EXTERIORS

OUTSIDE DIORAMAS – IN BOTH ARTIFICIAL & NATURAL LIGHT

MATERIALS NEEDED

 

Cutting Board

Cutting Board

Cutting Tool

Cutting Tool

Hair Clip

Hair Clip

Plants - Artificial Loose Stems

Plants - Artificial Loose Stems

Foam Board 1/4"

Foam Board 1/4"

Contact Paper

Contact Paper

Masking Tape

Masking Tape

Plants - Potted Decor

Plants - Potted Decor

Foam Board 1/2"

Foam Board 1/2"

Sewing Pins - Ball Head

Sewing Pins - Ball Head

Plexiglass

Plexiglass

Plants - Fish Tank Decor

Plants - Fish Tank Decor

Ruler - L-Shaped

Ruler - L-Shaped

Sewing Pins - Flat Head

Sewing Pins - Flat Head

3-D Stickers

3-D Stickers

Rolls of Christmas Diorama Flooring

Rolls of Christmas Diorama Flooring

ARTIFICIAL LIGHT – INDOOR DIORAMAS

ARTIFICIAL PLANTS

Crafts stores like Joann’s, Hobby Lobby and Michaels have several isles of artificial plants made out of plastic, fabric and bendable wire. They’re wonderful for use in both indoor and outdoor dioramas.

POTTED DECOR PLANTS

Home Goods has a lot of indoor artificial potted plants in smaller sizes for placing on desks or shelves.  They’re glued to their pots, so I try to buy ones with the size as close to realistic for 1:6 scale as possible.

Below are a set of 4 tiny potted succulents that look great in dioramas.  The potted plant on the right is also great for both interior and exterior sets. 

The potted flowers above are perfect and look natural next to 1:6 figures, while the large plant below can only be used as a tree in the window outside as the pot is monstrous next to a doll or action figure.

AQUARIUM ARTIFICIAL PLANTS

The tree stump above was found in the fish aquarium section of Petco.  It’s meant to be used in a large underwater setting.  It had a large hole at the top fro fish to swim through so I put a  plastic plant inside the hole to make it look more like a functioning tree.

Aquarium decor items are usually too small for 1:6 scale, but you find some gems when it’s for much larger wall sized tanks.

LOOSE STEM ARTIFICIAL PLANTS

Stems of artificial plans can be placed in smaller sized vases.    Vases can be hit or miss.  It’s very hard to find them in both (1) 1:6 scale friendly AND (2) fits the end of the stem of the plant which was meant for human-sized decorating.

Make sure to be mindful of the bottom of the stem to make sure it’s not too thick or long.

These little green balls of bush made of plastic came in boxes with several sizes at Joann’s.  The mossy boulders also come in a clear plastic box of lots of sizes and shapes.  They’re the perfect scale.

EXTERIOR DIORAMA OBJECTS

Using unconventional items can make an outdoor area look more realistic.  I’ve always shopped looking at an object’s potential of what it could look like, not necessarily what it was created to be.

The column set above comes from a cake set.  It comes with a round bottom platter for one layer of cake, then the columns, then a top platter for another set of cake layers, usually used in weddings.  The columns were 12″ tall and just big enough to fit in this 1:6 scale world.

The ivy and wood trellis on top of the columns come from Joann’s crafts store. The wood trellis was a small 14″ high garden one that I painted white, then laid it on it’s side on top of the columns after weaving wire fabric ivy through the 

The top tray has plastic prongs hanging down that the columns fit in.  If all the columns are not placed around the unit these are strange looking, my only complaint of this set.

Below is a desk stationary organizer for file folders, etc.  It passes for a garden box for plants.

 

GROUND – FLOORING

 At Christmas time, usually at Michaels, and sometimes at hardware stores that carry those cute holiday diorama sets they’ll have rolls of diorama flooring that can be used for exterior sets.

The four I found were: (1) green grass, (2) a dark red brick, (3) a water transparent blue and a (4_cobblestone black.  These are by LEMAX Village Collection.  there are probably others out there, but they wer

My first attempt at making a pool was wrapping the transparent blue plastic over a white box and then hiding all the sides.  It was too flat and looked strange.  I’ll play with this more in the future to see what I can make.  

Out of the roll, this is what it looks like above.

I cut the dark cobblestone sheet into circles to make pavers on the grass, but the plastic is so used to being in a roll that it tends to roll up .  Lay these sheets flat for a few days before using so they don’t curl up. 

This is what the sheet of red brick looks like.  It’s much smaller than 1:6 scale real bricks would be, but it looks find for flooring since that can very greatly in size.

NATURAL LIGHT – OUTDOOR SHOTS

The grass roll is my favorite, I bought 2 of them so I could cover a larger space. It’s fuzzy and leaves grass lint every time I use it, so after a while it will grow bald and I’ll have to get more. But I’ve had it for 5 years now, and since I don’t use it that often

Forgot to mention desk fountains are also a nice touch to outdoor spaces.  With batteries and some water they work which provides not only realism in your photos, but a nice pleasant sound while you’re taking them.  Warning: if you have cats, they will jump on your table and lick all the water out of the fountain.

POSING FIGURES IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Outdoor photography of your dolls has a different set of needs and challenges.

PROS: (1) Lighting is free with no setup (2) background views are ready in every angle (3) The photographs look spectacular.  

CONS: (1) Crowds or other people getting in your shot, or turning your shoot into a spectator event, etc. (2) The natural elements: dirt, bugs, or general outside yuck getting on very expensive, and easily stained 1:6 figures. (3) everything is human-sized (4) Posing them without stands or 1:6 scale furniture is a challenge.

The PVC Pipe rig above is a U-Shaped tool I use outside with thin wire hanging down to pose my dolls standing up or walking, running, etc. I wrap the wire around the figure’s neck and then touch up the photo later and remove the wires. See the after shot below that was used in the story:

This is my least practiced photography skill.  I almost never take my dolls outside.  I don’t have a yard and any outdoor space will take a full loading the car with boxes of diorama/clothing & cast, then a road trip to site. Setting up and completing scenes can take an hour or more, and can’t have strangers in the shots. People here can be sensitive about having their photo taken or being filmed without signing a waiver (80 miles away is still too close to Hollywood).   

All these shots including the beach ones below were taken between 5:00 – 6:00 am, and there were still at least 20 people on the beach, jogging or walking their dogs.  A dog, not on his leash, actually rushed my dolls ready to pick it up like a new toy, very scary.

Hopefully someday my situation will change and I do more story scenes outside. I long to get more great shots in sunlight. Until then, I’m faking my outdoors under indoor light. 

MORE OUTDOOR SHOTS:

(CLICK ON 1ST PHOTO BELOW TO START SLIDE SHOW)

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2 Comments

  1. sandi magle

    this was fun….a thought on the water, you could place a photocopy of actual pool water under the plastic to give the irregularities of water surface, and perhaps some plants around the edges to soften the severity of the plastic. I know train enthusiasts use epoxies poured over scrunched aluminum foil and get some great results. With the new acrylic pour/float paints this might really be interesting. I enjoy your tutorials…so much, thanks, Sandi

    Reply
  2. Frank

    Your outside photos are great. I can understand not doing this with an audience though. The before and after shot provides so much information and ideas. Thank you!

    Reply

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