The DIORAMA Thread; Tips, Tricks, Tales, Pics.

[photonrider]

Super post, Andy. 👍
Just the kind of stuff this discussion/workshop thread needs.

 

[Harsk100]

How can I do dealership dioramas like these images below?

 

[AOS-]

How can I do dealership dioramas like these images below?

How can you make dioramas? Thankfully because they don't have to follow restrictions or building codes of real buildings or roads, you can use whatever material you see fit!

Some use foam, some use wood, some use plastic. Some paint, some sprinkle stuff, some just pay a wad of money to buy pre-made things. It's up to you.

 

[Harsk100]

I'm planning to make an Citroen Dealership.

 

[photonrider]

How can I do dealership dioramas like these images below?

I have the gas pumps displayed in the upper photo - they look like the ones made by Tomica.

AFAIK - Tomica made a lot of Diorama stuff very early on in the game (discounting the HO-scale stuff that Lesney was involved in) and you may be able to source these off the Internet or from some hobby shop. As well - some of the present-day Tomica sets also have diorama stuff that come with them.

The lower picture is a lot easier to simulate.
If we take a look at the 'floor' that could be any tile or board of the right colour.
The white lines look painted and only need a steady hand.
The 'grass' could be simulated by any fuzzy material - felt for instance.
The background walls look like cardboard, and again you can use a box (read further inside this thread and you may find some ideas) or Fome-Cor (a.k.a. foamboard) or any other type of stiff card.
Signs can always be cut out of magazines, or better - printed to detail and scale using a colour printer and a computer.
The pots, trees and other miniature stuff, again, can be purchased, or you may try making them out of plasticine.
The right scale people are the hardest to source - and you can find these on the Internet, or make them yourself using plasticine; for the latter you will need some sculptoring skills.

The major problem in creating effective and realistic dioramas is not so much finding the right stuff or even making them - it is setting everything up to scale so that the 'Proportions of Reality' (a phrase of mine I mayhaps use too often ) are satisfied. This means that the people should look like they could actually get into the cars. Look at pics of real people beside real cars and you may be surprised how small people look beside their cars.

Also - not all vehicles are built to identical scale, since model makers of small cars tend to follow a 'box-scale' and that can throw a viewer's perceptions off.
We all tend to look at stuff 'proportionately' and if those proportions do not satisfy our neuronic processing, then our brains start to make up stories about it to fit our perception - 'Oh! That's a monster monkey on the tree!' not that the monkey is regular size and that the tree is just a bush.
But this works to our advantage when also trying to fool the brain into thinking that it is reality it is viewing.

Next step is the photography itself - and that's a whole different ball-game.
And that's why this workshop is here in the Photography Forum.

Mood is the prime factor in presenting dioramic shots.

Running out of time. More later.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you wish. This is a leaning process . . . and for some of us will always remain one, as we learn more and more. 👍

Edited: for paragraphing and spelling.

 

[photonrider]

Solo shots when done right are a delight to edit, one can come up with so many different moods:

The old Black and White - very formal:

Or a bit of Indiglow - via Photobuckets on-site editing app:

That authentic 'explorer' look - a pic from days gone by;

Or you could keep the shot as is and use it in that graphic novel you are churning out of the desk-top printer :

 

[photonrider]

 

[photonrider]

 

[photonrider]

 

[photonrider]

Bewildered, bedevilled, and maybe even furiously belvedered.

 

[photonrider]

 

[photonrider]

@SVX, @Sonygamer455 - thanks for looking. 👍

The first pic of the F16 is the one I like best - this was cropped and overlaid to get that effect.
The other pics were for comparison purposes - basically working on scales. Very difficult to get several models in the pic that would all look perfectly in scale with each other - especially when working with such tiny models.
Did I get some 'Bond' vibes in the pic with the NASA tankers?

Setting up all my constructions again - they were all taken off due to renovations - and now I'm preparing to do some diorama crafting during the holidays.
I have given up on trying to make my own 'people' models. More time-consuming than actually difficult. My next step is to get some GL models (I hear they have several diorama sets) and buy multiples of the people and repaint some of their clothing to look different.
Meanwhile, my new diorama city is looking like it make get a bit of a lakeshore and some water.
This way I can use all my boats.
For the moment I'm experimenting with some cheap models.

More later, as the city comes together and the action starts again.

 

[SVX]

Did I get some 'Bond' vibes in the pic with the NASA tankers?

I haven't watched a Bond movie before (gasp), but definitely get some vibes of government constructed spies there. 👍

 

[photonrider]

Good. This is why I didn't want to say anything before. Wanted to ask you after you had mulled it over.

I have huge groups now for dioramas - dozens of police and rescue vehicles for some action scenes, and a lot more premium models to work with - have lots of ideas but the environments are what takes time.
I have a few ideas for some quick 'box-like' environments that may be constructed quickly - and if I get to that I will post some how-to shots.

 

[SVX]

You might like this, too:

 

[photonrider]

You might like this, too:

I do. 👍 Are those 1:43s? Or 1:32s? The cars look so good that they are distracting!
Critique? I would use real smoke, and maybe a bit of cropping - or a rearrangement of the backboard so it seems like the cars are really coming round that curve.

Moar!

