Dinosaur toy forum diorama contest 2013 - poll now open!

[Georassic]

Georassic, I think where you went wrong with your entry was in your choice of species and the decision to make your diorama. There certainly seems to be a preference for pictures taken outside. That said I commend anyone who goes through the effort of making an actual diorama, it must be a lot of work. As for the dinosaurs you used, none of them would have ever interacted. All three lived in a different time and place in history. While it might work if you substituted a Gallimimus for a Struthiomimus like Federreptil did the deliberate choice to place a two North American ceratopsians (from two different time periods) with a South American theropod probably attributed to the lack of votes. That said, some very strange entries did really well considering so...who knows. This is advice from someone who has not gotten a lot of votes himself so take that advice for what it's worth.

Thanks for the feedback, Gwangi and Amarga. Here is some (hopefully) interesting context for my diorama: it is part of a larger, permanent diorama, but it's outdoors. I built it in the window well of my home office, which is in a finished basement, so the window is below ground-level. I've built it bit by bit over the past year, because I started working from home and got tired of looking at bare wood walls and gravel ground every time I looked out the window. :-) Plus, it gave me a way to exhibit my new, growing collection of dinos.

It's a nice size: 5 ft wide, 2.5 ft. front-to-back, and nearly 4 ft high/deep (75 cm x 150 cm x 120 cm). I'd post an image here, if I knew how. :-) It's open to the sky, so I have to use materials that are weather-resistant, like astroturf for grass and various forms/shapes of glass for the water features.

It does require some routine maintenance, like picking out dead leaves and brushing away the occasional spider web, and I'm always making little tweaks and improvements to it. So I guess you could say it's like my "Zen garden," and I change the "exhibit" of dinosaurs every couple months.

I started building it months before I found this forum and the contest, so I was just thrilled that the contest gave me a creative outlet to share a piece of it. My contest entry was from the most recent exhibit, which is entirely in 1:35 scale, thus the dino-selection. Maybe if I had called the entry "Cretaceous Creek Crossing" or something like that to provide some link or context for the dinosaurs, it may have picked up a couple more votes... 

Thanks again for the feedback!
cheers

[Gwangi]

I would love to see how your figures are displayed Georassic, sounds like a great idea. As for posting pictures all you need to do it upload them unto an image hosting site, I use Photobucket.

Although I did not vote for your picture it is a nicely created diorama and a great picture for your first entry.

[Ikessauro]

Hi there!
Congratulations to the winners!
Two of my favs won.

There's just one thing i don't like about this contest. Its about extensive use of photoshop like the 1rst place. I belive its unfair for people that doesn't have (or know how to use it). I TOTALLY agree with using it to correct color, or to vanish wires, poles or bases that support figures.
Don't get me wrong. 1rts place is amazing, but i give much more value to dioramas that doesn't use photoshop (or similar apps). Last year winners are a good example of this.

Just sharing my thoughts.  Happiness to all of you !

I agree with this. Photoshop is cool when you need to fix something here and there, like make some modern object disappear or adjust color or light. But when you start to add effects like blood, dust, rain, whatever else, it is not a diorama anymore, is a photo manipulation like any other. That's what surprised me on this years contest. I remember a few years back that a member (Paleoferrequine??) won the contest with a well done diorama, made from scratch including customized models. That's what this contest should be about, making your own diorama or taking a good photo in nature, using your creativity to get the perfect shot. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the winner doesn't deserve it, I myself almost voted for it at first, because it is truly a nice scene. I decided not to vote when I notice the PS work.

I gotta stop making my own dios from scratch, I did it for the last contest and this year's too and was no good...

[Pilkington]

There were a lot of very nice dioramas this year.  I really liked Cruel Sea, I thought for sure that would win.  I want to thank everyone who voted for my diorama "Siesta" I had a lot of fun making it.  I'd been thinking of making a sleeping Rex for awhile but never got around to doing it.  That's why I love the diorama contest, it seems to be the only time I actually complete any dinosaur customs.

Hi.
Very good entries. I'm happy that some of the younger members share their dioramas here. Good luck to everyone.
By the way. What model is used in diorama #28 Siesta? It's in a very unusual pose.
If i comment in every diorama, this post will be so long. So i just have a few words of some of them. These does not reflect my votes (maybe one or two).

#2 Stop motion nostalgia invades me. 
#13 & #18 nice battle twists.
#25 I believe those schleich are good pieces specially the Macrauchenia.
#38 Love this one. I'm a megalosaurus, may i join the party?

