How To Make Dioramas

Making Dioramas is a wonderful hobby that can exhibit an extraordinary wide range of creativity. You can make a diorama of almost any scene your mind can imagine. Here are tips, tutorials and example dioramas that will help you to make your own dioramas. There is also a tutorial of "The battle for the treasure". It is a wizard battling three skeletons for a treasure and in this tutorial I take you through all the steps of making a really great looking diorama. There are lots of pictures and a clear explanation of everything you need to do from start to finish including wiring it up for lights!

The New Scenery Tips & Techniques (Model Railroader) Looking for a good book on how to make Diorama scenery? This book is not just for railroaders. It is perfect for the diorama maker.

How to Build Dioramas - Looking for a good book on how to build Military dioramas and how to paint the models, tanks, airplanes and other things? This book is terrific. I own it and love it.

Some wonderful new Diorama buildings. I have discovered a company named Conflix that makes some terrific 1/72 scale stuff for dioramas and wargaming. Here are six different items for Medieval And Renaissance dioramas: Conflix Diorama Buildings I really like these buildings.

How to make snow in a diorama Here is a great tutorial submitted by a web visitor. It shows you how to make realistic (and durable) snow from scratch.

I have started a whole new section on WW2 Models, miniatures and dioramas. This section is currently growing and it will feature a How to make a WW2 tank Battle diorama tutorial. WW2 Models, Miniatures, and Dioramas

A couple of WW2 Dioramas submitted by a web visitor. Here are two videos with tips on making a WW2 trench like the one shown in the pic and a diorama with a Tiger tank. WW2 Diorama stuff

Castle Siege Diorama Project

This is a terrific diorama project built and submitted by a web visitor (Krzysztof O.) My thanks to him for sending us these terrific pictures. The project includes a big castle with a main gate, a battering ram, a trebuchet and a mantlet. You can see pictures of this project here: The Castle Siege Diorama

Foam terrain for wargaming or dioramas

New Tutorial on how to use foam to make wargaming terrain or a diorama. This tutorial, which includes a video, shows you types of foam, good and bad foam, the tools used, including regular tools and hot wire tools. And it shows you the process for making terrain from foam. The project shown here is completely made out of foam -castle and all. How to use foam to make wargaming terrain and dioramas

Here is a beautiful diorama of a christmas Holy land scene. This was submitted by a web visitor (Juanamie P.) Thanks Juanamie! Christmas Holy Land Diorama

Here is a beautiful Wildlife diorama made and submitted by Heather D. My thanks to her for this great project. She gives us some great tips on how she made this including what products she used. Wildlife Diorama: Elephant at an Oasis.

Here is a stunning diorama made by a guest artist (Alberto A.) It is called "Insect Maker" and Alberto calls his work "Visionary Chambers". In this tutorial he lays out how to preserve insects and other natural objects like plants and leaves to use them in your diorama. He also gives us some great tips on making miniature furniture and fabrics: The Insect Maker Diorama

Don't have the materials for a diorama? You can make one out of paper mache which is just flour and water. I show you how in this tutorial where I make a scene from the Lord of the Rings Castle Helms Deep. How to make a paper mache diorama

Here is a scratch built diorama of a covered bridge. This project was built and submitted by a web visitor (David O.) It shows some great uses of popsicle sticks and in particular is the thatched roof and the old fashioned wooden fence. Thanks Dave! See more pics and get tips here: Covered Bridge Diorama

Here are some great pictures and tips on how to make professional looking diorama's using styrofoam. Styrofoam Diorama Making

Here is a terrific diorama submitted by a web visitor (Chip F.) It is a famous scene from one of the Star Wars movies. Chip used some great techniques to make this diorama including using Sculpey to make the awesome and realistic tree stump. Learn more and see the pics here. A Swamp Diorama

WW2 is a great subject for diorama making and lots of people make dioramas in this period. Here is a series of pictures of a small WW2 Diorama that a web visitor has made. The visitor also has included some great tips on how he made this unique and creative diorama including a tree, water effects and some great tufts of grass How to Make a WW2 Diorama with tips, tricks and hints

An Empty Diorama box that you can print up and assemble. Half the fun of a shoebox diorama is the shoebox. This is a complete download that you can print and assemble so you have your own fancy box. The Printable Diorama Box This is the box I use in the tatebanko castle diorama shown below.

Tatebanko: The Lost Japanese Art of Paper Dioramas - This is a wonderful way to make dioramas just with paper. I have a complete download of this tatebanko castle, pictures of a professional tatebanko and a download of the empty box if you want to fill it with your own diorama. Tatebanko Paper Dioramas

How to Make realistic Miniature Trees - This tutorial (with a video) shows you how to make great looking miniature trees. The focus here is on using clay to sculpt the trunk. Make realistic Miniature trees

Interested in Miniatures?
Want to make them? Sculpt them? Paint them? I have a whole section devoted to the art of sculpting and painting miniatures. Miniatures -
D & D, Ral Partha and lots more. No diorama is complete unless it has some fantastic miniatures!

