In this part of the tutorial I show you how to make the armature for your diorama. That is the cardboard structure that you will lay the paper mache over.

Start with a base for your diorama. I used two sheets of cardboard that are glued together. I use two sheets for strength. The dimensions are 7" x 8".

I had a concept for what I wanted so I drew some lines right on the cardboard as a guide.

Cut lots of strips of cereal box carcboard and use them to build your 3-dimensional landscape structure. Make a variety of strips both thin and thick. I also added the back walls of the diorama with corrugated cardboard.

Continue building the structure until it is fleshed out very well. This structure is called an armature. Okay! It looks good!

Now stuff that armature with crumpled newspaper. This is to give it strength and support. When you apply the wet paper mache to this armature it could sag. So you add the crumpled newspaper to keep the shape of it.

Next we mix up paper mache paste and apply it to the armature until the shell (landscape) is completed. Here is a look at it completed. But....

But... I won't leave you right there. Let's continue on and I will show you how to do that step by step.

(continue)