Diorama making: Tufts of Grass tutorial

[IanTheCameraGuy]

hey I'm doing a project for a movie and I'm using miniatures and I live in new mexico and I have to make it look like my surroundings and for that I need to make miniature mesquite in ho scale could you do a tutorial?

[mfleurasd]

im only a kid and starting on dioramas and i wanted to know if i can use real grass or plant matter in my dioramas?

[epicfantasy]

@mfleurasd Generally no. It dries out and doesn't look good. But you can use some stuff like twigs. Or, dry the stuff out first. Once it's dried then see how you can use it.

[ryko26]

thanks for posting this but could you get the camera closer? I can't see a thing on this tutorial

[epicfantasy]

@ryko26 This is an old video. You are right about the camera work. I "should" do a remake!

[dirty1smelly1turban]

WHY WOULD YOU EVER BUY FLOCK (GRASS)? you could make your own by mixing wood dust with paint, let it dry, and break up the clumps. and there you go, its a tenth of the price, just as good. the pros do it this way . (think warhammer 40k) you shouldnt have to buy any finished product when building miniatures, only materials! check this guy out: /watch?v=5jNiiTr8Lq8 extremely informative, anything you need

[epicfantasy]

@dirty1smelly1turban I watch his vids, he has good stuff. Its a terrific method for improvising terrain. me, I like to buy the premade stuff. Easier and imho it looks a bit better, more consistency.

[dirty1smelly1turban]

@epicfantasy your choice.... the only premade things i buy are trees when im lazy to make them and foliage (the thick dark green stuff)

[fishingtrashcan]

and i have one more question to ask you, is that a grass mat that you have?

[epicfantasy]

@fishingtrashcan No, I have grass mats but rarely use them. That is all glued and poured, I like the irregular look of it. definitely more natural looking. Its woodland scenics turf, comes in bags, you brush glue on then sprinkle the grass on. It 's in my make a diorama tutorial.

[fishingtrashcan]

hey,how did you make like the dip,and the hill?

[epicfantasy]

@fishingtrashcan good question. I have a series of vids called 'How to make a diorama" I show the whole process of making the terrain.

[hackalles3]

were did u buy the white gleu?

[svinehunden]

you only know half the trick ;)

this will break off if the wind shifts

[saum510]

Where do you get all these material?Like grass,rocks,bush ETC.

[grogdesign]

Great idea, thanks for that advice. I will try what you suggested "Animal Fur as grass, i'm just off to shave my pet cat! lol

[grogdesign]

Great idea, thanks for that advice. I will try what you suggested "Animal Fur as grass, i'm just off to shave my pet cat! lol

[THERANDYORTONFAN100]

where do u get the terrain material? im doing a safari diorama.

[epicfantasy]

@THERANDYORTONFAN100 I usually get it on amazon. But Michaels and AC Moore usually carry some diorama stuff.

[fredothechocolate]

how do you make your hills??? because yours look SOOO awesome i only use screwed up newspaper but i dont like using that.

[greenleif]

hi there:)

Is it possible to poke holes through the base material? If so, I would make weeds, grasses & tufts by folding but not cutting the tuft-grass mats in half, then stick them into the small holes with glue on the folded point. Just deep enough to hold, not wasting mats. It may make them sturdier in the long run, and double the filling in. The doubled over tufts can be a thin amount or thick depending on what look you need.

Just an idea:) Love you work

[danielharmonizer]

Wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to put a reflection of a tree in the water. I thought of just making 2 trees alike, then cutting down one of them about an inch (making 1/18 diorama) and dropping it in the resin as I am casting it. Doesn't seem like such a good idea. Anyone got any better one...I hope?

[epicfantasy]

@danielharmonizer Wow, this would be a pretty cool idea. Hmmm. Wonder how it could be done.

[buhtla005]

@danielharmonizer small mirror .....

