Moses Diorama Finished!

I know a lot of you are enjoying this build up, and I couldn't wait to complete this piece.

I took full inspiration from That movie and used it on the frame.

In true cinematic fashion, this scene was lit up with a "Ledberg" LED light strip bought from Ikea, run off a 12 V transformer plug.

Part of the top part of the backdrop had to be cut back to accomodate the light strip, and part of the box sides was also cut out to allow the wire to pass through. Luckily there was enough space between  the overlapping Ikea frame and box sides to allow the wire to pass through as well.

The completed diorama before the lights were turned on.

The shadow box all lit up.

Close up of the scene lighted up.

Finished! Now resting on my Ben Hur laurels...:)

The Moses Diorama

As promised some time back, this great looking set is now being transformed into a diorama. I looked at pictures of the old movie The Ten Commandments for inspiration.

An Ikea frame from the Ribba Range was selected. The frame has depth where the photos can be recessed from the glass front. For my purpose, this depth overlap creates mechanical strengthening for the box sides which have to be created for this diorama. The final steps later in this diorama will make this point clearer.

I selected white card for the background. I cut a suitable size based on the area of the display and added the estimated depth of the diorama. I cut 4 slits at the corners and then curved the edges inwards, allowing a good degree of overlap. The whole was glued using white glue and held in place by clips.

I decided that the scene was to be lifted up and created a stage from cardboard.

White putty was then applied to smooth out the overlapping edges and the awkward corners.

Finally a layer of gesso was applied over the whole surface to create a toothed undercoat for painting. Light sanding was applied to achieve a smooth layer.

Broken pieces of putty were added to the front to create rubble and heighten the sense of false perspective.

The scene was painted to create an evening look, with the last rays of the sun disappearing over the horizon.

Rocks and rubble were painted on the sides and more rocky cardouts were added.

A tryout stage placement with the figures is tested. The figures are bent backwards to allow for vertical alignment when placed on the sloping base.

Last scene with Moses standing on a rocky hillside. Notice that the rock has been cut back to reveal more of the diorama. The picture frame is being made and decorated now. More to come.

Moses Set

I finally broke the back of this set, overcoming a reluctance to paint the rocks on which Moses was positioned. The rest of the set , especially the bulls require highlights and shadings. That's a lot of bull...

Gauguin Idyll

Here is the piece almost done, awaiting final framing. After the mural was completed, the pieces were pressed into slots.