A Villa by the Sea

[sberry]

Oh dear, it's already been a year since I posted the first WIP pictures of my Roman Villa Maritima diorama. Actually, the project took much longer; the first plans and sketches were created back in 2022. But now it's finished, and here are the pictures. First, a series of panoramic photos:

[sberry]

[Wiking]

Huge Dio !

Rich man.
I miss woman !

[XbriX]

Amazing build and photography! Good job!

[Michael Robert]

Hello sberry,
the villa is more a palace. It dominates everything. The people are just some tiny add-ons, rowers in a boat, craftsmen, servants and the jumping dolphin. It is most impressive and beautiful.
Best regards
Michael

[C M Dodson]

On a cold day what better way to cheer people up with some sunshine and blue seas.

Lovely modelling with Mr Crynn’s sailors in fine form.

Best wishes,

Chris

[Iceman1964]

simply F A N T A S T I C !!!
the villa, the details, the background, all makes this diorama feeling alive !
best compliments sberry, a masterpiece.
Enrico

[Santi Pérez]

Another one of your fantastic projects, Stephan, and a new delight for the eyes of all of us who can see it.

I love the perfect distribution and balance of the different components of the diorama, the perfect reproduction of all the architectural and natural elements, and almost as much as the above, the amazing pictures obtained by combining real images with those obtained with AI.

A superb work, my friend or, as Enrico so aptly put it, a “masterpiece”.

Santi.

[CliosPaintingBench]

Love the water effects. Great diorama!

[Ochoin]

Obviously different architecture, but the scene very much reminds me of Ospidale near San Remo, where my wife has family. The hills, the water, the off shore islands & the general sparkle of the diorama just screams "Mediterranean".

Great work.

donald

[Beano Boy]

i like it very much! BB

[sberry]

Dear friends, thank you for all those nice comments! This project was an experiment in two aspects, using an AI background for the first time, and also using acrylic gel for creating the water for the first time. So I am glad that you like the result!

I also learned a lot during the project. For example, that you apply the gel with an artist's palette knife – which I did. But I also used a brush to have better control over the texture of the water's surface. And that was a mistake, because, as I now know, using a brush in the gel creates tiny air bubbles that make the Mediterranean look murkier and more turbulent than I intended. Oh well, it's probably a stormy day…

the villa is more a palace. It dominates everything. The people are just some tiny add-ons

That's precisely what I wanted to achieve here: to make the villa itself the star of the show. Because I think a Roman senator like Pliny the Younger would also have loved to impress people with his magnificent residence in this way (Pliny owned at least four such properties, and he wasn't the richest man in the Senate).

Lovely modelling with Mr Crynn’s sailors in fine form.

They were in fact one of the reasons for this diorama. I love ancient boats and ships – and I love manufacturers who offer the corresponding crews at the same time! (as opposite to the “ghost ships” made by Zvezda – nice models, but not a single man on board…)

a masterpiece

A superb work, my friend or, as Enrico so aptly put it, a “masterpiece”.

What can I say after so much praise? When I think about it, I believe two important aspects have developed over the years: One, of course, is simply experience. But I also have accumulated tons of stuff during 25 years or so, that give me now a rich stock to enhance my dioramas with detail. For example, the "European City Fountain" by Airfix was released back in 2014. I bought it immediately, without any particular reason. Now I could use it for this project, where I think it looks really good.

[sberry]

Now here we have some more photos, focusing more on certain details.

I miss woman !

And there is some womensfolk, too, as you will see!

[sberry]

[sberry]

[JurgenH]

Sorry for not getting in touch sooner. I thought I had already done so.
High praise from me, I'm always such a silent reader.
You've done a great job, it's a real treat. Everything has been carefully selected and beautifully crafted. Even difficult things like the jumping dolphin. You can't see any supports, nothing.
The figures are also great and fit into the scene perfectly.
All in all, a superb piece that deserves a nice place in the display case. Do you take the diorama to exhibitions?
Jürgen

[MABO]

I also want to add my applause. This is really beautiful. And like Chris already mentioned: I am one of the persons who like to see the summer feeling during a much to long period of rain, darkness and cold.

I will have a closer look on the company who made the buildings specially for you. Seems to be interesting and useful for special ideas like yours.

I really love to see your work here at Bennos!

[MABO]

Oh and I forgot: I would be interested in some overall views of the diorama without any AI. Simply to see the huge building as it is on your workbench.

[sberry]

Thank you very much, JurgenH and MABO!

Do you take the diorama to exhibitions?

No, actually not. I'm not a frequent visitor to model fairs and such. And the idea of having to transport a diorama is quite daunting: although I try to make everything very solid so that it lasts a long time, there are always a few rather fragile parts that would probably suffer damage.

I will have a closer look on the company who made the buildings specially for you. Seems to be interesting and useful for special ideas like yours.

The company Formulor produced the laser-cut parts according to my design. This is very convenient, but can become somewhat expensive for larger projects: You pay a base price that depends on the chosen material, such as OSB or plywood. These prices are affordable, but there are additional costs for the laser's labor. And this labor costs increase significantly with the many fiddly parts I had wanted. Fortunately, you can upload a design beforehand and determine the final price for the respective material.

[sberry]

Oh and I forgot: I would be interested in some overall views of the diorama without any AI. Simply to see the huge building as it is on your workbench.

I recognize that I should elaborate a bit more on my AI-generated background: I did’t digitally insert AI pics into existing photos, similar to the method of our colleague Santi, who has produced these very beautiful results. The required amount of work would be OK perhaps for a handful of photos, but not for the 100+ pictures that I have selected for this diorama. Rather, I am always working with a conventional background photo in poster format, 40 x 80 cm or similar. In the villa project, one of these, the mountain range with some further buildings, was created by AI. The other ones, showing mediterranean costs, are real photos.
Since I am always interested in a scene where everything fits together, I usually do not take photos of a diorama alone. But here are photos that give you an impression of my photo sessions: