HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

On these long projects it is a constant battle to keep up your enthusiasm, especially at this stage.Working on part after part you ,you have to keep your mind concentrated on the ultimate goal.In my minds eye ,I can see it finished and there is this natural tendency to want to rush to get there.But you know if you do it wont be your best effort.And in the end you will be glad to have taken the time to do it right.At least that is what I keep telling myself over and over.
At this stage I also start to wonder to myself if this is the last big project that I have in me?Should I take a nice long rest?The trouble is after a couple of days out of the shop I am like a fish out of water and I know that to survive I will have to dive back in again.
Art is in someways like a drug,the more you do the more you want to do.Ain't creativity wonderful? Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This is Al Capp (alias Al Capone)who I have promoted from driver to airport manager.I dressed him in a quasi-military type outfit ,royal blue blazer and grey pants.The royal blue was ultramarine blue plus burnt umber and the grey is nimbus grey with a little white added.The hat is also the same grey with more white added and the hat band with a little black added.The blue tie is is ultramarine blue plus white with a little
vermillon (orangey-red) added to tone it down.
The skintone is the standard white-ochre-sienna mix.The faces of all the figures will be finished just prior to putting the figures in the diorama when I finally decide how they will relate to one another.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

This figure is of a RFC officer.
The undercoat is burnt umber gesso and water about 50/50.
The tunic is olive green with a touch of cad red.The pants are provincial beige and white with a touch of red.The boots are 50/50 burnt sienna and burnt umber.After painting in the details I will shade everything with pastels.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Same figure with detail added.I painted the leather work straight burnt umber.
The lacing on the boots was dry brushed on using provincial biege.
To dry brush take a stiff pigs bristle brush and trim it down until the bristles are very stiff.Now dunk the dry brush into some straight beige (no water or mediums)rub your brush on a piece of cardboard until just about all the paint is removed from the brush.Scrub your brush across (up and down or from side to side)the raised surface that you want to drybrush ,transferring just enough paint to highlight the surface.You may have to repeat this procedure a few times until there is a subtle difference in shade.Remember it is important to remove 99% of the paint from your brush before you start.Be patient and let the paint build slowly.One heavy coat and you will spoil all your hard work.
Cheers! John.

[JohnReid]

Just how easy is it?This figure was painted with paint straight out of the tube with just a little water added.The photo was taken using my scanner.I have not even used any pastels for shading yet. The right paint,one or two good brushes and anyone can do this.
Take a look at the clothes you are wearing and unless they are made of silk or you are wearing a garbage bag, there is very little shine.Shine is the number one enemy of good figure painting.I would rather see a figure dead flat than shiney, in fact when using the proper lighting even flat paint can come alive.Hold on to your hobby paints for general painting purposes but for figures there are really only 2 brands out there worth using, especially if you are new to figure painting.Not all artists acryilics are the same either ,most have way too much varnish in them for figure painting purposes.Rather than trying to flatten an already shiny surface why not start out with a flat surface and add your own shine as need be.Just look at most of the figures that you see.Most look like toy soldiers that you bought as a kid.They are just about as shiney as a showroom car or airplane that they stand beside.
I am sorry to say but if you include figures in your diorama,it is essential to get them right.It is just human nature to be drawn to the figures first even before they look at that beautiful car or airplane that you have spent so much time on.If the figure doesnt look right your whole piece will be judged by that standard.The casual viewer is probably no expert in every car or airplane that he sees but we are all experts at how our human body should look.A well painted figure can help save a mediocre car or airplane model but a poorly painted figure can destroy the illusion of believability that you are trying to create. Most figures that I see just seem to be added as an afterthought and are just rushed and painted any old way.We all love cars or airplanes but if you want to make a good diorama every element has to receive the same love and attention that you are willing to put into the main subject.

[JohnReid]

With this thread running some 114 pages these days ,I thought that for the newcomers to the art of the diorama I would post some of the basics again,from time to time.

What is a diorama?
Traditionally a diorama was a shadow box or three-dimensional picture,however in our modern era it has come to encompass just about anything where objects are positioned in such a way as to interrelate with each other and usually tell or suggest a story.The key is that it must be three dimensional.The setting can be very realistic or fanciful depending upon your own imagination.The magic of the diorama is that it takes a somewhat static object or group of objects and makes them come alive.In my mind it takes the craft of modelling and elevates it into the realm of art.I think that it is the highest expression of what we do as modellers.The whole craft vs art controvery just slips away and becomes irrelevent and even the kit vs scratch dilemma really doesnt matter because now the focus is on your creative ability to raise an emotional response in your viewer. Let your imagination run wild,contact that 10 year old kid that exists in all of us and you cant help but be a successful dioramist.Cheers! John

[StephenLawson]

John you never cease to amaze me. Model On!