JohnReid Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Here is one for the ship modeler guys ! I have included it here for two reasons.One to show what can be done with an ordinary flash light and two making a poster of your work. This model is in 1/72 scale and it was my first storyboard diorama.It didn't start out that way but the idea developed over time and I had lots of it as this piece took twenty years to build,on and off between woodcarving teaching sessions. The light is placed low because it is supposed to be sunrise,in harbor and under bare poles. I won't bore you guys with the storyline ,it is available on the web for those interested.The point here is the lighting.There was absolutely no set up ,the pic was taken with my hand held camera through a plexiglass case in my own darkened living room. There is a slight tilt to the pic as I wanted the ship to be in a gentle roll.I used the figurehead to put one side of the ship in shadow.The lighted rigging helps to keep things interesting. The poster was created in photobucket and is very easy to do,just follow the instructions.Believe me if I can do it you can too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 Waitin'For The Five-fifteen. Meet Harley the stationmasters(RR,Airport,Marine ?)faithful buddy as he patiently awaits for some action. This shot was taken while the office module was under construction.It is a simple shot with the corner of the room used to add a little depth to the scene.Natural light is shining through the windows making some interesting shadows.The ceiling and desk lights are dollhouse fixtures which although they are the wrong scale really doesn't matter a lot because these fixtures come in all sizes in real life.Keep this in mind when mixing scales and you will be surprised how much is available to the diorama maker in any scale. A good storyboard diorama or vignette does not really require a title,in fact it is always best to let the views imagination fill in the rest.You can hint at an historical era with a few accessories like the clipboards ,door hardware or the old oil lamp sitting on the table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaC Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Gosh, I can imagine the years with all that hanging rope. End result worth it I am sure. I especially like the little Buddy. Charlie is mine and she can move room to room. Well she does that anyway following me. In real life that is. thanks again John. LindaC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Here is a very simple composition that anyone could do,you don't even have to be a good face painter.A title,for the average viewer is in this case is not even required.I added it for the very young viewer who might be confused as to what he is looking at.He has enough to take in with the present to give much time to thinking about the future. Most of this is made with coffee stiks and ordinary cardboard from the back of writing pads.The cans are the metal part of old pencil erasers.The spark plug sign gives us a rough idea of the era involved.The human's thinking is ageless.The disappearing horizon is the key to this storyboard vignette. Even if your model looks like a model as in this case it is not important as the story itself and the emotion of the viewer is what we are after here .Anyone who walks into a movie house or live theater expects to suspend their disbelief for awhile,same thing for scale models.Just think story first ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaC Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Once again John 'outstanding' photos and explanations. How many of these buildings do you have? I've looked at your albums and I know a lot. Thought you might have a number. Now I know how to make my paint cans. thanks for that. One thing I have searched for is what to put the wood burner on in the shop. Some kind of brackets for legs ? I have time the shop isn't out of the box yet but like to plan ahead. thanks again, LindaC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 Once again John 'outstanding' photos and explanations. How many of these buildings do you have? I've looked at your albums and I know a lot. Thought you might have a number. Now I know how to make my paint cans. thanks for that. One thing I have searched for is what to put the wood burner on in the shop. Some kind of brackets for legs ? I have time the shop isn't out of the box yet but like to plan ahead. thanks again, LindaC Hi Linda ! These are made from scale tubing.When you get to that stage,I am sure that I have some pics somewhere to show you.Cheers ! John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 I enjoy taking shots from outside a room which leads to another room.It is an easy way to engage your viewers imagination in what may be just beyond the door.Framing your shot using a window or doorway is a nice Sergio technique that I picked up from watching his movies. In this scene there are no figures and none are really required,in fact figures would actually spoil it.Here again let your viewer fill in the blanks for him or herself.If you were standing at this doorway what would come to mind ? It makes me think that someone has just stepped out of the shop for a minute and you can expect his return at any time.You are almost tempted to say "hey Slim ! where are you ?" The shop is warm and inviting but outside it is dark and slightly mysterious.This stark contrast is what I am looking for here to emotionally connect the viewer with the piece. Being slightly out of focus gives the piece added atmosphere of dust ,haze or smoke in the air.I have used the corner of the room to give depth to the piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 This is something a little different ,a birds eye view of the same area that I dressed up a bit in photobucket. The floor makes for an interesting background.I left it a little clean for a shop floor because I liked the pattern and ah what the hell they may have just changed it recently anyway(artistic license)You will notice with this composition that I have not lined up anything in rows or 90 deg to one another .This is a good general rule but in this case almost an necessity because of the uniform floor pattern. The theme is common to any engine shop or genre of modeling and the era could be old or modern,unless you can read the newspapers on the floor ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Just so you know, John ... there are members following this thread who aren't posting in it - like me! I'm very interested in seeing all you have to show us, but taking it all in silently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Just so you know, John ... there are members following this thread who aren't posting in it - like me! I'm very interested in seeing all you have to show us, but taking it all in silently. I know it is like the politicians say if someone takes the time to write you you had better listen because there are a hundred others who think the same but never write.Photobucket gives me all the incentive I need to keep posting as my site gets over 120,000 hits a month.It is time consuming though and it takes a lot of my time posting when I probably should be building something.Thank you for your concern. Cheers! John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 I am also following this thread. Fascinating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 What Rosalind said. I appreciate the technical commentary as well as the results of your talented hands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 Thank you all for your kind comments,you will never know how much they mean to this old guy.Cheers! John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 John, :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 In this pic I used just the interior lighting of the doll house bulbs which were installed especially for my own picture taking purposes.This is a vignette taken from a much larger diorama while it was under construction.It is a good idea to arrange small vignettes like this while you still have easy access to the shot that you are after. There is no doubt here what the main subject matter is,the airplane under construction.There is enough here to keep the viewer interested without using a strong storyline.I like my figures in relaxed poses where the viewer really doesn't expect a lot of movement.The only thing moving here would be their mouths in conversation about something which is left up to the viewers imagination. The airplane is purposely off center and here again I have used the left wall and corner to help add a third dimension.The colors are selected for harmony red,green,gray and earth tones.I make it easy on myself and use tube colors rather than mixing my own like I did when painting birds.Various tones can be achieved later using pastels if you like. It is not always necessary to complete everything for example I wanted the viewer to know what type of construction was used on the fuselage, so I showed only one plywood panel being installed on the far side and out of the way of the framing. For those unfamiliar with old aircraft construction it was normal practice to put the open structure together for fitting and preliminary rigging purposes,disassemble it and then it would be reassembled after the fabric and plywood was installed on each mayor component.Finally it would be re-rigged and adjusted for flight.It is depicted here in flying position and the tail is resting on a stand. The important thing here is not the subject matter but the composition.Anything that you could build in an old barn ship,car,stagecoach whatever could be the center of attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 What did you use to make the stovepipe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnReid Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Hi ! it is actually a dollhouse item.The pot belly stove from a plastic kit that I reduced to 1/16th scale by cutting the legs off. I am sure that you are familiar with the manufacturer of these kits but I have since forgotten.Chistenbaum or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 It didn't look like the Chrysnbon stovepipe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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