You are one of those people who have overwhelming talent but lack confidence. Many times, you have been praised by your peers for your ideas, but you have never capitalized on your output. You are about to graduate high school and you need to raise your confidence level to survive college. Why not make a beautiful diorama so that you can feel good about yourself?

Cinema or Scenario?

A diorama is a miniature representation of a particular scene or environment. You get to use small makeshift items to reproduce a scene from your favorite movie, a significant event in your life or any other scenario that you can think of. If you are quite the artistic type, you can even place your personal symbols in your diorama. Usually, the diorama’s stage is a shoebox, where you glue small items to produce a scene. You are free to stylize the shoebox so that it perfectly matches the scene in the diorama.

The diorama is made of cheap materials and is fun to create. You get to play God as you impose your will upon your human representations. Also, you will not spend over five dollars for this project, unless you plan to use metal or hardwood items for your makeshift diorama scene.

Materials Used:

• clay
• toy humans (you can replace with toy soldiers, if you plan to make a war scene)
• toy trees
• paper mache
• sand
• shoebox
• paint
• paintbrush
• glue
• tape
• plastic cover
• scissors
• pencil
• paper
• toy mountains
• cup of water
• toothpicks
• toy houses
• toy buildings
• toy animals
• toy vehicles
• tiny lights
• fabric
• barbecue sticks

Note: Except for the paper, pencil, scissors, glue and tape; all the items are subject to your discretion.

Plan Your Diorama

With all the available options for your diorama, you have to pick one, unless you plan to make several dioramas. You can watch a movie, read books or surf the internet if you cannot think of a theme for your diorama. When you have a theme in mind, think about the small items that you will use to produce that theme. You can use small toys, small objects, and your tiny artistic creations as the components of your diorama. Once you have settled on the diorama’s scene, draw it on a piece of paper and list down all the materials that you need. Let’s call that paper the diorama plan.

Buy Materials and Create Makeshift Items

Most of the items needed for your diorama are readily available and can be found in an art store or a toy store. Just refer to your diorama plan for the small items that you need and where to purchase those items. If you want your diorama to be illuminated, you can buy one or two tiny battery-operated bulbs from a hardware center.

Set the Makeshift Stage

First, cut the cover off your shoebox and create a framed opening. Do not throw the excess cardboard away because you might be able to use it for your diorama. Once done, tape the cover to the shoebox. If you want the diorama’s stage to match the theme, you can paint the shoebox with all the appropriate colors. You can even place designs and patterns on the shoebox if you choose.

If you want your diorama to have angled lighting, you can use your pencil to bore holes through the shoebox. Those holes will act as placeholders for your tiny lights.

Play the Role of Makeshift God

This procedure is entirely dependent on the theme and scene that you chose. Make use of small items and toys to produce a tiny scenario. Makeshift mountains can come in the form of toy mountains, clay or paper mache. If you want to create a lake or an ocean, stick a water container through a layer of sand then fill it with water. Use toothpicks to make road signs, poles and posts. When all the toys and items are in place, glue them to the shoebox.

The Diorama Curtain

If you want your diorama to have a cinematic effect, you can create a miniature cinema curtain. Get a long piece of fabric, and then cut a square hole that it is just as big as the diorama’s framed opening. Once done, stick two barbecue sticks on the opposite ends of the diorama. Roll each of the ends of the fabric on the barbecue sticks then use tape to attach the fabric. Now, try the curtain and see if it works.

The Diorama Wrap

If you want to make your diorama look classy, wrap the shoebox with plastic. Tape the plastic to the surface of your shoebox to make sure that your diorama wrap holds up.

At this point, your diorama is complete. You can now amaze your friends with the marvelous details of your diorama. Best of all, your tiny makeshift cinema is something that you can be truly proud of.

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