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

Hi Ray,
The feather technique can work pretty well and it is economical as far as raw materials.
What I meant for Mike was to photograph the ones he is already using in his diorama so the foreground trees will blend in perfectly with the ones on his backdrop.
Ken

 

[mestell]

Mike,
As far as Palm trees, I haven't tried this myself however looks pretty promising:
http://www.cybermodeler.com/tips/palm.shtml

Ray

Great article Ray, thank you. This is certainly one to keep.

Mike

 

[mestell]

Hi Ray,
The feather technique can work pretty well and it is economical as far as raw materials.
What I meant for Mike was to photograph the ones he is already using in his diorama so the foreground trees will blend in perfectly with the ones on his backdrop.
Ken

Thanks for the photography tip Ken. Hadn't thought about that trick. I am not at the point where I want to tackle the backdrop design. However, when I do I will certainly try this tip out.

Mike