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[JohnReid]

Storyboard dioramas are normally planned from the inside out.If your main idea centers around say, a group of figures in a room,you would arrange the figures first.Then determine the size of the room.Next decide on the size and angle of the viewing window.Last determine how much extra room is required for the outer case.
This last pic shows only part of a much larger diorama but it would have potential as a room type diorama itself.The viewing angle eliminates much of the squareness associated with a room,which is a good thing.The scale will be determined of course by the objects used.
Now I could imagine a lot of different story lines here.This could be a barn,hangar or boathouse.I have seen boathouses that open directly to the water, while the boat resides inside.The floor could be cut to allow for the display of the boat inside and actually on the water.You could leave the doors slightly open and using a color photo or a painting you could open your diorama to the outside world beyond.The boat could also be tied up outside or halfway in or out of the doors.
With the proper lighting this could make for a great little scene with light shining through the siding and onto the water.A few pics or posters on the walls could also help tell your story of maybe 1920s gangsters on a rum run.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is the same 1/16th scale barn-like structure with some interior light on.The structure is made from coffee stir sticks of various sizes,tongue depressors and pre-cut pine from the wood store.It is painted with flat acrylics and weathered with pastels.

[JohnReid]

Now that we have chosen a scale and have a idea of the final overall size of our diorama we will have to decide on having figures in our diorama or not.Usually the storyboard type of diorama would have figures but not always.Sometime the hint of human presence can be even more powerful than actual figures.A couple of examples just off the top of my head, would be human footprints in oil across a garage floor or a yellow patch in the snow near where the tail had been of a long departed aircraft that was sitting on the ground.Every pilot could relate to the "nervous pee" syndrome before a mission.While maybe not enough to build a whole scene around, but it could be an interesting starting point.

If we decide to use figures,their proper positioning will be crucial to the ultimate success of our storyboard diorama,shadow box or otherwise.Avoid stiff and formal poses unless the general is inspecting the troops.Personally I use a lot of figures just talking to each other in relaxed poses.It is very easy to do and engages your viewer right away in the scene wondering about what they are talking about.In the larger scales facial expressions would be critical as we all know how to read faces and the emotions implied by them.In the smaller scales body positioning can to used to the same advantage.

Avoid scenes that are square and figures that are too evenly spaced or look like they were posed.Never put anything parallel to the edge of the base unless there is a good reason for it.But also avoid large empty spaces unless there is an obvious reason for it.Avoid placing objects at right angles to each other,always think of random positioning, remember only man plants trees in rows.If you have a lighting effect in mind try to take that into consideration.Dark places are not always bad and can add a lot of drama to your scene if used properly.Unless it is your intention to do so, don't let just one object dominate the scene but let the objects play off one another.It can be a delicate balance between order and disorder to get it right.Too much going on ,on the other hand ,can actually distract the views attention away from your storyline .
My style is old and weathered,I love barns,sheds and old hangers.Try to develop a style of your own based upon things that you love.Also think of the era that you are depicting.You wouldn't want a 60's car in a 50's scene .Also little things like time of year can be important,fall leaves with spring flowers for example or a bird in spring plumage in a fall scene.to be cont......

[JohnReid]

Balance is a good thing in a diorama, symmetry in not.An good example would be a parade and you were doing a scene looking out the window at that parade.Maybe the parade has lots of symmetry in it on the whole, but our window diorama, to be interesting, should not be about that.
If you look out the window and see say a car and the car is in the windows center with two individuals walking the same distance ahead of the car and another two the same distance behind,this is maybe what you see but to the artist/photographers eye, this way of depicting the parade would be boring.Better to wait until the car is not squarely in the center of the scene and with maybe four people in the front and only one behind.The individuals could be evenly spaced,like soldiers marching by but their positioning is now more balanced and more lifelike.Symmetry looks artificial and made up because it rarely occurs in real life.

[JohnReid]

 Shep Paine on dioramas as art.
"You don't need to be an artist to build fine dioramas.Although some viewers consider dioramas an art form,few people who build them have any formal art training.If you can assemble and paint a kit,you can build a diorama-you needn't be a sculptor,illustrator,or designer.People trained in these areas may have a momentary advantage in some aspects,but they also have a lot to unlearn.Basically building a diorama is a process of taking existing elements from plastic kits and elsewhere and combining them into a scene.A diorama is only as complicated as you care to make it.All that is required is basic modeling skill,a bit of self-confidence and some imagination." Shep Paine.

