Hello and welcome to a new series all about the dioramas of the miniature painting world and the artists behind them. I have always loved little miniature terrain pieces and scenes, long before I had any interest in painting miniatures. Visiting little model villages or ogling over the scenery in a little aquarium; I've just always been in awe of this form of art.
So it made complete sense to get inside the heads of the miniature painters who are also creating their own miniature dioramas and scenes. I've come across some truly beautiful and impressive pieces since joining this hobby community a couple of years ago, and I would love to share some of those pieces and artists with you all. So kicking off this brand new series is Rodrigo, here to tell you a little bit about himself and his experience with making dioramas. He's a very talented diorama builder, as well as miniature painter, and his perspective here is invaluable for anyone thinking about starting a diorama, especially seeing as he has won many awards for his work. So let's hear from the main man himself!
Hi everyone! I'm Rodrigo, also known as @rodni_salmorejo on social media. I'm a non-professional miniature painter and diorama builder. Shortly after returning to the hobby in 2020, while browsing the internet, I stumbled upon a website listing all Golden Demon winners since the 2000s. The incredible diorama and duel pieces fascinated me, they really blew my mind, and although i just was starting in the hobby, i felt like trying something like that. But at the beginning it really felt a little overwhelming, like wanting to build a house without not knowing how to even make concrete.
Fortunately, we live in an age abundant with content, much of it free. Platforms like YouTube,
Instagram, Patreon, and blogs offer a wealth of resources. Pretty much everything you can
imagine someone has done it before, and there is probably a tutorial somewhere. I owe much of my progress to artists like Vince Venturella, Roman Lappat and Massive Voodoo, Sam Lenz, Angel Giraldez, Antonio Peña, Kolectiv SG, Eric’s Hobby Workshop, Miscat terrain and many many others whose content has been invaluable to me.
Every project begins with an idea, a spark of imagination that evolves into a solid concept.
Whether recreating an epic Warhammer 40,000 battle or depicting a scene from the LOTR
movie, the idea guides every decision along the way. Often times, I just take a Warhammer box with figures I like and i am looking forward to paint, and I imagine a story around it based on the figures' poses, or the lore, or artwork I found on sites like Artstation.com. There are multiple sources of inspiration.
The storytelling aspect is crucial for me. Each scene is like a frame from a movie, but in order to give it context it requires enough information to tell or suggest what it is happening. Certainly it is not necessary to develop a very deep story, something simple but well presented it is enough. Nevertheless, all the elements and aspects of the piece must come together coherently. I usually consider the miniatures' pose, their visual direction, their position within the scene, the additional elements such as vegetation, buildings or objects, the terrain topography, and also the color palette that i want to use to create the desired atmosphere.
Once you have an idea, it is time to bring it to life. There are tons of different materials at the
hobby stores, and i do have lots of them, but honestly you can do great things with cheap or
even recycled materials, and also things you can take from the outside such as pebbles, roots, sand or soil. I often also incorporate elements from Warhammer terrain, sprue leftovers from other boxes, or inexpensive plastic toys from the dollar store to enhance the visual experience. Every corner of the diorama is an opportunity to tell a story; there should be minimal empty space.
Having some kind of rough planning is beneficial due to the multiple tasks involved. While
going back and forth or even redoing things is inevitable and it is part of the process, it usually helps. Typically, I build and convert the miniatures first, shape the scene roughly, and position everything for the right composition, pinning the figures to the base. Once I am satisfied with the scene's appearance, I start the painting stage.
Concerning painting, I prefer to paint miniatures and scenery separately. Before painting, I aim to have an idea of the atmosphere and color palette to ensure a cohesive look when everything comes together. I usually focus my painting efforts on the figures, where the most
time and care are invested, then the base painting is usually lots of fun since i can apply rougher techniques such as wet blending and not worry that much on being neat.
A big thanks to Rodrigo for that wonderful insight into how he got into making dioramas, an his advice for you to start your own! He has made some truly impressive pieces, so it's well worth listening to him. Let's have a look at a selection of some his dioramas before we bid farewell.
This is obviously a small selection of some of Rodrigos awesome artwork, and I really encourage you to head over this his page at @rodni_salmorejo to check out his dioramas in detail, where you can see close ups and other angles, as well as follow his WIP work to see his processes in creating these wonderful pieces.
I hope this diorama series to be a long one, so I'm on the hunt for more artists with experience making dioramas who want to share some of that with the rest of us peasants. If that is you, then please get in touch via plasticpreacher@gmail.com or @plasticpreacher on Instagram.
Big thanks to Rodrigo for his time, and to you for reading! See you all soon!
A whole new level of inspiration right there! These are incredible