Diorama - Initial Ideas and References

"You should feel two emotions when approaching a Grotto; fear and desire. You should fear what may be inside, but desire to discover."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Our next module for university is to create a 3d diorama with the intention of making it as detailed as possible. Not really knowing where to start I did a quick google search for interesting places and buildings around my area. Eventually I fell on the area of Painshill Park which is not too far away from me so easy to gather reference material when needed and offers something a bit different and unique.

Initial Sketches

Before gathering references I created a lot of thumbnail sketches inspired by Painshill Park to just play with what kind of story I would like to tell within the diorama. I also wanted to nail down an interesting composition which would let the eye travel around the scene, but with a 360 scope in mind.

Starting with crude sketches in a notebook these just toyed with architecture and didn't really tell any specific story.

I created even more that tried to have more of a narrative of an underground cave/grotto beneath the ruins of a tower or abbey. In one thumbnail I got the idea of having a troll living underground and for this particular piece he has been turned to stone due to being exposed to sunlight through a sink hole from above. Although it still felt like all these ideas were maybe too big for the project.

Reference Gathering

From here I went to gather more references in person at Painshill Park to flesh out the idea more and make sure I can create a highly detailed and accurate scene. I was also open to the concept of being inspired by anything new I might have encountered to aide my scene.   I had a few back up locations in mind in the area if I felt dissatisfied with what I would find. 

I really liked how the leaves have massed together on the waters surface. Because it was muddy I gathered a lot of mud references around the grounds too.

This bridge had very aesthetically pleasing brick work and arches. It would match with my troll idea as troll are also associated with hiding under bridges and presented a new concept for me to explore. 
  

Underneath the trees above there were a lot of fallen leaves which coated the ground with this rich red colour which was also present in the water. The combination of roots and rocks also break up the ground making it look interesting. 
  

The other side of the ruins shows the raw brick work. Although I will probably want to stick to the pale brick in my diorama, the shape here and the layered brick work will help create something more interesting and it  shows where mud and foliage would form. I particularly like the creeping ivy. 
  

Another interesting and fantasy/elven looking building on the property. I particular like the arches in this and the windows. The turrets could also be an interesting addition if I feel its necessary. 
 

What I did not realise existed on this property was a man-made grotto. It is constructed of crystals put together by hand to mimic stalagmites in a cave and surrounded by oolitic Limestone or sponge stone. This really unique structure, although not natural, could be a very interesting contrast to use for textures on the troll in comparison to the smooth elven ruined building. I was able to get more close ups of the sponge stone throughout the park.

Although I may not use this reference I thought it was interesting. The ceiling to the white building overlooking the park. I particularly liked the colours as this was roughly the idea I had in mind, but also the delicate details in construction of the pattern. I had an idea of placing this motif under the troll to make it look like it was once part of the crumbled tower and the troll had an emotional attachment to whoever once lived there on top of having to be there to guard the place for some reason.

Concept Art

Inspired, I went back to creating some more sketches. I explored a few more ideas in regards to the narrative of my project, exploring a bridge troll idea as well as the grotto troll. In particular I stumbled across a quote shared on the grounds near the grotto which I have used for the heading of this blog.

The final few sketches were just pushing past the idea I was focusing on to see if I could come up with something better. I also focused on making my diorama a bit more contained so I'd have the opportunity to focus on the detail whilst creating this. I also played with composition.

It wasn't until I saw things in colour that I really knew for sure what I wanted to do. I even started a concept which was a slightly different idea to all the others but I just couldn't see this working well in a 360 view. I have decided to go with the concept on the left for my diorama.