[danielharmonizer]

@buhtla005 Ah, a small mirror...must be Ockham's razor. Wondering if (and what with) you would spray the mirror...or will the resin allow for light. This is my first diorama ever & I'm going all out. The diorama will be for 3.75" GI Joe figures, so we are talking somewhat big.

[TheJamesDun]

@danielharmonizer I have an idea that you might be interested in, I can't garuntee it'll ever work since I've never tried it. But I think it might help.

[branjumba]

@danielharmonizer paint it maybe

[13Moviemansam]

@danielharmonizer you could put a mirror under the resin

[mary03450]

@danielharmonizer Could a mirror be used as the water? Then add lights around the water to cause a tree to reflect? Just an idea.

[ReySol9999]

@danielharmonizer Hi, I painted stones and details before putting the resin for a riverbed, and with the resin it looked ok, very clear and the detail remains... but I don't think that works for a reflectio.n There is another way: take a piece of cellophane (like the one used in cigarrete's boxes), and paint the tree on it with stained glass paint, then put it in the resin, not above but a little "buried". It worked just fine to me.

[patsy02]

@danielharmonizer

It would only look right from a single viewpoint. You're better off just leaving the reflection to the resin; maybe some gloss varnish on the top would work.

[CHEZYMAN619]

a noob way is spraypaint the turf

[stoo1974]

i usually hold the strands either end with bulldog clips. you can get bulldog clips really cheap on ebay so you can have a nice production line of superglued tufts

[stoo1974]

another way to do tufts is get ur strands of grass say 2 inches long, put a drip of superglue in the middle of the strand (at the 1 inch mark) wait for supuerglue to dry then cut in half and bingo 2 tufts 1 inch long.

[epicfantasy]

Thanks, your idea of first gluing a tuft of grass together then cutting it in half is excellent! You can set it aside, let it dry, then cut it in half and it is very easy to work with. You can then place it on your diorama. Thanks for the great idea. I am going to add this to my tutorial on the website

[darmanbuttermilk1137]

@epicfantasy I made an easy way to make copies of minitrues, its glue a minitrue and aluminum foil

[cjoIIProductionz]

whats a tuft

[epicfantasy]

A tuft is a little clump that sticks up.

[soloist11]

LOL! my dogs hair???? u have some imagination?????!?!?

[00asdff]

i like this but how to make a track

[shawty390]

i need one of these for warhammer 40k thanks it is nerdy but im not and its still fun

[MrGiveuhell]

hello i like to make diorama but i don't have any turf or other things to make it.i watch many video how to make diorama like the kamloopian he help me so much,by the way thanks for the video

[epicfantasy]

You can improvise materials! USe sawdust and dye it green with green paint. Take a kitchen sponge and grind it up to make some good looking foliage and bushes. !! Lots of tutorials on my website :)

[lukeradziminski]

hello there, I am struggling on how to make the landscape or just the base of the diorama scene as you have there with all the hills and cliffs and stuff and also what kind of grassy looking material you have used on your base? Thanks.

[epicfantasy]

I used the bristles of a paintbrush to make the long grass. take a bit of practice and diorama making can be a bit challenging - keep at it! You will get better and better. Thanks for watching.

[lukeradziminski]

yeah ok.. but what about the very short looking grass? some of the areas of the land making is mixed with dirt or sumthing from other creators to make the realism of the grass/dirt like you have that surround the long grass

[epicfantasy]

I used a variety of size textures called terrain turf. It comes in various densities from very fine like powder to course clumps. I have a whole series of diorama tutorials on this stuff. check my playlists.

[lukeradziminski]

ok thanks (Y)

[HARDYZrock14]

what do u use ofr the base?

[epicfantasy]

For the base of the diorama? or for the base of the tufts of grass?

The diorama base is newspaper and hydrocal. The tufts are simply a dab of white glue.

[apdaoud]

so do you recomend woodlen sienics

[epicfantasy]

Yes absolutely. I use woodland scenics materials all the time.