Make a spectacular Wall diorama for your miniatures
This is an on going project that takes you through the construction of a wonderful wall diorama How to make a Big Wall Diorama for your fantasy miniatures

Castle inside a lightbulb diorama
This is a creative little diorama that has a castle and a dragon right inside the lightbulb. I also show you how to add a tiny light to the tower of the castle and the easy way to hollow out the light bulb. Lightbulb Diorama

Make a Trench Warfare Diorama
This is a wonderful little trench warfare diorama submitted by a web visitor (Alika). I show you the diorama and also show you a tutorial on how to make trenches for your diorama. If you like Military Dioramas this is for you. Trench Warfare Diorama

How to sculpt fantasy miniatures:
This is an in- depth series of tutorial including videos that shows you how to sculpt fantasy miniatures and gives you the practice, techniques, skills, and tips needed to do a good job of it. How to Sculpt Fantasy Miniatures

Make a foam based diorama with a river
This is a great diorama submitted by a web visitor. It shows all the steps taken to make this wonderful scene from the past on the Mississippi River. The Diorama

How to use cork to make great looking rubble on your diorama
This is terrific for battle scenes, or broken down and run down towns and areas of your diorama. Cork is very useful and looks great. Here is the complete tutorial including painting tips and a video. Rubble Diorama

Make a cemetary Diorama
This is a nice spooky diorama with gravestones, a creepy fence and a small mausoleum. I show lots of tips on using everyday materials like popsicle sticks and toothpicks. I also have a video with this tutorial. Cemetary Diorama

How to Make a Dinosaur Diorama - This is an active diorama - The meteor flashes across the sky and the volcano erupts. Easy to make and teaches about the theories of dinosaur extinction. Nice learning shoebox diorama. The Active Dinosaur Diorama

A Wizards Tower Diorama that I also made a video game of! This is a tutorial on using foam to make dioramas. Here is where the tutorial starts and here is the video that also shows about a minute of footage with me playing the video game. I have to get into the tower, get the fire staff, and slay the dragon.! Fun, multi-discipline project.

New Project: I used the motor from a ten dollar remote control car to automate the drawbridge. It goes up and down. Neat project and I show you how to do it. I also have a video that shows it in action. Motorizing a Diorama Tutorial

How to make rubber molds for your diorama. A great way to make rocks, cliffs, cliff formations and castle walls. Easy to do with latex rubber. You just brush it on. How to make rubber molds

How to make miniature trees for dioramas and model railroads. I show you the traditional way to do it and I show you some improvisations so you can make trees with materials found around the house. How to make miniature trees

A user submitted creative suggestion. Being creative when using materials to make landscapes. This diorama landscape came out superb. I have more pics and suggestions on being creative with your diorama making here. Creative Diorama Making

New Tutorial: (July 1, 08) How to make trenches in your diorama. Particularly good for military and battle scene dioramas - Just plan ahead and build the structure around the trench. Video shows how to do it.

Are you a collector of Miniatures and Dioramas? Sideshow Collectibles has some beautiful Dioramas for Lord of the Rings. I have a page with pictures and information here: Sideshow Collectible LOTR Dioramas

Some tips on building a diorama like this awesome halo diorama. This isn't my diorama. Somebody asked me for tips on how to build one like this. I lay out some solid help that shows how to make the base using sculpting foam. Nice looking diorama and really sets a great scene. Here is the tutorial on how to do something like this

I am currently working on a diorama of the Battle of Thermopylae where the 300 Spartans made their last stand. I have also transformed it into a tutorial that shows all the basics of how to make a diorama. It is not complete yet but there is quite a bit of great diorama making information there. The Battle of Thermopylae Diorama

A Video of my six foot Medieval Castle Diorama - This video shows my diorama which has a working waterfall and lights in both the castle and the evil mountain. Medieval Castle Diorama Video

A guest artist has combines his love of painting with the art of Diorama making. He has put together a nice tutorial on how to take a painting and transform it into a shadowbox style diorama. But this isn't as far as he goes. He also shows us some really nice trick of the eye techniques for making the diorama extra special Dioramas from your paintings

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Ocean Diorama

This is a unique little ocean diorama shaped like the porthole of a submarine and made out of a cookie tin. I have full instructions and artwork for you to print and make. Easy and fun project. A new take on the ocean diorama. Imagine looking out the porthole of your submarine and discovering Atlantis! Now you can. Ocean Diorama

New Project: The FireFly Diorama

Firefly Diorama

This is a great little shoebox diorama that uses tiny blinking lights as fireflies. Battery operated and you can make it. See the project tutorial and the video of it in action Firefly Diorama

Here is a seven foot Diorama complete with castle, waterfall and working lights and sound. You can see more pictures of this diorama model here.

