Dinosaur toy forum diorama contest 2015 - poll

[joossa]

Does any one know if Jurassic Titans was created with the use of some Photoshop?

Also, did anyone else think #54: One for the road looked cropped on the left side?

[Dinomike]

Does any one know if Jurassic Titans was created with the use of some Photoshop?

Also, did anyone else think #54: One for the road looked cropped on the left side?

I think it was altered in some way. I believe a single Papo figure was photographed twice from different angles and placed in the picture. The one in the backround has been cut to appear standing behind the rock. That's my hunch - correct me if I'm wrong.  A great pic nonetheless and it's very pleasing to see sauropods win!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Just a few thoughts I had while watching the contest and comments....I noticed some people had a problem with using models for the images, and suggested that it promotes an unfair advantage, and a few mentioned they have a bias against it...I have used a model each year I enter, but the one I used this year cost less than any Papo piece entered in the contest for instance. I think people are not aware how reasonably some of the nicer Shapeways figures can be gotten...the model in my image cost less than 20 dollars , which is at or about the same as many of the more common toys being tossed into the contest. 
  I myself did not comment much about the dispute between diorama vs outdoors vs hand made etc. But I would like to offer this idea....I understand what Doug meant about a hand made diorama like the ones I saw at the Colorado museum of Nature and science, and how difficult something like that is to make. I quite understand his comments there..although for our little contest and how we do things, I think part of what gives the entire thing life and some fun is this guy uses a model that one a toy, and this guy hand made every single leaf and plant whereas this guy sat and brushed away all the leaves, grass blades, and prepared an areas on the ground that worked....where someone might have a better background another might use better models, where another might have better photography skills. At the end of the day it makes for a fun contest, because you never know what everyone will bring to the table....and I think that is great. I myself enjoyed Gwangi's entry...black and white, and using old retro monochrome models...just for its....uniqueness. He doesnt have an expensive model in the entire image nor did he make alot of that scenery, but it works.....I think its the differences in how we do things that makes us each unique and what makes the contest work. I would hate to lose that.

[jooooo]

My 4 year old son voted for: 5. Maternal instincts, 17. Eat this leaf son and you'll get stronger, 31. Waterhole trap, 36. Squabble, and 63. To go up or to go down?

Thanks to your Son.

[DinoToyForum]

I love seeing your in prep dioramas and test shots. It really goes to show how much thought and creativity goes into all the entries, no matter what their style. My own diorama uses the large Bullyland Pteranodon.

I wanted the animals to feel large, like they are blocking out the sky and blotting out the sun. Here's a test of concept.



I considered doing it with strings or photoshopping my hand out, but photographed the figure separately in the end.

I took multiple photos of the figure at different angles, here's one of the photographs that I incorporated into the diorama.



I also took several photographs of the sky, before settling on a composition I was happy with. Some people bemoan dioramas that use Photoshop but I spent hours trying to integrate the pterosaurs into the image and it still looks obvious. No blur and the figures look too static, too much blur and it looks false.

Here's an unblurred version:


Photoshop requires patience and skill that I obviously don't have! Here's the finished diorama:

[Federreptil]

Great job everyone. I can't believe mine came in at #12 with 46 votes! That's by far the most votes I've ever gotten. My entry was #40 "Expedition archive photo #21, Central Africa, 1933". Thanks for everyone who voted for me an congrats to the winners!

And not to sour the good mood but I think it is absolutely criminal that "Terror stalks lakeside" only got 14 votes. The picture itself may not have been great, but the diorama was excellent and no doubt took a good deal of work. That one got my vote. It's also sad to see only 3 votes for "Fight or flight". Although it was not a personal favorite it deserved more votes than that and it certainly deserved more than some of the other entries got.

Thank you so much Gwangi for your comments and vote on my Terror Stalks Lakeside diorama.  My poor photography and unfinished backdrop were probably my downfall.  It (the submission) was all last second, literally.  My wife suggested I wait until next year, but thought the work alone, well over 300 hours, would get the job done.  There are handmaid trees, use of EnviroTech water, ripples in the water from the adult Apatosaurus swimming, plants in both Apatosaur's mouths aka the  Zallinger mural, a muddy puddle by the Stego, variations of lake bottom and bank in differing colors representing differing depths, various plants altered to reflect Jurassic flora, dinos modified to look like they are truly in water, a turtle head breaching the water by one of the floating tree trunks and other details not able to be seen that may have made a difference, but could not be seen in the one photo I submitted. 

Being a newbie to the contest, I truly anticipated the contest to be the primary definition  of a diorama, understanding, of course, now, that it is an interpretive definition of the term diorama.  Lesson learned.  I could have taken one photo of a portion as a scene and submitted it, but felt the viewers, and myself, would be cheated by not seeing the entire diorama, unfinished as it was.

Everyone who has seen it in person, including two professional artists, are floored and suggest it is museum worthy.  I may not go that far, but in person it is much, much better than that one photo suggests.  I poured my heart into it for one 1 1 /2 years, as much as time allowed with job and family, and....it is still unfinished.

