Bone Diorama

What happens when you have a surplus of squirrel bones and dig through your supply of random stuff? A cool diorama! Nearly all the materials for this project were items I happened to have lying around. Like most art, it's not entirely reproducible, so I'm not going to try to describe every step. Look at it more as inspiration and a resource for tips and tricks.

Supplies

This is not even close to a comprehensive list, but here are a few of the items I pulled together for this project:

Bones- I had some squirrels decomposing in my yard for quite some time, so I cleaned them up for this project.

JB Weld Super Weld glue- This is now literally one of my favorite things. This glue is awesome, and I'm upset I didn't know it existed earlier. It's like super glue, but it dries instantly when you hit it with the little light on the end of the bottle. There's so many parts of the project I would not have been able to accomplish without this glue.

Tweezers

Boxcutter

Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue

Flocking/Turf

Gravel

Resin and blue alcohol ink

Sand

1/16" plywood/balsa

Paintbrushes

other random jewelry findings, shells, rocks, beads, paint, metal bits etc.

Step 1: Base

To start, I found a couple rocks that fit together nicely with my skull and seemed to form an island. I made sure they would fit well within the silicone mold I would later use to add resin as a base.

I opted not to glue the skull down at this point because it was fragile and I didn't want to risk breaking it during the rest of the build.

After gluing the rocks together, the first addition that seemed to make sense was a walkway around the side of my island. I cut small pieces of 1/16" plywood from my local hobby shop to create planks. Decide on the length of your planks and cut a strip of plywood using a ruler and boxcutter against the grain. Then, cutting with the grain makes it super easy to cut the larger strip into lots of smaller pieces.

After laying the planks out around the rocks, I taped them together and flipped it over. Using short pieces of square dowel, I glued them together. For all the wood glueing, I used Aleene's quick dry tacky glue.

Once the glue was dry, I removed the tape.

I then added some bones as posts using the Super Weld glue.

I didn't decide on my coloring strategy until later, but I recommend coloring all the wood elements before gluing them together. I colored the wood after it was assembled and it was more challenging.

I didn't glue this down until much later.

Step 2: Small Platforms

I wanted the pathway to have a winding staircase around the vertical rock face, so I created two of these small platforms. This time I cut much longer planks and used a single plank down the center bottom to glue them together. Again, I should have colored these before gluing on the bones.

Step 3: Large Platform

To create the large platform, I cut a piece of paper to match the shape of the top of the vertical rock.

Using that paper template, I drew out the shape I wanted for the platform. After cutting a pile of planks, I taped a strip of them together and then trimmed the edges with a boxcutter and ruler to create the tapered shape for each section.

Once I had my 4 sections, I used some spare planks to glue them together at the seams.

Step 4: Wood Coloring

I used a brown marker to create the aged wood coloring. By applying the marker roughly and then letting the marker sink in at the edges and bleed inward, the pristine plywood started to look how I wanted.

Step 5: Mounting Platforms

To mount the large platform, I used the Super Weld glue to glue a bone as a support beam. I added some additional gravel pieces to add a larger attachment area. I glued a second bone at an angle from the first to further support the large platform.

For the smaller platforms the Super Weld really came in handy. All I had to do was apply a bit of glue and hold it against the rock. After hitting it with the light, they were stuck quite firmly. Later, I'll add some moss that will provide additional glue support, but honestly the Super Weld is amazing and did the job well.

Step 6: Stairs

For the stairs, I cut square pieces of plywood that matched the width of the pathway from step 1. Then, I cut pieces that were the same width, but about half as deep. By gluing two of these half-sized pieces to one side of each of the square pieces, I created individual steps. Each step was then glued together, curving around the rock as I went. Again, the Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue is great for these wood pieces.

I didn't glue these down until much later.

Step 7: Upper Platform

I decided I wanted one more platform, but opted for a ladder this time instead of stairs. Using 1/16" square dowel, I created a small ladder.

I simply extended the same template I used for the large platform and used the same process.

I glued the bottom of the ladder on the large platform first.

After holding a bone and the upper platform in place to gauge the angle and size needed, I secured two bone supports at the bottom on the edge of the middle small platform. I used some vertebrae and a bit of gravel to get these supports to an even height.

Then, I added glue and secured the platform at the top of the bone supports and at the top of the ladder.

Step 8: Boat

I cut two small pieces of veg tanned leather for a boat.

Using contact cement, I glued the bottom together.

Then, I glued a strip to the bottom edge and curled it over onto itself at each end.

