The Ever-Changing Dynamics of a Forest Landscape for Dioramas

I absolutely love the possibilities of dioramas and trying to reach a high quality realistic look. At the moment I’ve been concentrating in quite a niche area as the laser cut plants I use are for a certain ecosystem nonetheless, forests are tremendously diverse with forever changing vegetation and colours. pine trees drop needles and leave an orangey brown circle around the tree as grass battles through the needles for sunlight. Deciduous tree leaves spread with the wind and are weightless being blown and spreading out. Trunks and branches fall all around, rot and are colonised by mushrooms and mosses as they decay. Openings of pasture or mossy clearings are lit up by the sun that gets through where ferns become the dominant focus. The changes of species in a certain area inevitably merges and collide with other colonised areas creating a unique collision, large features like mounds, ditches, boulders and fallen trees contribute to what a good scene can be made in a diorama.

Most people easily overlook the epic battle of life, death, and beauty on the forest floor we tread to reach our destination. One could spend a lifetime modelling dioramas of the forestscape, and I find myself captivated by studying ideal materials and potential new products that more closely mimic reality. Through this journey, I've developed my own techniques and ideas, with nature providing most of the inspiration. I've collected lichen from the Scottish Highlands, heather from the coast of Pembrokeshire and the Yorkshire Moors, twisted roots from the chalky soil of Wiltshire, pine and silver birch bark, and vine tendrils and branches from the Forest of Dean.

Random Fact:

“moss covered” in Japanese is 苔むした" (koke mushita) and in German is "Moosflächen"