The backdrop still needs to be finished with trees and landscape ( I am almost finished with the mountains), along with the sides of the backdrop, which will depict water, the trees need new growth on top and it will then be encased with lighting and glass in the front with nameplates for dinos and plants, just like museums used to have and display.

I am sorry that I did not come out in better shape than you and the others who voted for me would have hoped.  As I said, it was a learning experience. 

I have two more that are smaller, but of equal quality, although their backdrops are not yet finished either.    My next one is going to be a combination of two scenes from Planet Dinosaur, episode one, with a Spinosaurus by a river eating an Onchopristis with a another torn to shreds on the shore and others in the water and a Rugops standing at a distance, while in the background a Carcharodontosaurus is stalking a herd of Ouranosaurs through a forest of trees including handmaid Auracaria trees.  Another 300 hours or more, I estimate.

Anyway, thanks to you and all those who voted for me and congratulations to the winners and to all others as well.

It's marvelous to read how many thoughts and hard work are done for this diorama. And I think it is still now a great setting. So for me it was fallen down because of the poor presentation. This was a documentation shot and not a beauty shot. And like the most people I like beauty and imagination. I want to walk in mind in the scenery and wouldn't see the last corners without the background. (I know this problem and has every year I had the hard decision that not everything is visible on the final motif.) I must not see the storage hall around and please give the whole thing more light and brightness.
Than your intended beauty will be visible for everyone. I hope we will see more shots from this diorama and you will participate future contests. With the learning curve of this year I see no problem to get the more votes you deserved.

[laticauda]

My 4 year old son voted for: 5. Maternal instincts, 17. Eat this leaf son and you'll get stronger, 31. Waterhole trap, 36. Squabble, and 63. To go up or to go down?

Thanks to your Son.

(this is not an angry post so no worries, just clarifying)  I am not sure if your disappointed by the fact my son voted for yours, or maybe I missed something but my kids took along time pick the ones they liked the most.  We had to narrow it down time and time again since they loved so many of the entries.  The were happy with the ones they picked and enjoyed looking at everyone's work.  You made something that my kid liked better than the rest, my hats off to you. 

[jooooo]

My 4 year old son voted for: 5. Maternal instincts, 17. Eat this leaf son and you'll get stronger, 31. Waterhole trap, 36. Squabble, and 63. To go up or to go down?

Thanks to your Son.

(this is not an angry post so no worries, just clarifying)  I am not sure if your disappointed by the fact my son voted for yours, or maybe I missed something but my kids took along time pick the ones they liked the most.  We had to narrow it down time and time again since they loved so many of the entries.  The were happy with the ones they picked and enjoyed looking at everyone's work.  You made something that my kid liked better than the rest, my hats off to you. 

It was ment to be a thanks to your Son.

[gnetum2015]

Hello,

for me as a newbie this discussion show many new aspects, how other people start to plan and implement their ideas. And I got great respect for the time and love some of the members takes in their works. Applause for all who takes place in the contest. I loved this event very much, because of the number of ideas.

@ Mr Challenger:
I also voted for yours "The Wild and the innocents" because yours diorama is really awesome dynamic, and this only with a little of characters . Now, that I know your implement, to build a diorama and to take this in nature, for me it is a perpfect conversion. congradulation.

@ Federreptil:
Thanks for your warm words about my dark idea. I first planned some other scenes with other acteurs. But at the end, it was this idea which was very attractiv for me. It was my first "diorama", and i looked for a special place in the woods. I had some places in mind, but no one fits. It was a luck to find the place at least. I started to place the acteurs and made some photos. The photo that i send at last, was an accident ... I made others which first I liked more. But at home on the desktop I realized that the other fotos were something like artificial or like posed. So at least I took the accident"-photo which shows more "life".
Thanks for yours tips, but I think i have two left hands for the camera and processing programms:-)
But I had a lot of fun, so I think it will not be my only experiment, there will be more in future.

I love yours "Chinese chain reaktion", because you have a really good hand to use many acteurs in one picture, and like Dr. admin wrote, "you got plenty of depth wit many characters". For me it is  a "round picture". It is a scene which tells a really good story. As I saw yours picture the first time, I could go inside, into the story and felt the tension of the characters. Very very good, congradulation.

[Gwangi]

I couldn't agree more Amaga (and thanks for the props you gave my entry), That's really what it's all about; allowing people to creatively express themselves regardless of their particular skill set or income or time investment. The more diversity we allow the better because it ends up meaning more entries and a bigger, better contest. 

Admin, thanks for sharing your technique. A very clever idea.

[stargatedalek]

I love seeing everyone's process!

Mine was #3, my process is mostly pictures so here's a link to my diorama thread:

http://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=1094.new#new

[Arul]

Hi guys here is the link for the story behind my entry

http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=2604.0

hope you guys enjoy it, big thanks for your support i very appreciated each vote you guys give to me im very happy i hope my diorama can amuse you guys well see you in the next contest, cheers !

[Ezikot]

Congratulations to the winners!!!!