Here's what's happening to me - diorama-wise - let's take a peek into my playroom:

The boxes are all filled with cars - either packaged and stacked, or opened and in stacked trays. The large board on the top of the boxes in the corner is a piece of 'landscape' that I have to work on again - it was levelled - all buildings removed, and shoved away during my recent reno - but now I've got it out again and it's time to start building.

The plastic cases also contain opened cars - premiums. The plastic cases keep the cars totally dust-free.
The large model is a Danica Patrick Hot Wheels - scale? Not worked it out yet - it's not marked- somewhere around the 1:18 range.
It's a battery-powered Hot Wheels racer and is part of a set of two (I don't have the other one.) Another unique Hot Wheels that was made by Mattel - I should talk about it more in the Mattel Kar Kulture thread, since that covers HWs in all sizes, when I have the time.

More diorama talk - a closer look at the streets.:

Let's open that little plastic case and cardboard box sitting on the streets:

Oh! Yeah! Bone Shakers galore.

The problem with opening these cases is that the cars want to escape.

These cars are built to race - unburdened by realistic splitters or same size wheels they are deadly on the tracks, perfectly hot-rodded as racing toys.

Back! Get back into your cages!

I'm planning to get a whole whack of these people models:

I acquired the F-250 that Dreyfuss drove in Close Encounters and hope to recreate this scene too:

Without the use of gimbals though.

More later. Now let's see some work by you model- photography bods.

 

[photonrider]

 

[SVX]

I do. 👍 Are those 1:43s? Or 1:32s? The cars look so good that they are distracting!
Critique? I would use real smoke, and maybe a bit of cropping - or a rearrangement of the backboard so it seems like the cars are really coming round that curve.

1:24s. 👍

 

[photonrider]

1:24s. 👍

Makes more sense now since there is an immense amount of detail on those cars. I find 1:24s are a lot easier to work with than the 1:64s which can be an incredible challenge.
1:18s, 1:12s -these sizes are so easy to work with -even outside - as long as you have some sort of platform and position the cars so that buildings, trees, etc. are in the right position for proper perspective.

With 1:64s it becomes a plunge into a subatomic world. And to make it more difficult, unless one is working with extremely high quality 1:64s, or the vehicles have been perfectly customised, details are usually blah.
I try not to cross the high definition line too much, trying instead to work with POV, composition, light, and some bokeh to make the scenes more realistic.

The playing is what makes this a totally autotelic activity. You see only through the camera after awhile and before you know it, even while you are imagining the possible backdrops, you have drifted unconsciously into the dusty parking lot of some job site - and staring at the vehicles parked in there:

​

Before you fly up and away and become the giant human you actually are in relation to these tiny vehicles.

 

[BrodieBoi94]

This is one of my all time favorite cars. I love this livery.

I took the photo with my galaxy s3, which has a decent camera for photos of diecast cars (And anything else honestly). It was edited with an app that came standard on my phone.

The environment is created by placing sheets of computer paper strategically.

*Edited*

 

[AOS-]

The lighting is the giveaway, but I put mud on this Escort some time ago and shot pictures on this dry beaten road.

IIRC, I did this photoshoot in Argentina?


The lighting is a killer challenge for me because I need to find a balance between the light source and how bright the monitor is. To give you a sense of what's happening, this is what the setup looked like:

 

[photonrider]

^

Great work, Andy. You just get better with age. Or is it sheer practise?
There is an undercurrent of passion in your photography that overlays your work with authenticity.
I have more time this year to get back to fiddling with dioramas but my camera took an awful beating at work the last year and I need to invest in new gear. And now, once again seeing you at it, is winding me up to shoot.

 

[photonrider]

 

[Polsixe]

Just some attempts with 1/64s

 

[photonrider]

^
Nice work, @Polsixe - though the fun was showing through more than the 'work'!
The outdoor shots look like impulse work - I do this, too - got some cars in my pocket, out they come and I'm look for places on which to shot them.
Mastery of the bokeh is crucial to wash out the extraneous details and instead use that out-of-focus background as ambience.
Sweet cars!


I don't have that Volvo

 

[Polsixe]

Going for a "human scale" downsizing attempt with the 1/64 level diecast.

 

[Polsixe]

And a few more...

 

[photonrider]

Hi Polsixe! Fun to find you in here, too!
I guess with the Seasonals winding down we're going to be looking to do other stuff!

I have some of the cars - that makes me feel good.
I don't have some of the cars - annoying, since I like your selection.
I don't have figurines like that! From where did you get those? Obviously I need to start shopping - those figures are perfect, make the cars really pop out - fun to jump into a reality that for a moment isn't make-believe at all but a reality we would like to experience.

No hesitation, girl, get into the NSX! Same for you, buddy, looking at the Austin.

 

[Polsixe]

Hi Polsixe! Fun to find you in here, too!
I guess with the Seasonals winding down we're going to be looking to do other stuff!

I have some of the cars - that makes me feel good.
I don't have some of the cars - annoying, since I like your selection.
I don't have figurines like that! From where did you get those? Obviously I need to start shopping - those figures are perfect, make the cars really pop out - fun to jump into a reality that for a moment isn't make-believe at all but a reality we would like to experience.

No hesitation, girl, get into the NSX! Same for you, buddy, looking at the Austin.

Thanks. No figures just Gimp

 

[Polsixe]

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