For instance, you could make a scene of a 1950s diner that includes figures dressed in poodle skirts or jeans and a leather jacket, a jukebox, red vinyl stools at a counter, and a black and white checkerboard floor. Make sure that the miniatures will be appropriate to the scale of the rest of the diorama. You might need Styrofoam balls of different sizes, paint, hot glue, and fishing line if you’re recreating the solar system. For a nature diorama, collect flowers, berries, leaves, and seeds.
For instance, you could choose to create a diorama that depicts the rainforest or the desert. Alternatively, you could stage a scene from the Civil War or the first lunar landing.
If you’ve chosen an ecosystem, find out what kind of soil or water, plant life, and animal life are found there. For instance, an ocean ecosystem has salt water, coral, seaweed, algae, sharks, rays, turtles, crustaceans, fish, etc. For a historical time period, think about available technology, popular fashion and art, how people spent their time, and what buildings looked like.
Get creative with the frame for your diorama. For example, a diorama depicting a family scene or people could be done in a refurbished dollhouse. Take into account the design of the diorama when selecting the container. For instance, a diorama about the rainforest will need to be tall enough to accommodate the trees and layers of vegetation you’ll be showcasing. You can paint the outside of your box for a more finished look. Do this first and let the paint dry before you start work on the inside of the diorama.
Coloring on the cardboard with markers will just make everything look dark. Cut out construction paper and glue it on the box for brighter colors. For an indoor scene, glue a magazine cutout of a living room to the back of the box to make it look like a house. For a solar system diorama, glue dark blue or black construction paper to the box and paint small white or silver stars on it.
For instance, shape a hill with a depression at the bottom from modeling clay. Once it’s dry, fill it with blue nail polish to make a pond or lake. Glue sand or gravel to the bottom of the box to simulate the ocean floor if you’re making an underwater scene.
For instance, make clouds from cotton balls for the walls, then spread small rocks and flowers on the ground for an outdoor scene. Place scraps of fabric on the bottom to act as rugs or make a mirror out of aluminum foil for the wall of an indoor scene.
For a nature theme, add small toy animals or bugs to the ground or hang birds or tiny airplanes from the top with fishing line and hot glue. For an indoor scene, place a tiny table and chairs in the diorama and add small figurines for the people or characters.
