Make an Egyptian Diorama

How to make an egyptian diorama. This is an interesting and good looking project and I walk you through all the various steps in making this diorama. As a companion to this tutorial I also sculpted a miniature sphinx to put on it. There are several different ways that you can do this tutorial and you can even skip the part where I make the plaster shell and either leave the terrain flat or build it up with cardboard or poster board.

I show you a variety of materials and techniques in diorama making you can mix and match these techniques to suit your needs. I also use a variety of materials and supplies for this project. If you are looking for some of these supplies I have links and a list of them here: Diorama making supplies

You can Also Watch the Video on this tutorial here

Here is the completed diorama

the completed Egyptian diorama

Pre work on the diorama layout

Beginning the diorama.

There are a couple of things you should do before actually starting the work on the diorama. I generally draw a lot of pictures so I can figure out the arrangement and layout. In the picture at the left I show you a great way to do a mockup. Consider the various landmarks and objects you want to have on your diorama and make some paper mockups.

(I have a tutorial on how to make an origami pyramid if you want to do that for your mockups)

You can see I have five major objects; three pyramids, a blue oasis and a sphinx. With these you can get a sense for the size of your diorama, the scale and how you will lay things out. The picture shows the layout and size I have decided on.

the cardboard frame of the diorama Next you cut strips of cardboard about two inches wide and in varying lengths. You use these to create a frame for the terrain shell of the diorama. Notice how the water section of the oasis is cleared out? The most important thing is the height that you are building up.

This picture shows an additional step that I have done for this diorama. I want the sand dunes to be very fluid and smooth so I have covered the whole diorama with a layer of thick paper. This will smooth the terrain out. For most dioramas you don't do this. You want the terrain to have a varied look. But with this diorama I want nice smooth sand dunes. Consider doing this if you want the same effect.

We make the shell by using either plaster of paris or Hydrocal. Mix it according to the box and dip strips of paper towels in it.

Lay the strips one by one on the surface of the diorama and overlap them to make the shell nice and strong.

The hydrocal or plaster of paris will dry quickly so make small batches and continue to make batches until the shell of the terrain is complete.

The Completed Shell

This is the completed shell.

Continue on with the tutorial

Resources and related Tutorials

Scene-A-Rama Desert Oasis Diorama Kit

Sculpt a Miniature Sphinx : How to sculpt a miniature sphinx. This is part of an Egyptian Diorama I am making.

Make an Egyptian Tatebanko : This is a nice tatebanko project in Egypt. It shows the sphinx and the pyramids and it has a little caravan of camels walking across the desert. Egyptian Tatebanko

Make an Origami Pyramid Neat little project that is easy to make. I have lots of other origami projects too. . Make an origami pyramid

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