I believe it's a model kit from either Horizon or Kaiyodo, of the JP Tyrannosaurus. I can't remember which.

Actually it's a customized 2011 Wild Safari Rex.

[Megalosaurus]

Actually it's a customized 2011 Wild Safari Rex.

Thanks. I like it!.
Is refreshing to see a predator not as a killing machine, but as a real animal.

Everyone.
This was my first try in this contest: 24. Spying the new girl in neighborhood
any feedback is appreciated.

[Gwangi]

Megalosaurus, I liked your piece but think what ultimately made it do so poorly was the background landscape. It appears as though your picture was taken in a cultivated field and rather than a natural environment it looks to me like one altered by humans. I love your concept though and what I really find interesting is that I almost submitted the same basic idea. I used the same Plateosaurus in mine but I also used Liliensternus instead of Postosuchus. Below is an example of my rejected idea.



Since I'm here I guess I'll discuss who I voted for. First off, I did vote for myself. When you have five pictures to pick from I think there is no shame in picking your own entry, especially if you feel like it was a good one. I knew it wouldn't win but I also know what work I put into it and overall really liked my concept and execution more or less. Now with that out of the way, I also voted for...

2) The Lost World: A beautiful shot with nothing in it that betrays these dinosaurs as toys. It looks old, it looks vintage, it looks real. It honestly looks like someone went to the plateau from the original "The Lost World" and took a picture of living dinosaurs in the 1930's. I thought this one was a contender for top three for sure.

16) Youth Gone Wild: Beautiful lifelike figures in a realistic looking landscape, this one really catches the eye and is fun to look at. In fact, if I have any criticism it is that it is almost too colorful, to the point of being distracting. Again, I thought this was a contender for placement. Looking at it again though I'm curious about the blurry green above the hadrosaur.

21) Tiny giant: An almost obvious concept and easy picture if you have that particular model but what really caught my attention was the addition of rocks as other eggs in a nest made of conifer needles. It could have been as simple the one egg sitting in dry grass or dirt but the photographer took this to the next level and the execution was fantastic.

28) Siesta: A great custom made model of the "tyrant king" on his down time. I love the originality here and the environment looks realistic when compared to the model. There is nothing that gives away the true size of the model being used. My personal choice for a winner.

Honorable mentions.

7) Cruel sea: Obviously a lot of work went into this, this is what I think of when I think of a diorama. Unfortunately it looks too much like what it is to have gotten my vote.

8- Three Angry Chicks at Work: I did not think this one would be the winner. Though well thought out and well executed what kept me from voting for it was the use of Photoshop and the placement of animals together that did not actually live together. Congrats all the same, I can tell a lot of work went into this.

12) Vegaceratops at Sunset: A beautifully made diorama that was let down by poor lighting (I know, sunset) and a lack of anything but white in the background.

14) Dreams of Sailing: Sometimes the most simple concepts really are the best. Love the title too.

18) Supremacy in the Jurassic: Great picture where lighting and focus are concerned. Also a great concept. The green plant and giant rocks were too distracting.

19) Fatal Attraction: Great location, story and angel but I just don't like the CollectA Amargasaurus and again...the two didn't live together.

20) Get off my back, it's bedtime!: Love the story and the almost amateur quality of what looks like a photograph of an actual dinosaur had you stumbled on one. Still, nothing is really in focus and the glare on that branch really is distracting.

29) Multispinus mudbathers: Great concept, love the two different uses of the same toy, love the critters in the foreground. Ultimately it just lacked a "wow" quality to it.

35) Grandeur: This one does have a "wow" quality to it. Such a great model with a great angle, beautiful sky and scenery. All of it was taken away by the tall plants behind the model. If only you had weeded the area first Amarga!

[A.Garcia]

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who supported my diorama, #29 Multispinus mudbathers. After saying something about my own, I want to share some comments about others.

The Tuojiangosaurus multispinus and two small theropods were handmade, and the walking turtle is from the Safari pets tube. I wanted to show how these dinosaurs might have interacted with their surroundings, enjoying the muddy riverbank and stirring up food for the little predators. Also, there ought to be a mass-produced Tuojiangosaurus. I used digital editing to superimpose a second mudbather and third foraging theropod, from photos taken at the same position. I also digitally extended the paint color from the feet onto the side of the background dino, to avoid a permanently muddied model. My opinion on the use of digital editing is that the quality of the original photography (or idea) ultimately determines what works or not.

