It’s been quite a while since my last post. That’s because I’ve been so busy! Not just with my latest model, the Goldfish diorama, but because I’ve also been trying to improve in some other areas, like putting out more instructional videos and improving the quality of the SVG and PNG files.

Initially, I actually intended to make a complete fishbowl diorama complete with “glass” for the bowl and everything. I even mused about putting in a castle or a treasure chest haha. When I started modelling it however I realized I needed to scale it back or else it would just be too complex. So I went with a bunch of simple plants and two fish, similar to what made it into the final piece.

After building most of the first prototype though I realized that I hadn’t scaled it back enough as it was still too complicated. The goldfish were about half the size they are now, the plants were also a bit on the small side, and making the glass of the bowl was too finicky and resulted in a lot of ugly crinkles. So I went back to the drawing board as they say.

While I was working on the first prototype I ended up taking some WIP shots that ended up being the inspiration for the final design. I had taken a picture of one of the fish that was attached to one of the plant clusters and when I looked back on it I thought that was a much simpler idea. I also made it larger so that it would be easier to assemble compared to the first design.

The second design was simpler and turned out much better than the first. I still wasn’t quite happy with it though and ended up making some more changes. The proportions of the fish seemed a little off so I had to adjust them. For some reason, I thought it would be fine to make all of the fish and plants first and then build the base around them but this just resulted in a lot of wobbly plants and made it harder to put the base together. So I changed it so the base is built first and the plants and fish are attached using the “socket method” I developed (or at least that’s what I call it :p). That method makes things so much easier but for some reason, I don’t always think to use it right away haha.

After that I had a lot of issues taking the pictures. I’ve never considered myself a good photographer but I think I’ve at least improved a lot over the years. All of that went out the window for this project and I had to re-teach myself how to take decent photos over three separate sessions, each one an improvement over the last session haha In the end I got results that I can live with and was able to complete the project.

Now, the issue I always have is the issue of what to do next. It’s always a fun problem though as there are always many exciting new ideas floating around. I have a few that I think are a tad overdue though so I think it’s a bit simpler to decide this time. That’s probably the only clue you’ll get because, as always I won’t say what until I feel it’s time. So you’ll just have to wait patiently until then. :)

Thanks for reading and Happy Crafting!

The Papercraftsman