Diorama or roombox
Hello everyone,
Today, I'm going to tell you about dioramas It's a world I've discovered and found fascinating.
I've been creating dioramas professionally since 2017, but my passion for dolls goes back much further. I've always liked to create a world around them. I discovered dioramas on the Internet, and started experimenting with different materials for my creations, which I'd like to present to you today.
Feel free to ask me questions at any time during the presentation.
What is a diorama?
A diorama is a volume reconstruction of a scene, whether in a historical, naturalistic, geological or even religious context. It allows you to recreate a miniature universe, integrating objects, characters and detailed scenery to create the illusion of reality.
Originally, dioramas were mainly used for theatrical doll's houses at 1/12. In recent years, however, this practice has spread to other scales, such as the 1/8the 1/6the 1/4 and even the 1/3. This allowed enthusiasts to dolls of different worlds to recreate more varied scenes, adapted to different sizes of dolls, whether they be Barbie, Pullip, BJDor others.
A dioramais a little staging that allows you to showcase your dolls and create their own universe.
It's something that's highly developed in the doll world, particularly in the United States and Germany.
With a diorama, you can reproduce any theme: vampires, witches, kawaii universe, babiesand many others. It all depends on your imagination and the means at your disposal.
Whether you want to create a cosy bedroom, an enchanted forest or a vintage boutique, dioramas offer endless possibilities for bringing your creations to life!
To make it, you'll need to find the basic materials that suit your needs and desires. Here are the main ones:
Basic materials for creating a diorama
1. The box
Easy to find and inexpensive, cardboard is ideal for getting started. You can find it in a variety of forms: pre-cut sheets, corrugated, smooth or textured. It's easy to recover, especially from packing cartons.
Benefits Inexpensive, available in several textures to create roofs, walls, etc.
Disadvantages Not very sturdy, deforms easily and does not last over time.
ideal for getting started and seeing if diorama-making appeals to you
2. Polystyrene or insulation board
Very practical for creating volumes (e.g., mountains or reliefs). It can be sculpted and painted very well, but be careful not to use aggressive paints such as spray, which could melt the material. Choose acrylic instead.
Benefits Inexpensive, malleable, several textures available.
Disadvantages : Easily damaged, even the slightest impact is visible.
4. MDF wood or plywood
It's the material I use for most of my furniture and dioramas.
It's strong and long-lasting.
It's available in different thicknesses, depending on the size of your dolls. You can have it cut to size in DIY stores.
Benefits Resistant, affordable, easy to customize.
Disadvantages Without notches for assembly, it can sometimes be difficult to handle.
The furniture
If you have the space, you can build your own furniture, as I did for my Minifee house (MNF). If not, you can use existing furniture, like the Billy shelves from IKEA, which I used to create my Gothic bedroom.
Benefits Resistant, easy to customize, time-saving.
Disadvantages Costly and space-consuming.
Types of dioramas
In terms of structure, you have several options:
Completely closed like a doll's house.
Partially closed with three walls, a floor and a roof.
Open With one or two walls and a floor, but beware of fragility.
How do I create a diorama?
There are many ways to create a diorama, depending on your skills, the materials available and your desires. Here are a few options to get you started:
Cutting in a specialized store :
You can buy MDF, wood or other materials in a DIY store and ask for a quotation. customized cutting. This allows you to choose the exact dimensions according to the size of your dolls and the type of scene you want to create.
Benefit: Total freedom to create the format and design you want.
Disadvantage: This requires careful planning and advance knowledge of measurements.
Use a pre-cut diorama :
If you don't want to start cutting or working with wood, there are a number of woodworking kits available. pre-cut dioramasready to assemble. You can find them on my website for 1/8, 1/6 and 1/4, https://www.sunnyshop211.com/
Benefit: Time-saving, easy assembly for beginners.
Disadvantage: You are limited by the models available on the market.
Use a piece of furniture you've built yourself or made yourself:
You can also reuse existing furniture such as shelves or boxes to create a diorama. For example, IKEA shelves (like Billy's) are often used for medium to large dioramas.
Advantage: Durable, easy-to-customize solution ideal for permanent dioramas.
Disadvantage: This can take up a lot of space, and may require a few adjustments to fit the size of your dolls.
Whatever method you choose, the key is to adapt your project to your space, your desires and the size of your dolls. With a little creativity, anything's possible!
How to customize your diorama?
Once your structure is ready, all you have to do is place it on the wall. customize.
You can use :
Paint (with undercoat for better adhesion), or woodstain
Self-adhesive coatings for walls or floors,
Wallpaper miniaturized or standard, to add realism to your scenery.
A few tips to get you started
Test several materials to see what suits you best.
Start small before embarking on more ambitious projects.
Be patientCreating dioramas is time-consuming, but extremely rewarding.
Take as a reference the height of your doll
Think This will give you an idea of the height, width and length.
So much for the basics! I hope this presentation will help you to better understand the world of dioramas. If you have any questions, I'm here to answer them. Enjoy the presentation and start creating your own miniature world!
See you soon Stéphanie
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