The creative diorama maker sees things not as they are but as they could be.(JohnReid)

Creative diorama making what is it ?
Let me count the ways!

For me a diorama must tell a story, good or bad. Now we have a diorama forum in Armorama but when it involves an aircraft often we put it in the Aeroscale forum relevant to the time period. I can go either or both to post.

As I have said on the subject in my previous posts some dioramas can do without humanoid figures but the evidence to the objects in the scene must tell a story. I am not a big fan of corpses being depicted but some storylines are about death. In the final analysis one has to ask, what am I trying to get across. Like a painting are you just putting something on display or depicting an event?

Creative diorama making is really all about creative decision making.From the early days of "what shall I build" to selecting the wood for the display case,its all about decisions,decisions ,decisions.
A perfect example is the decision that I am making today,let me explain.
I am half way finished an old truck model T that I am placing in my latest aircraft diorama.Diorama #4 for the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.(I mention this because a diorama for public display may have different priorities than one you do for yourself)
I have to decide where to put it and there are a number of options available to me.It is a junkyard truck so the junkyard would seem obvious but...How about pulling the tarp cart ? Would this be too close to the main subject the airplane and therefore draw attention away from it ? at first look it would seem that this is the case.But look closer. The airplane is precisely put together and the truck, in sharp contrast, has been just thrown together.Why would this be a better choice ? because of the stark contrast.(black is best seen next to white isn't it?)Well the same is true here ,when the opposite ends of the pole are put together the maximum effect can be achieved.This arrangement actually enhances the look of the aircraft.
Here are a few pics to show you what I mean...

Good ! the obvious choice.

Better ! pulling the tarp cart.

Best ! right up next to the aircraft.

Notice how with this arrangement that I have used the cars and trucks to ensure that your eye moves in a circle but eventually comes back to the aircraft.

The overall view.

Although I have centered the main action around the airplane, the bigger story as represented by the whole diorama is not lost either ,"his decision to enlist or not" This part of the story is being told outside of the backyards with the separation of the road into two,the burnt out wreck and the enlist now sign.

Should a diorama tell a story?

Not always, I guess. It can also be an almost random collection of things, a plane left in a corner of an airfield after a mishap, some worn out equipment...

For airplanes, in most cases these things just stand there, all alone, without any good purpose or reason, wait for a few hours of action

Hi John,

You are one busy model maker! Your railroad diorama--I look forward to the next installment.

Where is the URL to your General pix?

Yeah your right but I love it ! the RR diorama is up next as soon as I finish my present commitment.
My general pics are all in my photobucket.

They don't have to but they are so much more interesting when they do.Airplanes always look best in their natural element ,the air but in the hands of a creative diorama maker they can be very interesting too.

Here is an example of how every little element counts when telling a story,the welcome home banner.What does it tell us ?
It obviously was made by someone in his family and was painted on an old piece of cardboard.I have used Joseph instead of Joe as Victorians were a little more formal.It is hung between the two houses in order to link them together into one extended family.It is easy visible from Joe's perspective as he is arriving home.

Hi John

I'd love to see you condense some of your work into Feature articles. They might possibly not include the full depth that you are able to include in the Forum, but the viewing figures consistently show that a substantial proportion of our readers concentrate exclusively on the Content section and don't frequent the Forum, sadly missing gems such as these entirely.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan ! I will keep that in mind when my building days are over and I have a little more time.Right now the old head and hands are still hangin in there so I want to keep on as long as possible.When I retire from active building I will take you up on your kind offer.I would love to do a few articles for this forum.

Seeing things as they could be requires that you become a bit of a hoarder.Being a pack rat is a good thing in our hobby.
Shopping centers,dollar stores,flea markets,yard sales all have great potential for collecting diorama treasures.Even around your own home be aware of the "could be" use of everyday items.I get a lot of the larger scale stuff at doll house shows,RR hobby stores etc.. Often with a little creative thinking these items can be used as is, modified or used as examples for scratch building.Tools for example come in all sizes even in 1:1 scale.
Keep in mind that there are often cheaper sources of hobby materials than in hobby stores.Often dollar stores have lots of potential raw materials such as high quality wood products,thin plywoods ,dowels and strip wood for example.Keep your eyes open and get in the habit of saying to yourself what could I use this for...

Be open to constructive criticism but ignore the yahoos.If your stuff is good you will make lots of friends and a few enemies along the way.It is just human nature to be competitive and seek approval for our stuff.Nothing wrong with that but try to keep the competition within yourself to do better next time.Don't go back and re-do stuff, just say to yourself that "that is where I was at creatively at the time and move on.
"I take suggestions not orders" as Shep likes to say, be especially open to suggestions when they come from someone who's work you admire.
Recently it happened to me and I went back to the drawing board after sulking for a short time.Thank God I did now it will be better than ever.

I went to a dollhouse/miniaturists show the other day looking for a few specific items for" gilding the lily "as they say.That special item that you always are looking for to put a sparkle in the eye of your viewer.
There were a lot of vignette/dioramas there but nothing of what I would call a storyboard diorama.There were rooms depicting certain eras,modern,Victorian etc..but they were mostly just a collection of furniture etc..sometimes very expensive furniture.
In most instances there was just too much to look at all at once and they mostly looked too stuffed with stuff.This is always a danger in making dioramas."When is enough,enough"?
when would adding just one more thing would just be too much? This can be another difficult decision for
the creative diorama maker to ponder.