This model diorama is part of a free tutorial on how to make dioramas. It is complete from start to finish. It shows you how to design it, create the landscape shell, add the terrain and trees then add the miniatures. This tutorial has all the basic steps to making a model diorama. See the tutorial

A Shoebox Diorama - See the tutorial on how to make this nice diorama of a knight battling a dragon. The dragon is suspended in mid-air. One of the unique things about this diorama is that the shoebox is in the vertical position. This tutorial has everything you need including all the art work that you can print and color. A fun project.
ShoeBox diorama of knight and dragon battle

A Shadowbox Diorama project - This is a nice project that gets framed and hung on the wall. You can show off your miniatures in this shadowbox.
The Shadowbox tutorial

Painting Miniatures Tutorial: If you are making dioramas and you have miniatures, whether it be military miniatures, Dungeon and Dragon Miniatures or just Fantasy Miniatures you know that painting them is one of the most important parts of the process. I have put together a tutorial on how to paint miniatures. Miniature Painting

Check out these dioramas submitted by a visitor to the website. They are a great example of creative use of materials.

A Thousand and One Nights

Model Dioramas

Check out the Diorama and Miniature store

Want to take your diorama making to new heights of realism? I have put together a selection of materials you can buy from amazon.com. These are great materials that hobbyists use to make really life like dioramas. The trees you see here are one of the kits. They look real don't they?

Woodland scenics Trees and more at Amazon.com They have all the materials you could need.

Diorama making is an extremely rewarding hobby and if you are looking for a way to learn even more and expand your skills to new heights here are a couple of books on the art and craft of diorama making.

Greg Cihlar's Fabulous Military Dioramas

How to Build Dioramas

From Graves to Caves:: Modeling Your Diorama!

Custom Search

This is a Storm The Castle Website

• Index
• What is a diorama?
• How to Make a diorama - step-by step tutorial
• A short history of Dioramas
• Diorama Books
• Painting Miniatures
• Diorama Ideas
• Diorama Examples
• Diorama Making for the artist
• Diorama Making supplies & Tools
• Dioramas by Web Visitors
• Printable diorama box

Types of Dioramas to Make

• How to make a Paper Mache Diorama
• Diorama inside a lightbulb
• Insect Maker Diorama
• Mississippi River with Indians
• Really creative shoebox diorama
• Dinosaur Diorama
• Make a secret diorama
• Wildlife Diorama (African Oasis)
• Firefly Diorama with real blinking lights
• Rainforest Diorama
• Ocean Diorama
• Shadowbox diorama
• Make a shoebox diorama
• Massive Castle Diorama
• Diorama Examples
• Polymer Clay
• The Battle of Thermopylae Spartan Warrior Diorama - A tutorial
• HALO Diorama
• Wizards Tower Foam Diorama
• Cemetary Diorama
• Trench Warfare
• Simple Nature Diorama
• Water Woman Diorama
• WW1 Diorama submitted by a web visitor
• Christmas Holy Land Diorama submitted by a web visitor
• New Section: Making WW2 Dioramas and Miniatures
• Castle Siege Diorama project

STORES

• Diorama Making Books
• Diorama Kits
• Sideshow Collectible Lord of the Rings Dioramas
• Plastic Scale Dinosaur Diorama Kits
• Harry Potter Dioramas
• Diorama Foam
• Conflix Medieval Buildings for Dioramas and wargaming
• Tatebanko Paper Dioramas

Plastic Models

• Tiger Tank 1/72 Scale
• Sherman Tank 1/72 Scale
• How to make plastic models: Tips, Tricks and techniques
• Painting Miniature German Soldiers (1/72 Scale)
• Painting Miniature American Soldiers (1/72 Scale)

Check out the Diorama and Miniature store

*Short Diorama Tutorials*

• How to make snow for your diorama
• How to Make realistic tufts of grass
• How to make trenches
• Creative terrain shell making
• How to make Miniature Trees
• How to Make rubber rock and wall molds
• Motorize a drawbridge on your diorama
• Using foam to make a diorama
• How to make good looking rubble using cork
• Creative Shoebox Diorama Ideas for School
• A foam based diorama with water from start to finish
• Some great WW2 diorama trench making tips with video
• How to make plastic models- Tips tricks and techniques

OTHER PROJECTS

Build A Trebuchet!

Build A Catapult

Make a Paper Castle

How to make a video game

Make a cardboard Samurai Sword

Make a Cardboard Medieval Shield

Make Model Rockets

How to Make a diorama

How to Make a Shoebox Diorama

How to make a fantasy shadowbox

How to Play Classical guitar

Fantasy Art Lessons

Make the ultimate terrarium

Make a Dragon Pinata

How to make a volcano