[JohnReid]

The Evolution of a Modeler,my story.
My journey to shadow box dioramas has been a long and winding road.My first storyboard diorama was a 1/72 scale HMS Victory which I finished in 2000.
The hobby store that I frequented over the years in addition to having ship models also stocked prastic aircraft models etc.....But the thing that you usually don't find in your average hobby store was stocked there also,dollhouses.I was building plastic WW2 kits at the time which I enjoyed ,but one day I came upon something new a 1/16th Albatros wooden airplane kit(Model Expo)A while later I saw one that was completed and on display.Having worked on real 1:1 scale wood aircraft and the wooden model ship,I felt pretty confident about diving into unknown waters.
While the Albatros was under construction I thought that why not take what the aircraft modelers do and marry it up with what the dollhouse guys and gals do.I hadn't seen anyone do this before nor have I seen it since in 1/16th scale.I simply changed the subject matter to old hangars, of a type that I was familiar with,and voila something new was born.An added bonus was that a lot of tools and stuff that is made for dollhouses ,could also be used in 1/16th scale, because tools come in all sizes.Hangars don't usually contain fancy furniture but the scratch building required was easy benches,toolboxes etc...
Originally I built the hangar mainly as a dust proof case of a size that would fit in my car trunk if I wanted to show it.
My next project turned out to be what was to become my first shadowbox diorama,the subject matter being a 1/16th Neiuport 28.I had this old TV cabinet that was a nice piece of furniture ,so I thought I would put it in there with a glass front.Not really a shadow box but something in between.
The next diorama ,the Jenny ,repeated the same idea as the Albatros.Airplane,hangar and a few figures.Then one of my modeling buds(Ken Hamilton) suggested why not landscape the outside like the car and RR guys do.Well after much encouragement I took the plunge and my original project eventually doubled its size and and tripled its complexity.I liked how it turned out so I thought why not do the same to the Albatros hangar.
Now I have two huge unfinished dioramas and an unfinished Neiuport sitting under plastic garbage bags.
So what did I do? I started another one,this time with no hangar at all but a lot more landscaping, in a backyard scene of a homebuilt flyer also in 1/16th but using only the ribs of a kit supplied Wright flyer.
Now I have four unfinished dioramas,three of which are nearing completion and the Flyer in temporary storage.
Somewhere along the way the Canada Aviation Museum heard about my stuff and contacted me.My wife's prayers were answered finally she was going to get half of the house back again, somewhere down the road ,and as it turned out a long way down the road ,almost ten years now and everything is still here.The CAM is under renovations for the next year and now my wife is still waiting for her big day,and I still haven't completed my first shadowbox diorama.I hate 1:1 scale carpentry so that part of it is now out of my hands ,although I will still have some input as to how it will be displayed.
I am now almost 70 so the Flyer will be my last large storyboard diorama(too hard to move around,the model that is)I now want to concentrate on smaller shadow box dioramas and hopefully have someone else build the boxes.
_______

[JohnReid]

Model and photo courtesy of Shep Paine.

[JohnReid]

When doing shadow box dioramas it is only necessary to finish those areas of the model that will be seen by the viewer from a much narrower angle.This photo by Shep Paine illustrates this perfectly.No sense wasting time and effort on things that will never be seen.

[JohnReid]

 Dioramas as a one frame movie!
"What we wanted to do at the beginning of all this,was to show what happens when you take human beings and put them through hell,then wonder how in the world they will approach life when they come home".

Steven Spielberg on his new piece The Pacific.

I was reading this in my newspaper this morning and it struck me how similar his idea for making a 10- part mini series on the war in the Pacific, and my idea for my latest diorama "Loss Of Innocence,Will it Ever Be The Same" are alike.(We must be reading each others mail.)
This is exactly what I have been writing about recently on the power of the storyboard diorama as a one frame movie.
A movie tells a story in all its thrilling detail and action,on a big screen with music,dialogue etc... a diorama does the same but with one frame.That is the magic and the challenge of the storyboard diorama reducing it all to one frame and still tell a powerful story.Sometimes the story is even more powerful in diorama form because it is left up to the viewer to connect the dots in his mind.A movie lays it all out for you ,a diorama requires a little more imagination on your viewers part.
This is why I believe storyboard dioramas are as much an "Art "as any of the other visual media.

