This is the fantasy wall diorama project and tutorials. The picture below shows the diorama in it's current state. It is broken down into a series of tutorials that show various aspects of diorama making including the case, the trees, underground tunnels, water effects like a lake and waterfall, and a whole lot of other diorama making stuff. There is a lot to this diorama and you can browse through the various tutorials by rolling over the image.

I also have these tutorials in a series of youtube videos that you can view here: Wall diorama Video Tutorials

A Little bit about the diorama.

The enclosure is hand made out of wood. The sides, top and bottom are two by fours and the back is a sheet of plywood. It goes hand in hand with an old window frame that is mounted to it with hinges and a hasp. This way while it is mounted on the wall it is enclosed in glass. And the glass window hinges so it can be opened to look at or work on. It measures about four inches thick and it is 35 inches wide and 29 inches tall.

I have a series of tutorials right on this page and they describe how I design and make the whole diorama. To see the various diorama and terrain making techniques I use to make the actual landscape and accessories you can roll over the image.

- Roll over the image to see what tutorials there are and how to make that section -

A web visitor has made this diorama! (Kade) You can check out pictures of Kade's Fantasy Wall Diorama right here.

The first six tutorials are how to make the overall structure of the Wall Diorama

1. Introduction to how to build the Wall Unit

I show you how to build the wall unit to be used as the diorama. This is also called a shadow box.

2. Finishing and painting the Wall Unit

I show you how to finish off the building of the unit, how to paint it and how to mount it on the wall.

3. Designing the diorama and installing the foam sheets

I show you about designing the diorama on paper and making some mock ups out of cardboard. I also tell you about the installed foam.

4. Carving the rough foam structures, caves, caverns and corridors

I show you how to do the rough carving using a hot wire cutter to get the basic shapes of the corridors, big rooms and caverns.

5. Prewiring the diorama for lights and automation

I explain the importance of wiring up the diorama before the detail work so all the wires can be hidden inside. This is for the automation and the lighting.

6. Doing the architecture carving and the basic color painting

I show you how to do the architecture carving which includes finalizing teh foam shapes of stairs, rocks and the caverns and corridors. Then we can do the basic color painting.

Part 7: Make the Underground Fortress/Castle

Part 8: The Gold and Silver Mines with Trestle Bridge

Part 9: Progress Update

Part 10: New Castle design

Part 11: The Dungeon

Part 12: The Electric DrawBridge

Part 13: The Blacksmith Shop

Part 14: The Underground Lake

Part 15: The Lizard's Nest - Some improvised materials for nests and some colored peas for eggs!

Part 16 The Torture Chamber - Color is important in this tutorial. I show you a little bit about how color affects the mood of the scene. There are also some neat little torture devices that I make including a rack and an Iron Maiden

Part 17 The Lizards Temple - One of the big lessons in this part is that you can use a variety of paper to get a great look in a diorama.

Part 18 The Dragons Lair and Crystal Cave - This is the final build installment for the diorama. This is the dragon's lair with automated dragon and the crystal cave.

The List of Tutorials that are in the Image of the Wall Diorama

• Make Miniature Trees
• Make the Underground Fortress/Castle
• Make the Electric Drawbridge that really works
• How to sculpt and cast miniature figures
• How to sculpt and cast a treasure chest
• How to Do the Undeground Water effects for the cavern
• How to Make a Diorama Waterfall
• The Blacksmith's Shop
• Make a Miniature Ladder
• The Gold and Silver Mines with trestle bridge and miners cart
• The Dungeon
• Make a miniature army of plastic lizards
• Part 19 - Finishing up, wiring the control panel and mounting on the wall.

How to make Fantasy and Medieval Dioramas

Maybe you don't want to make something this large and ambitious. Amazon sells small shadowboxes that are ready for your diorama.

Swing Design Chroma Shadow Box Frame, 5 by 7-Inch, Charcoal Gray

Swing Design Display Shadow Box, Black, 12" by 12"