Totoro's Dinotales Microramas

[totoro]

Feb 21, 2011 0:03:00 GMT Himmapaan said:

I like seeing things in progress!

Haha...ME TOO! Plus, it basically commits me to follow through and show what happens, even if it sucks. I figure others can learn from my mistakes.

I have had a lot of fun reading the PT issues with Ron Lemery's "Frozen Moments" diorama building tutorials. I've picked up a couple tips/links that have been very helpful from those, and also just find inspiration seeing what others are doing and how they are doing it. I'm going to have to check out your Gigantosaur build up soon. Have you done anything with that lately Himmapaan?

Oh, and in the spirit of showing progress, I just took 5' to frame in the little stream I am creating for this microrama with some wet clay and poured some Realistic Water to start the layered process of creating the water.









I will leave one of the rocks partially emerged and try to create contours on the water surface with the last layer to mimic a babbling creek. We'll see how that goes. I make no promises, haha.

[Himmapaan]

Feb 21, 2011 0:07:41 GMT totoro said:

I'm going to have to check your Gigantosaur build up out soon. Have you done anything with that lately Himmapaan?

Umm... No, I'm afraid not. I haven't had time, unfortunately. That is the way of most of my hobby projects: they will be completed eventually, but it is usually absolute ages before they are. As you will see on the thread, there is also that mysterious thing with the feathers which I shall be lucky to complete by the year's end.

The little creek is looking very cool; and I very much hope you'll accomplish the babbling effects.

[totoro]

Feb 21, 2011 0:18:06 GMT Himmapaan said:

Umm... No, I'm afraid not.

Haha, well, when it comes to producing art, you've got no need to feel like an under-achiever!

[totoro]

Quick update with a few more photos of the latest microrama. I intended this to be a scene of an Allosaurus hounding a couple of Stegosaurs. The Allosaur is standing atop a small slope looking down at the Stegosaurs, which are standing in a field of ferns beside a stream. I thought maybe I'd try to add a couple tree ferns to add some vertical structure to the scene. So, these photos show the progress so far, including some ferns on the ground (want to double that amount, probably, before it's done), and another layer of Realistic Water in the stream. The initial layer of RW leaked out through a small hole in the bottom of the stream last night, but I think that has sealed up as it now seems to be holding "water". The newly made tree fern trunks are set out in possible locations and the creatures posed in possible final positions.


Front View


Far Stegosaur (missing front left leg - it came to me that way, unfortunately, so I'll have to hide that somehow)


Allosaur and near Stegosaur


Top View

Lots more to do - painting rocks and trees, adding more ferns, adding 3-4 more layers of water (only 1 layer every 24 hours), adding in ground texture (pulverized lichens and ferns, probably).

Thanks for looking.

[DinoLord]

I've received Dinotales with either missing or broken parts two times. You should contact the seller if the purchase was recent; some may make you send the original back while others don't.

[totoro]

Feb 22, 2011 0:06:43 GMT DinoLord said:

I've received Dinotales with either missing or broken parts two times. You should contact the seller if the purchase was recent; some may make you send the original back while others don't.

I'm not sure why I didn't, Dinolord. I have done that before and received great replacements. I think that 3-legged Stegosaur might have come as part of a group I got for a GREAT deal from a dude in WA selling off his stuff and so didn't really think it was worth complaining about a leg, esp. since I had another copy and wasn't likely to recover the leg or a replacement anyway.

[Libraraptor]

I like both your "Microrama" neologism and its transfer very much! Way to go!

[bokisaurus]

Looking good, really loving the water

[totoro]

Thanks Libraraptor and Bokisaurus. I've added a few layers of water and then today topped the ground surface with a couple of layers of biotic material. The first, lighter brown layer, is made of seeds that fell from some Spiraea flowers that I was drying (I used these for the trees on the Megatherium microrama). Over that, I layered some areas of ground-up dried moss.


About 75% done


Slope close-up


Left side

I also made a few tree ferns that I may add in...can't decide if I like them or not. They need some more work, but here they are so far:

[totoro]

OK, I'm looking for some feedback.

Should I include these tree ferns in this microrama?

If so, how many and which configuration do you like?

I know I should have an odd number but wonder whether three tall and a fourth short one still looks like an odd #. Does the scale look OK with the ferns? I can't decide.

I need to settle on it so I can set them in place and touch up paint and make the bases blend in with the ground.

What else should I do with this one? I was going to add some more ferns around the bases of the trees if I put them in. Any other thoughts?


current base


current base


current base with dinos


current base with dinos


Four tree ferns


Three Tree Ferns


Different Tree arrangement


Different 4-trees


Different 3 trees, moved critters


Higher view

Thanks for looking...and voting (I hope) ;D

[bokisaurus]

Feb 26, 2011 6:00:01 GMT totoro said:

OK, I'm looking for some feedback.

Should I include these tree ferns in this microrama?

If so, how many and which configuration do you like?

I know I should have an odd number but wonder whether three tall and a fourth short one still looks like an odd #. Does the scale look OK with the ferns? I can't decide.

I need to settle on it so I can set them in place and touch up paint and make the bases blend in with the ground.

What else should I do with this one? I was going to add some more ferns around the bases of the trees if I put them in. Any other thoughts?