[JohnReid]

 Developing the Boat or Car Shed idea as a shadow box.
Another modeling bud on mine who has had a great influence on my work is Ken Hamilton.You will notice that in my later dioramas I have used a lot of his ideas and techniques in developing my own dioramas.
A good place to start would be with something fairly simple to make, and be able to apply our new found techniques to ,at relative little cost in money or stress.
We don't need to do a fancy captain's cabin with lots of furniture or a Victorian style house etc.. when a simple boat or car shed would serve our purposes very well .
Sheds are relatively simple to build, here I will use as an example from Ken's book "How to Build Creative Dioramas".This book is out of print but is available in its entirety online.Ken has kindly given me permission to use his work here for educational purposes.

[JohnReid]

Model and pic courtesy of Ken Hamilton.

[JohnReid]

Drawing courtesy of Shep Paine.

[JohnReid]

This is actually the beginnings of a marine diorama but not the kind you may have expected.It is an Evinrude outboard motor repair station.This is an excellent example of what has the makings of a good shadow box or storyboard diorama.
Viewing angle through the reveal will be important here ,to work out what we want to include or eliminate.The center piece could be a motor being worked on or even a small boat or no center piece at all.
With a little imagination I am sure that there are many stories that could be told in this little room.

[JohnReid]

Drawing courtesy of Shep Paine

[JohnReid]

Drawing courtesy of Shep Paine.

[JohnReid]

Here is what a shadow box may look like with a reveal installed.You could take any image that you think might make a good shadow box diorama and test it out using photoshop.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Drawing courtesy of Shep Paine.

[JohnReid]

Model and pic courtesy of Ken Hamilton.

[JohnReid]

I love this pic! It is just full of ideas and I have borrowed many of them for my own stuff.
The way I see it the "this side up" box is what did it for me.The rest just builds upon the story of this mans work habits being just a little chaotic .He likes girls and is probably a smoker.
I imagine that most of the boxes contain outboard motor engine parts probably old parts being shipped out because the tape is still not pressed down on the edges.The car tire seems new so he must be importing tires for his truck.etc...etc...
One thing has me puzzled though why the large scale screw on top of the box on the R/H side.? I think that Ken was playing a bit with the viewer to see if he noticed it or not.

[JohnReid]

The Barn Siding look.
Unless you are planning a brand newly painted structure, weathering to some degree will be required.I like the old ,to really old look, for my structures.Old,well used,grimy, oily etc...Depending on the subject, it can be total mess or fairly orderly.Anything military would require a certain neatness about it,civilian its your choice.Actually messy and old is easier to do than clean and neat ,once you get weathering techniques and "thinking messy "conquered. Anything clean and neat and it is easy to spot mistakes,old and messy you can just cover them up.But messy has its own challenges too.For some reason we instinctively like to line things up in orderly fashion. Example:we plant tree in rows ,space them evenly and usually put them 90deg to one another.But the natural order of things, in 1:1 scale, is usually the opposite.
When planing a scene I often have to stop and think "how can I screw this up to make it look more natural".It is a surprisingly difficult thing to overcome.
One big problem is making things too shiny,even cars in showrooms have a little dust and fingerprints on them.Shininess on figures can be a disaster and can spoil an otherwise natural looking scene and make the whole thing look toy like.A lot of modelers seem to go to great lengths to avoid doing figures, and being tooo shiny is a major reason why.You can do nice dioramas with no figures at all ,but a car with no driver, driving down a busy street with no people ,looks just a little strange to me.(something like the TV series "Life after Man")
Once you have the kind of structure you want in mind then you will start to gather a few supplies.I like wood,nothing looks as natural as real wood but you have to be careful to pick the proper species for the scale your working in, unless to plan to completely cover it with paint.The easiest hobby wood to obtain other than balsa(don't even think about it) is basswood for building weathered structures.Select pine from the lumber yard is ok too but you really have to watch for the growth ring patterns.Hardwoods ,for general structure purposes I would avoid, as I would nails for putting it together.Why ? simple answer broken drills.Use wood pegs instead or use glue and fake the nail heads.
Basswood in small scales is usually available in hobby stores that supply the RR guys, as they have been using it a long time.For larger scales I have seen on occasion scale basswood in framing shops.The larger stuff is usually easily available from lumberyards or woodcarvers supply houses.I use a lot of select pine in my large scale structures,which I buy already cut to size or I trim it myself on my band or scroll saw.For the smaller scales just about everything you will need comes pre-cut although you may have to compromise a little on scale.
Plywood is usually available anywhere in most thicknesses but use only the best stuff for hobby work,usually clear white birch. to be cont......

[JohnReid]

Courtesy of Ken Hamilton.

[SteamboatPhil]

Brilliant and inspiring, please can we have some more photo's.
   

[JohnReid]