Some of my favorites:
#8. Uninvited guests
#25. Ferns for breakfast again
#34. A southern meal to go
#40. Expedition archive photo #21, Central Africa, 1933
#54. One for the road
#61. Chinese chain reaction
#64. Terror stalks lakeside

I also like the two starring nigersaurus (#23. Startled by the vacuum cleaner; #60. Gardeners of the river).

IMHO, "A southern meal to go" and "One for the road" deserved more votes.

Re "Terror stalks lakeside", i like it because it's unfinished/"metanarrative"

[Paleona]

Congrats to the winners! 

I placed somewhere around mid with Forgotten Forest~ thanks to anyone who voted for me!  I discovered that it's a lot harder than you think, setting up and getting the right angle for your photo. @_@ Photography isn't my art style of choice, so I'm happy to have gotten the votes that I did. 

My top favorites were:

*Family of the forest
Beautiful job photographing this one!  The colors really appealed to me.  All the little baby Corythosaurus were very cute, too!

*Here comes trouble
I thought this one was arranged very artfully and photographed well.  Again, I enjoyed the vivid colors.  I always thought the Papo Allosaurus and Apatosaurus paired well together!  Two of my faves from the company.

*Gardeners of the river
This one seemed the most natural to me- I can almost hear David Attenborough giving us some info on the Nigersaurus.  Nice work!

[Federreptil]

Here are some pictures of my making-of
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=1564.msg117191#msg117191

Much smaller than the last year and maybe more influential for the look as expected.

[Silvanusaurus]

Oooh, I came in 7th place! Mine was 'Triumph of the Skies', it was my first time so its a privelage to have gotten 53 votes, I'm already excited for entering again next time...
Seeing as others have done so, I might as well show my process shots in case anyone is interested.

The original photgraph I took, you cant really tell from the final shot, but it took me hours to balance everything right, as I was clinging onto the side of a precipitous hill!


And here is the picture with my hand removed and the background added, from a seperate photograph of the view from the top of the hill, I had to re-assemble it like that because the full view would have included my home town.


I suppose that last shot looked more natural than the final one, but I tried to give it a sunset atmosphere for dramatic effect, and I added some petals from the flowers in the bush, to give the impression they had flown off the microraptor when it burst out, and the 'birds' in the background. I'm not really happy with the integration of these, but I only know the photoshop basics, and I thought they might add to the narrative.


I think I'd like to do a really in depth hand made diorama next year, I like using natural environments but theres something magical about a hand-crafted one 'becoming' real in the photography.

[Silvanusaurus]

Here are some pictures of my making-of
http://dinotoyblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=1564.msg117191#msg117191

Much smaller than the last year and maybe more influential for the look as expected.

By Jove, I never imagined the smoke was real, genius!

[laticauda]

My 4 year old son voted for: 5. Maternal instincts, 17. Eat this leaf son and you'll get stronger, 31. Waterhole trap, 36. Squabble, and 63. To go up or to go down?

Thanks to your Son.

(this is not an angry post so no worries, just clarifying)  I am not sure if your disappointed by the fact my son voted for yours, or maybe I missed something but my kids took along time pick the ones they liked the most.  We had to narrow it down time and time again since they loved so many of the entries.  The were happy with the ones they picked and enjoyed looking at everyone's work.  You made something that my kid liked better than the rest, my hats off to you. 

It was ment to be a thanks to your Son.

I'll let him know.   

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Congrats to the winners! 

I placed somewhere around mid with Forgotten Forest~ thanks to anyone who voted for me!  I discovered that it's a lot harder than you think, setting up and getting the right angle for your photo. @_@ Photography isn't my art style of choice, so I'm happy to have gotten the votes that I did. 

My top favorites were:

*Family of the forest
Beautiful job photographing this one!  The colors really appealed to me.  All the little baby Corythosaurus were very cute, too!

*Here comes trouble
I thought this one was arranged very artfully and photographed well.  Again, I enjoyed the vivid colors.  I always thought the Papo Allosaurus and Apatosaurus paired well together!  Two of my faves from the company.

*Gardeners of the river
This one seemed the most natural to me- I can almost hear David Attenborough giving us some info on the Nigersaurus.  Nice work!

Thank you for the compliment Paleona! I though yours was very well done, including all the details, such as the small theropods in the foreground. Diorama building is certainly more complicated then I thought it would be, it took me quite a while to get it just right 

Thanks,

EarthboundEiniosaurus

[Paleona]

Thank you for the compliment Paleona! I though yours was very well done, including all the details, such as the small theropods in the foreground. Diorama building is certainly more complicated then I thought it would be, it took me quite a while to get it just right 

Thanks,

EarthboundEiniosaurus

You're welcome!  Your entry really stood out to me, great work!  Thanks for the compliment, as well. 

Mine was taken outside, but I added in natural details, like the sticks for trees, and bits of vegetation that looked interesting to me.  The tiny theropods are from the Micro Machines line.  I did some color correcting in photoshop and decreased the saturation of the colors to make it look a bit faded, as well as adding in a subtle vignetting around the edges.  I think I enjoy photo editing more than setting it all up, haha!