Some fine artistry is on display with #2 The Lost World's B&W contrast/values and composition, and #7 Cruel Sea's use of color and light.

#4 Cretaceous Expedition is a very distilled diorama concept-- it sparked my imagination to "put myself in the scene". A whole series of these would be fun.

#19 Fatal Attraction has my favorite figure composition-- the two toys really seem to be in motion in relation to each other.

#25 Hidden in the Bushes has my favorite natural foliage-- it really looks like it could be on some South American slope. I would have preferred a different foreground figure, though.

#27 Carno's charge at the creek-- I happen to like the river of glass beads, which has a look of bubbling motion. Perhaps more front-to-back depth with figure placement would bring even more life to the environment?

#30 Is everything right at the rear?-- It's surprising and somewhat disheartening that this didn't get more votes. The lighting is very nice, with an intriguing atmosphere overall.

#31 The Meeting has a lot of character. It captures a moment that seems straight out of a clay-animation movie.

Overall it was a pleasure to see so many pictures with so much variety.

[Balaur]

Wow, you made the Tuojiangosaurus and small theropods? You are talented. I could never have done that. Where the theropod any particular species?

I would love to see more photos of your handmade figures, if thats possible.

Someone should mass produce your Tuojiongasaurus and Pilkington's sleeping Tyrannosaurus. Those have to be my favourite customized dinosaur figures I've ever seen.

[Megalosaurus]

Megalosaurus, I liked your piece but think what ultimately made it do so poorly was the background landscape. It appears as though your picture was taken in a cultivated field and rather than a natural environment it looks to me like one altered by humans. I love your concept though and what I really find interesting is that I almost submitted the same basic idea. I used the same Plateosaurus in mine but I also used Liliensternus instead of Postosuchus. Below is an example of my rejected idea.

Thanks for the feedback. 

[Georassic]

I would love to see how your figures are displayed Georassic, sounds like a great idea. As for posting pictures all you need to do it upload them unto an image hosting site, I use Photobucket.

Although I did not vote for your picture it is a nicely created diorama and a great picture for your first entry.

I'm not up on Photobucket, but I've been trying via Snapfish and Shutterfly, to no avail. I feel like a techno-idiot. When I click on the photo icon, I get "[img] [img]" in the text area, with the cursor between them. Am I supposed to paste a URL to a photo there?

I do make a powerpoint of each exhibit, which I send to a small group of friends and fam. If your interest level is that high, DM an email address and I'll forward it. :-)

[tyrantqueen]

I would love to see how your figures are displayed Georassic, sounds like a great idea. As for posting pictures all you need to do it upload them unto an image hosting site, I use Photobucket.

Although I did not vote for your picture it is a nicely created diorama and a great picture for your first entry.

I'm not up on Photobucket, but I've been trying via Snapfish and Shutterfly, to no avail. I feel like a techno-idiot. When I click on the photo icon, I get "[img] [img]" in the text area, with the cursor between them. Am I supposed to paste a URL to a photo there?

I do make a powerpoint of each exhibit, which I send to a small group of friends and fam. If your interest level is that high, DM an email address and I'll forward it. :-)

Correct.

[Dinomike]

Thanks everybody for voting #13 Sic semper tyrannis (Down with the tyrant)! The photo was taken on a nearby beach where I took my dinos, the stars of the picture. I had to lie on the sand to get the angle right and to crop out some beach fixture like a pier and some boats. The blood in the picture is actually juice concentrate:D I had fun making this diorama - and so did some of the people passing by. Apparently I was looking a bit weird lying on the empty beach because the owner of a nearby cafe came to see if I was still alive.  Haha!

Anyway - great entries and congats to everybody!

[Balaur]

So, when will people post their rejected diorama entries? That's also exciting!

[A.Garcia]

Thanks Balaur for the kind words. The theropods are generic dromaeosaurids. I don't know of any species like this discovered in the same formation as Tuojiangosaurus, but I inferred their presence as reasonable (later Chinese deposits are of course famous for small feathered dinos). At some point I will make a thread to show my dino sculptures.

Who knows, now that dead dinosaurs are being produced, maybe sleeping ones aren't out of the question.

[Takama]

A.Garcia

Did you make any other Dinosaurs?.