Once firmly affixed, I dampened the leather and shaped it into a boat by putting a small piece of plywood inside as a bench. I also used some pliers to squish the ends of the strip flat. Finally, I added a small jaw bone to the bow.

Then, taking a small strip of plywood, I carved an oar shape and used sandpaper to further refine it. After coloring it, I also added some twine to the end.

Step 9: Table

Using jewelry findings and beads, I created some tiny bottles.

With some teeth and plywood, I created a table to put them on and even added a little paper scroll.

Step 10: Campfire

I glued together some of the scrappy pieces of plywood to make a little campfire.

After burning the wood a bit with a lighter, I glued it to a piece of thin paper.

I applied some Super Weld around it and secured some gravel around the edges.

After applying a bit of red and orange paint to create the appearance of embers, I pulled the paper backing off.

Because the Super Weld is shiny and it didn't look quite right, I added some Aleene's and dusted the rocks with some finely ground dirt.

Step 11: Orrery

There was a lot of trial and error in this, but essentially I created two types of wire attachments: one that loops in the middle and has two branching curves, while the other is a single curve. I created a base with a single wire post sticking up and stacked multiple variations of the two loops on it. Before closing the top with a small loop, be sure to string on a bead or two.

I used Super Weld to get the beads to stay in place where I wanted them.

Step 12: Lanterns

Using some beads, wire, and jewelry findings, I created a series of lanterns. I originally used white beads but switched to yellow ones later on. By painting the inside of the bead with some orange paint, I was able to create a more realistic look.

For most of these lanterns, I used the Super Weld to attach wire brackets wherever I wanted a light. On the upper platforms, there was no where to glue brackets, so I created some lamp posts with a couple bones.

Step 13: Railing

One of the things I was fortunate to find in tact in my squirrel bones was a tail. It was stiff initially, but when I put it to soak in water for cleaning, I noticed that it softened up and allowed me to shape it. It was perfect for an upper platform railing. Again, I used the extended template I created for the upper platform as a guide.

I created 5 posts with some beads, wire, and small dowels. I could have glued these directly to the upper platform, but I decided to make it self supporting instead. I thought I might want to move it. To do that, I created a curve of planks similar to how I created the upper platform, but instead of using planks to glue them together, I just used glue. The posts were then glued over the seams for further support.

I opted not to glue the tail onto the railing as it's very fragile. It would be less likely to break if it could move a bit and would also be easier to fix if I could remove it from the posts.

Step 14: Telescope

The telescope is primarily made from a couple spend bullet casings, a leather rivet, and a marble. I added some tiny gears and other jewelry findings for decoration.

To create the curve, I sanded down a couple tiny circles of wood I had and used one between each section.

After assembling the telescope, I wrapped a piece of wire around the base of one of the bullet casings where there was a groove to prevent it from moving. It took a while to get it right, but I was able to run the wire through a pelvic bone and then I bent the bottom of the wires up. I then used a very thin wire to "sew" a filigree base onto the bottom of those wires.

Because there was wire running under the filigree base, I glued a gear to the bottom to flatten it out.

Step 15: Moss

Now we're starting to get to the finishing touches.

I mixed some turf/flocking into some of the Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky glue and pressed it into various grooves and gaps throughout.

In other areas, I painted some plain glue on and sprinkled turf onto it.

Step 16: Base

Now that everything was built, I was ready to start the base. First, I glued the rock onto an acrylic circle I cut on my laser. The circle is the same size as the base of my silicone mold.

I kept the paper backing on the acrylic as long as I could to avoid scratches, but be sure to remove it before placing it in the mold.

Step 17: Sandbar

I wanted it to look as though the island was surrounded by a bit of a sandbar, so I painted some glue onto the acrylic disc where it would be underneath my walkway and skull. I then sprinkled some sand onto it.

After shaking off the excess sand, I mixed some sand in with some resin and poured it over the sandy areas.

I then pressed the skull and walkway into the sandy resin. At this point, I also glued the top of the walkway stairs to the 2nd platform.

After that, I added some shells, moss, and other items for underwater life.

Step 18: Water

Next, I mixed up some resin and added blue alcohol ink to turn it a transparent blue color. I then filled the rest of the silicone mold with the blue resin.

After the resin was poured, I strapped a dowel across the top of my boat and set it into the resin. The dowel kept the boat from sinking into the resin.

When the resin was dry, I simply clipped the wires off and removed the dowel.

Step 19: Enjoy!

After the resin is dry, remove it from the mold and set all your little details in place.

I'm still on the lookout for a bell jar large enough to cover the whole thing. It's about 9x11 inches, so if anyone knows where to look, let me know in the comments.

Have fun creating your own diorama with bones!