I think of these as the sub plot or counterpoint in dioramas. A common one that really works well I think is the use of animals. Massive war machines with the crew trying to befriend a dog or cat or a dog peeing against the side of a Generals car whikle he and his aides plot their campaign.






JB this is where originality comes in . Although it's possible 3 different modelers could come up with the same idea of a German guy hiding in some corner, more often than not these are derivative of dios that have been heavily featured in Magazines or websites. I agree about having to explain a dio. It's the difference in film making between show me and Tell me if you need a narration over your scene you're doing it wrong. The same when you're in a gallery in front of a piece of art - you shouldn't have to read the label or the catalogue to know if a piece of art works or not.


Contrast can also work really well.

A Finnish Soldier using a simple log to jam the tracks of a massive Russian tank.

A Soviet fodder cart pulled by a Bactrian camel near Berlin passing an abandoned Jagdtiger.

A bantam weight British Tommy escorting two tall blond SS prisoners to the rear.

I don't think any of these would need labels explaining what they're about.

There are differences between styles of dioramas, similar to an impressionist painting and an abstract painting or a traditionalist/realist and an impressionist. Each will tell a story with a different 'slant' or viewpoint. An easter egg would never fit in your style of art, where it would and could in a Bob Letterman style diroama. A rabbit in the bushes may not fit in a Verlinden diorama, but extra detail or something 'different' thrown in a corner would fit a Verlinden.
It guess it all comes down to - "I'm looking for something that makes say 'Oh'" when I look at a diorama.

The collaberation between what I see and feel when I look at one. If it draws me into the story, then to me, it is a success.

I have a few criteria I look for in a good diorama and try to incorporate in my own work these are as follows:

1) Realism: Although it is obviously a fictional setting a good diorama should look like it could be a 3d representation of an original snapshot, research is the key to this.

2) Action: whatever the vehicle, men etc are doing it should look like they are doing something even if this is resting. plus the action should not end at the edges of the board it is based on you should be able to mentally place the piece in a much larger scene.

3) Quality Work: there is nothing worse than a brilliantly painted vehicle surrounded by awfully painted figures and vice versa you should play to your strengths.

4) Landscape: great care should be taken in building the landscape the vehciles etc are on not just a bit of scatter take time to research etc

5) Care: dont rush take time and produce something of quality rather than rush and ruin your idea

cheers

Simon

p.s i'm trying to start more campaigns over on hf so feel free to give your support https://hfmodeling.kitmaker.net/forums/147353&page=1

plus there is still time to join the sniper campaign

well when i plan my Dio's i try to tell my story in diferent ways. I plan out what i want as the main subject then add the little things that catch your eye. I try to make the one story into a few little stories i guess. like the one i have been working on for a while now. i have three main subject vehicles. and at each vehicle they are doing something different. and a few figures moving through out the dio to give it action. one guy may be taking a leak in the back of the dio by a bush and others eating and other planning next mission and a few guys down by the creek looking at something in the water. it sounds very busy but when complete and the way i have things spaced out, you can spend time looking at things that you may not see right away. and it is kinda large as well. i like to see dio's that catch you at first and as you look more closely at it you start to see other things in it. that is what makes it intresting for me. finding the little stories or the other actions going on in the dio. for smaller dios i focus on one thing the main story with out putting in filler. but will add just a few eye catching things that have nothing really to do with the main story but just to add intrest to it. as i move through the process i often have some one look at it in stages to see if they get it. and the best ones to get to look at it is someone that has no idea about what they are looking at. they will see things that you do not see. i enjoy trying to tell the story and add a little something else to anything that i am doing.
I study just like everyone else and apply what i can. but i usually have an idea in my head of what I want before and lay out the idea and of course change it as i go because some things i do just do not look right once i start putting it together. but that is just me.....

I got in on this thread early and I’ve been reading the subsequent posts which lead me to add these thoughts.

Diorama Theory 101 - Definition of Diorama:

A miniature three-dimensional scene, in which models of figures are seen against a background

A miniature, three-dimensional scene, often depicting a historical event.

A museum display, as of an animal, of a specimen in its natural setting

You might notice there is no mention of the mandatory telling of a story in the definition of diorama above.

For our practical purposes in scale modeling there are two major types of dioramas eg; the Story Diorama and the Subject Diorama. It’s the theme or the subject of the diorama composition that’s making it one or another. Think the MonaLisa vs. The Last Supper – both classics but one a subject and one a story.

The story dio, in which the elements work together to tell a story to the viewer. You want the viewer to scan the whole dio as a frozen slice of time and not focus on one element. This is the dio w/ maybe several vehicles; groups of figures, etc… are in some type of identifiable historic setting. I believe everyone knows what a story diorama is, there are plenty of examples above.

The showcase dio, which highlights the subject in it native element to give that element reference or scale. You want the viewer to focus on the subject. An example of the showcase diorama might be amphibious vehicle driving in/out of the water or an aircraft that has ground and naval versions shown on tarmac. There is also the rare resin or super detailed subject that you want to be the focus w/ minimal supporting elements, eg; one figure / tree for scale reference.

Shockingly enough, like most people, my opinion or personal preference is towards the story diorama but I can see the need / use for the subject diorama also. The subject style diorama is still a diorama even if it’s not my favorite and the perfectly weathered or blown up tank can be better than a busy composition of figures and vehicles.
Like or dislike of one thing or another does not create the standard or definition – if it did peaches would no longer be a food because I don’t like them so they can’t be in the fruit food group anymore.

As most of you said, probably the most important thing is STORY. But I don't like stories like "Tank is moving", "Soldiers are walking", "Tank was destroyed", "Tank and soldiers attacking" etc. Too bad, most builders fit dioramas to their models, not the models to the dioramas, and build models with paint sheme from the box, only to realize that it's now impossible to make an interesting diorama with it.
HUGE dioramas present HUGE problems, although they look good for non-modelers (except Clervaux). It's hard to make a convicive massive dio, most oftenly because nobody wants to spend time. And it results in badly painted figures, historical inaccuracies, huge costs, etc. Check this one out

That's pretty crazy!!!! Interesting use of pre-build 1/32 vehicles with the 1/35 stuff. Overall, It's total chaos and way! too crowded to make heads or tails of anything, but I'll give em credit for being ambitious.

nice job

OK, this diorama does kind of suck as far as overall impact. I will agree that huge dioramas are very hard to pull off but they can be very impressive when done well. That said, almost by definition where the size isn't dependent on a particular focal point (Letterman's WW1 railway gun factory for example) I almost don't think they qualify as dioramas since they tend to be multiple slices of life or even mini-dioramas over a larger canvass insteaad of one unified theme.

Matt