Diorama time! (Patreon)

My friends, after much deliberation, planning, testing, sketching, and cutting, I present to you the Normandy "Cats And Dogs" diorama! 

At this point, it's in the 3D sketch phase but it's pretty clear what's gonna be what 😁The paintbrush, for example, is going to be a telegraph pole. The road section in the foreground is either going to be made of cobblestones or dirt. I'm not sure yet. Also, the placement of figures is not final. I can still move the Jagdpanther around slightly and adjust the figures, too. 

At the very end of the gallery is a historical photo that started it all. The left Jagdpanther is most likely the same vehicle, and I thought it would be pretty cool to incorporate it into the same, or at least very similar, location. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try painting the large advertisement on the house, but it's gonna be a huge focal point, so I'm definitely going to give it my best! 

Of course, I "improved" the house with a few details so it wouldn't be just a simple box. No matter how much I tried, I kept getting inspired HARD by Volker Bembennek's "In position on Hill 112" diorama and keen-eyed viewers will notice a few similarities, yet I tried to make the composition, layout, shapes, and details as "my own" as possible. 

Now I'm going to focus on the building. At first, I wanted it to be completely made out of bricks, but I'll probably try to make it a little more interesting. I gotta sketch some additional ideas and start scribing! 

There wasn't much to post before this stage because most of the "work" is about drawing, looking at photographs, searching the internet for ideas, laying down the main elements of the diorama, adjusting the size of the base, and a lot of cutting. Getting the back walls of the house perfectly straight and flush with the corners of the base was the most crucial and difficult part, so I'm super glad it turned out okay! 

PS: this weekend was nice and sunny with no wind. I went for a ride each day and it was fantastic! It's hard to describe the first "real" ride on Saturday. Pedaling on the same bike I crashed on, climbing small hills, being able to get off the bike and sit at a bench in the middle of a field and just absorb the sunlight and autumn colors... it's hard to describe, but "being born again" is what crossed my mind during that moment!