[soldiars]

i thought of using the material from the dishwashing sponge will that work good?

[epicfantasy]

Yes, that will work very well.

[01TheWarrior]

Okay, wow. Fantastic! I wish I'd seen this years ago when I had so much trouble with said grass.....

[crazylegoproductions]

I'm making a really cool diorama. If you'd like for me too i will send you pics when im done with it.

[soundhitman]

would you use this to make a field of wheat? i cant think of any ohter options...

[Xtraluzionproduction]

You can get fake grass at hobby lobby or any hobby store. They don't cost that much and are very relistic.

[101specialforce]

what do u use to make tufts of grass

[epicfantasy]

The bristles of a paintbrush.

[Headcrabb]

You have to be kidding me. WATCH THE VIDEO

[JasperPalmer]

It looks so real you called it a terrarium, LOL

[epicfantasy]

LOL! Good point. I flubbed that and never edited it out. Sharp ears for catching it. lol, maybe it is because it looks so real.

[TrueBluePyrotechnics]

could you use horse hair? it would be very tuff, but it would still look like grass

[epicfantasy]

Yes, horsehair is a great idea. It would look good and work very well.

[pubybarstumpy]

cool!

[navycomand]

sponge works great

[epicfantasy]

I am not sure how to use sponge to make tufts of grass. If you give me some tips I would love to make a video of it.

[navycomand]

you guy a piece of sponge from a big sponge die it green and it makes a great bush, not grass.

[navycomand]

die, not guy

[epicfantasy]

Thanks for the great tip! I am currently doing a tutorial on using cork to make rubble in a diorama. I am going to either add your tip on sponge bushes to that tutorial or make a whole new one. THanks!

[PantherG64]

Very informative videos, thank you good work.

[epicfantasy]

Thanks! More tutorials coming.

[grandtheftauto4123]

make a ww2 diorama!!!! there the best!!!!

[epicfantasy]

You are right, ww2 dioramas are really cool. Maybe I will make one. not sure though, i pretty much stick to fantasy stuff.

[grandtheftauto4123]

well ok! thats fine.

[epicfantasy]

You are very welcome! Fun to do and I love dioramas. I have more coming and am always looking for diorama ideas so just drop me a line anytime!

[Directinator303]

Try a WWll hedgerow battle or something

[epicfantasy]

Thats a good Idea, for now I have a ww2 style trench tutorial 4dUwjIf4BXw

and I think I am going to be doing a bunker soon

[batkin1970]

these videos really helped me with some ideas for my current diorama's. thanks

[pavariangoo]

You know, I originally came looking for ideas for my model railway, but I have also now developed an interest in dioramas, so credit where credits due mate, where did the Spartan figures come from?

[epicfantasy]

Thanks! The spartan figures are really great, with nice detail. I got em from a company called Crocodile Games. I am starting to get real excited about some kind of hobbit diorama. Maybe I will make it real big - Not sure yet :)

I really try to give the best info I can. Sincere thanks for the compliment :)

[pavariangoo]

Oh nice, another top grade video, thankyou, I find these movies you make more useful then any I have purchased that all seem to be crammed with ads and people patting each other on the back. Good tips and I do look forward to the hobbit scene, as I am quite a Lord of the Rings fan myself.

Best series on youtube you have here mate

[gr8d7rox]

plz do i wanna see it

[gr8d7rox]

dude ur awesome man

thnx alot for the tutoriall cuz im making a diorama

n i nedded help so ya thnx dude!!!!

[epicfantasy]

You are very welcome! Have fun with your diorama making. I am thinking about doing a hobbit shire or hobbit home next!

[Rosado31480]

awesome man thanks for the info.

[epicfantasy]

You are very welcome :) Have fun with your diorama making!

[BOROCKHARDJR]

these tootoriall is goods use! a-ok!

[epicfantasy]

Thankyou!