Im stunned at how well those were made in your diorama, I thought they were some obscure company's figures.

[Pangolinmoth]

Wow!  Thanks to everyone  for voting  for mine. I'll talk more after work as there are a few that I loved and wanted to touch upon. What a pleasant surprise to come back to after I have been on my honeymoon this past week.

[Georassic]

Thanks Tyrantqueen. I'll investigate further... :-)

A.Garcia: you see my intent with the glass water. The full diorama covers 12 square feet, and has a few different "water" features. I use blends of five different types of glass and clear acrylic to get the desired watery effects. In that shot, the ceratopsians are standing in the trickle of a ford; a few meters downstream it meets a rushing creek that has just come over a small waterfall, which is visible above the Styraco's frill horns.

BTW and for the record, I think it's amazing you built your "Mudbath" models. Especially because you were one of my five votes...
And you too, Gwangi. My wife really liked your entry, as well. :-) Not to sound overly sentimental, you've made me feel welcome out here the most, so I was glad to discover that I voted for your entry. BTW, that Kaiyodo Deinonychus is on my wish list. :-)
cheers to all

[Pangolinmoth]

I thought this year had some amazing dio's. You guys really branched out and I loved the diversity and creativity that I saw. My personal favorites were Fatal Attraction and Patience is a Virtue. Fatal Attraction has amazing composition, color use, and movement. I love the de-saturation of the color tone as it really lends itself to a glimpse of quite a bleak day for the poor Amargasaur. Honestly felt this should have taken first. Great picture. Patience was my other favorite, as it has one of my favorite qualities in an image of the moment before the strike. I love love love that sort of tension in a piece. One of the reasons the Far Side was so great is Gary Larson had a unique ability to capture that moment before all hell breaks loose. The only reason this would not be my first place pick is the depth of field being so small and that the Diplocaulus was out of focus. He is the star of the show and should be exactly where he is, but in focus with the dragonfly being out. Otherwise I absolutely loved it. Some other favorites are Tiny Giant, which I thought was flawlessly executed and very well put together, Siesta, which is the coolest custom Rex I have ever seen and could of easily taken first had the background and framing been a little more dynamic or subject centric (ie make the rex bigger in the photo or make the background less busy), Grandeur, with such a lovely Brachiosaur model, andAssreting His Territory, with a very pleasant use of bokeh in the background.

If anyone cares, I used Lightroom for my photo. Raised the film grain for the old fashion look, converted to B&W, messed with the contrast forever, and took all of the yellow out of the photo. While it is B&W I did that to create a uniform horn color on the Styracosaurs as if you are familiar the Battat guys have yellow tips on thier horns and in B&W that shows up very clear and I wanted to make it more uniform. You can see if you look closely the line of the paint as it was tough to match the blueish color of the horn base by detracting a specific color from the whole photo. I took the photo in a drainage ditch near my house.

Also of note, My second choice photo I took was the Papo Carnotaurus chasing the Battat Amargasaurus. The Papo Carnotaur is a wonderful photo subject but tricky to place right in a chase scene, which may account for my affinity with Boki's piece.

Wonderful work everyone! Congrats to all the winners and I very much enjoyed seeing all the work you put into these. I greatly admire EVERYONE who put the time and energy into actually making a homemade diorama. I have no patience for that type of thing and I am super impressed by those who do.   

[fleshanthos]

I thought "The Lost World" should have won first place, though I sure wouldn't decry the entry that DID win!
The simplicity of it is its strength. It looks real, and that is what makes it so excellent. It would not have looked 2nd place at all had it been in color! Yet it's hard to imagine most of the other pics being improved by B&W conversion!

Congratulations to ALL entrants, and thanx for the two people who voted for my fast, last minute, morning-of entry. Any guesses to which one it was?  (I think after the results are in, the Admin should ID each photo!) 

[DinoToyForum]

I thought "The Lost World" should have won first place, though I sure wouldn't decry the entry that DID win!
The simplicity of it is its strength. It looks real, and that is what makes it so excellent. It would not have looked 2nd place at all had it been in color! Yet its hard to imagine most of the other pics being improved by B&W conversion!

Congratulations to ALL entrants, and thanx for the two people who voted for my fast, last minute, morning-of entry. Any guesses to which one it was?  (I think after the results are in, the Admin should ID each photo!)

I can do that (if everyone is happy to be named?), but first I need to contact the winners and send out the prizes. Stil haven't gotten around to that yet