Different 4-trees


Different 3 trees, moved critters


Thanks for looking...and voting (I hope) ;D

I like these two versions the best. They both have good balance, and good composition. I think you can still add the little fern tree and still achieve the great balance yo have going on the second option. Perhaps placing the small tree fern right next to the base of one of the taller trees (left one?). I love the trees btw.
I'm very impressed by your work, it really has come a long way from your first one!
Great Job!

[Himmapaan]

I second Boki's choices and perhaps add this one too.

Have you tried using the contents of teabags for ground cover? Herbal teas are expecially good, I think. You can use your magic coffee grinder to make them even smaller to fit your microrama scale. Although I recommend you drink the teas first so they haven't been wasted. ;D Then open them up and let the contents dry. Or salvage used bags from other drinkers.

[totoro]

Feb 26, 2011 6:19:44 GMT bokisaurus said:

I like these two versions the best. They both have good balance, and good composition. I think you can still add the little fern tree and still achieve the great balance yo have going on the second option. Perhaps placing the small tree fern right next to the base of one of the taller trees (left one?). I love the trees btw.
I'm very impressed by your work, it really has come a long way from your first one!
Great Job!

Cool, thanks Bokisaurus!

Feb 26, 2011 9:02:00 GMT Himmapaan said:

I second Boki's choices and perhaps add this one too.

Have you tried using the contents of teabags for ground cover? Herbal teas are expecially good, I think. You can use your magic coffee grinder to make them even smaller to fit your microrama scale. Although I recommend you drink the teas first so they haven't been wasted. ;D Then open them up and let the contents dry. Or salvage used bags from other drinkers.

Great idea about the tea Himmapaan-Niroot! I like the idea of using natural stuff like moss and lichen, seeds, etc. but tea would work in a pinch too. Thanks for weighing in on the trees.

I just noticed. 7 more posts and I get a 3rd star!

[Himmapaan]

Feb 26, 2011 18:18:31 GMT totoro said:

Great idea about the tea Himmapaan-Niroot! I like the idea of using natural stuff like moss and lichen, seeds, etc. but tea would work in a pinch too.

Herbal infusions bags are preferable to actual tea, as they contain chopped up bits of stalks, petals, etc, so will give you more variation in colour and texture. It is still all natural too. I have amassed a jar of the stuff but have never actually had the chance to put them to proper use myself.

Anjuli-Bai was reluctant to model again so soon, but I persuaded her to lend her assistance along with a few others:





The fragments may feel a little large for Dinotales, but I think they still work. But of course, you can easily employ your magic coffee grinder if you prefer.





The other excellent thing about these is that you can cover up the bases of some dinotales with them, as demonstarted by this Struthiominus.

[ikessauro]

great work totoro

Hey guys, where can I buy realistic water online with a good price... I want to do a diorama for some figures to display on my bedroom, and since last year I've been searching for a good store to buy the water stuff. Usually on ebay the prices are a little higher and the shipping also is expensive, more than should be.

[stoneage]

Wow that another great idea for dioramas Himmapaan! What is a magic coffee grinder? I normally don't make coffee or tea.

[Himmapaan]

Feb 27, 2011 22:32:22 GMT stoneage said:

Wow that another great idea for dioramas Himmapaan! What is a magic coffee grinder? I normally don't make coffee or tea.

Oh, Totoro has an old coffee grinder with which he grinds up lichen, moss, etc for his microramas. I just called it 'magic'. ;D

[[][][]cordylus[][][]]

These are fantastic! job well done! I've been thinking of doing something like this for small dinosaur figurines for a while now; now that I see that they can be done awesomely I may have to try it...

[totoro]

I like the tea bag ground cover Himmapaan. Doesn't it get tiresome being so creative all of the time? Haha, you can probably do in 3' what it would take me 4 days to come up with.

Your using the "sandbox" approach to dioramas, where you have material that mounds up somewhat inside, and usually requires sides to contain the base. I considered that, but ultimately rejected the idea of having a bunch of loose material inside, which is what you'd need if you were going to conceal a dinotales figure base. I want to be able to move these from time to time and have them be stable.

Plus, the ground cover is really not a challenge for me at all, there is so much that is readily available and very realistic looking (moss, lichen, sand, etc.).

My biggest challenge is the vegetation!! I'm tired of using plastic plants. They are fine for a start, and look alright from a distance, but I've about maxed out on them because now I end up staring at them as the most artificial part of the piece. That really shows on these photos, which blow things up dramatically.

I need to do some serious hunting this summer when I hike and camp to find alternatives. Luckily, I live in the Pacific NW and there are lots of mosses and lichens that may work well once dried to mimic prehistoric vegetation. I do need to work out a good technique for drying and protecting (varnish-like, to make the dried material sturdy) plant material, so if anyone has a link to a good reference for that, or a source of more natural looking miniature plants, please do pass that on here.

Ikessauro, I can't recall what I paid for my RW, but I bought it on eBay for about $20 plus shipping and it has gone a long way. I've still got 95% of the bottle after two dioramas.

[Himmapaan]

I think you'll be surprised how long I take to do anything.
Yes, you're right, this sort of ground cover is much less permanent. I was thinking that it could be a useful addition during photoshoots, but probably much less ideal for long term display. I know you are well supplied with good material already, I just thought to share it as an idea. Like you, I much prefer having secure 'sets' which could be supplemented with this sort of thing when occasion demands, but sadly lack space to make, display or store them.

Also, I've just realised: I hope my posting those pictures wasn't an intrusion; they were only to show what the stuff might be good for in context.