Irimali's Dioramas

[irimali]

So I have another diorama from this year.  I took pics back in March but wasn't really happy with them.  Didn't post anything in case I didn't finish the Lystrosauruses in time.  So here's the Plateosaurus I didn't use for the contest:





Glad the Lystrosaurus shots turned out better.  These pics look kind of messy to me.  Anyway, here he is in his permanent home, perched atop a boulder to better show off his dewlap :







I used the old tree ferns and podozamites trees from my tuojiangosaurus diorama.  In the bottom right of the last pic is the triassic conifer voltzia.

[Jose S.M.]

I like it! Very interesting take on Plateosaurus.

[irimali]

Here's a close-up of his face:



I was going for a wrinkly turkey/vulture neck combined with a big lizardy dewlap/bird wattle.

New plants!  These are based on Dipteris, a modern fern from a family that goes back at least to the Triassic.  Fossil ferns called Hausmannia look almost identical to the smaller, rounded leaves of young Dipteris plants.  As they grow, the leaves divide more.  I made a few different sizes.  For these i made a mold out of clay.  It was basically a low dome with a shallow bowl in the center.  I carved the leaf veins in with a small sculpting tool.  Then did a few layers of paper mache with little torn up bits of tissue paper and a mix of green paint, glue and water.  I did  one layer, let it dry, glued a thin wire in for support and paper mached another layer on top.  When that was dry i had to trim the edges with scissors.  Ended up with a more 3-dimensional leaf. 



Angiopteris.  This family goes back to the carboniferous.  Modern species can have individual leaves up to 29.5 feet long, so given the size of Plateosaurus I could have made this plant twice as big. 



Psilotum-whisk fern(the bright green stems with the yellow tips).  Another ancient family, but little in the way of fossils.  I just made them because they don't look like other ferns.  The blue star shaped ferns are Clathropteris.

[Lanthanotus]

Oh damn, you got the knack to spice up your figures and present them in the most impressive way. What a dedicated, well executed and creative scene. You'd have my vote in another diorama contest any day.

How big is the figure and what did you use to craft it?

[ZoPteryx]

That's a really spectacular model and setup!    Any plans on casting it? 

[Libraraptor]

What a wonderful, wonderful version of a Plateosaurus!!!

[Federreptil]

I agree, what an interesting version of a Plateosaurus. Much more inspiring as any animal you can buy. But your attention you put in the different triassic plants - this kills me. It remembered me to the first JP movie: The boys look always to the animals and forget the importance of the rich knowledge of the ancient flora. But this is your absolute territory.

[Megalosaurus]

It is clear that you spent so much time making all the elements of your dioramas, even sculpting your own figures.
I admire that aspect of you.

May you consider to cast your lystrosaurus and sell it? I love the triassic.


PD.- I have learned to make my own ferns thanks to you.

[irimali]

Oh damn, you got the knack to spice up your figures and present them in the most impressive way. What a dedicated, well executed and creative scene. You'd have my vote in another diorama contest any day.

How big is the figure and what did you use to craft it?

Thank you!

Plateosaurus is about 10" total, maybe 12" if his neck and tail were straightened out.  So 1/25th scale.

I started with a cardboard cutout of the body/tail/neck and glued a few more layers of cardboard on for bulk.  The arms and legs are wire frame with individual wires for toes and fingers.  That was wrapped with yarn to round it out and bulk up the legs, and the fingers/toes are wrapped in string.  Over that, I basically plastered with a mix of gesso and a really fine grained sand using a little palette knife.  Wrinkles were piped on using the same mixture in a parchment paper cone with a metal icing tip(2 years of baking school was good for something), and blended/smoothed with a wet paint brush.  When dry, any rough/lumpy areas can be sanded or filed down.  Some of the larger scales are poppy seeds and teff seeds sprinkled on before the gesso dried.

I tend to work in a few layers, especially on the face.  I'll build up the skull first, let it dry, sand/carve if needed and then add muscle/fat/skin over that.

[irimali]

That's a really spectacular model and setup!    Any plans on casting it? 

Thanks!  At this point I don't think I could cast it.  He's glued down to his rock and painted.  And given my sculpting method/materials I'd worry about damaging the original.

[irimali]

It is clear that you spent so much time making all the elements of your dioramas, even sculpting your own figures.
I admire that aspect of you.

May you consider to cast your lystrosaurus and sell it? I love the triassic.


PD.- I have learned to make my own ferns thanks to you.

Thanks!  I'm glad to help with plant making!  Wish I had a better video camera, I'd to tutorials but I really don't have the means to film something like that

Sadly I don't know how well these figures would hold up to casting.  I don't have much experience with mold making so I'd really be afraid to try on something that's already painted.

[irimali]

I agree, what an interesting version of a Plateosaurus. Much more inspiring as any animal you can buy. But your attention you put in the different triassic plants - this kills me. It remembered me to the first JP movie: The boys look always to the animals and forget the importance of the rich knowledge of the ancient flora. But this is your absolute territory.

Thanks! 

And I noticed that about Jurassic Park too!  How Dr. Sattler always had to point out when so many men were ignorant of botany.  Before any dinosaurs or children died.

[irimali]

This one's from a while ago, but I put my Gargoyleosaurus diorama from the contest 2 years ago in an aquarium for permanent display.  Hadn't photographed it yet because I was never quite happy with it.  So I made a new Dryosaurus to fill it in a little more.  Here it is:

[Jose S.M.]

Great job, I really like your dioramas. The Dryosaurus looks great, is a nice addition.

[Libraraptor]

Great job, well done, I find your dioramas very inspiring!

[ITdactyl]

This is just too beautiful.

I'm not a fan of the blue(?) on the pterosaurs, and yet they work nicely in the diorama and brings life and movement to the muted earth colors.

And those plants.... oh... those plants...... how???

[Halichoeres]

Wonderful stuff! Great to see this treasure again, especially with the addition of the Dryosaurus

[Bokisaurus]

Beautiful and very unique diorama display! It really is a mini-museum display.

[Lanthanotus]

One thing is certain... any of your dioramas would be a center piece in any collection.

Do I see that correctly... those pterosaur wings are not just paper/whatever but actually got wire (?) for arms and digits in them?

[Reptilia]

Agree with all people above, great dioramas and I love that Plateosaurus. Thanks for sharing your art with us.