Create a 3D scene of a hidden pirate cove using cardboard, cereal boxes, paper mâché, and paint.

Picture rugged cliffside homes, a moonlit sea, and a lone pirate ship anchored in a secret bay... This project literally turns trash into treasure!

Watch the tutorial on Youtube: https://youtu.be/25_aeFy51B8

Supplies

Thick cardboard (for walls and structure)
Cereal boxes (for details and smaller structures)
Toilet paper rolls (for towers)
Masking tape & Kraft paper
Hot glue gun & sticks
School glue
Paper mâché (store-bought or homemade)
Water-activated tape (for box assembly)
Blister plastic (for the front window)
Acrylic paints: sand, grey, blue, white, orange-brick, dark brown, yellow, red
Flat and round brushes
White silk paper or tissue paper (for sails)
Scissors, utility knife, stapler
Ruler, pencil, butter knife, sculpting tools

Step 1: Cut the Box Base

Cut 5 cardboard rectangles:

2 tall side panels (equal size)
3 narrower panels: one for the back, one for the base, and one for the top/lid

Your assembled diorama should be the size of a thick paperback.

Step 2: Sketch the Pirate Cove

Inside your panels:

Draw weathered pirate houses on the tall sides.
Sketch a tiny harbor on the base.
On the back panel, draw a watchtower or pirate lookout.
Leave the front panel blank (it will be a viewing window later).

Step 3: Build the Cove Structures

Cut small 3D shapes from cereal box cardboard for houses and shacks.

Fold and tape using a ruler to make cube-like buildings.

Hot glue these onto the panels following your drawing.

Cover them with Kraft paper to smooth and reinforce.

Step 4: Build the Tower

Stack two halves of toilet paper rolls for the tower.

Add a “fountain-pen tip” roof from a third roll.

Overlay two trapezoid shapes to form an octagonal lookout cap.

Glue and tape all pieces securely.

Step 5: Paper Mâché Sculpting

Flatten the paper mâché like dough.

Apply a thin coat on buildings using a butter knife or sculpting tool.

Carve roof tiles, stone textures, or cracks into the surface.

Build up the pier and cove rocks with thicker layers.

🕐 Let it dry overnight.

Step 6: Base Painting

Paint the different elements:

Roofs & tower caps: orange-brick
Walls: sand or light ochre
Background (back panel): base coat grey → paint over with dark blue
Add a white moon and blue specks to give texture

Step 7: Pirate Details

Paint one cereal box panel dark brown, another dark beige.

Cut:

Thin brown strips: for timber-framing and window details
Yellow rectangles: simulate lit windows

Glue window frames and yellow “glow” in place.

Add light brown wood planks at the base of harbor buildings.

Step 8: Build the Dock & Gate

Roll small pieces of cardboard and tape into log shapes.

Glue them together as a dock gate or wooden terrace.

Cover with Kraft paper and paint dark brown.

Step 9: Create the Pirate Ship

Bend a long cereal box strip to form the hull.

Cut and fold the ends inward to shape the prow and stern.

Tape and reinforce the shape.

Flip the hull, trace onto cardboard to create the deck/lid.

Cut two holes in the lid for masts (rolled cardboard).

Cut tattered sails from white silk/tissue paper and glue them on.

Add brown planks to the hull.

Step 10: Varnish the Sea

Paint the harbor water dark to navy blue.

Add white highlights for waves.

Optionally: Varnish the sea for a wet, moonlit shimmer.

Step 11: Front Viewing Frame

On the front panel, draw a window about 0.32 in wide.

Cut out the frame.

Trace and cut a second matching frame.

Sandwich blister plastic between the two and glue.

This becomes your clear viewing window.

Step 12: Fortress Facade & Battlements

Cut and staple two 1.5-inch-wide bands to the sides of the viewing frame.

Add a top band and a traced arch above it (pirate fort entrance).

Paint the facade sand color.

Cut battlements (crenellations) from light brown cardboard and glue.

Sculpt a skull from paper mâché and carve eye sockets.

Mount the skull at the top of the arch as your pirate sigil.

Step 13: Final Assembly

Seal all box seams using water-activated tape.

Slide the tape between the two layers of the frame to attach the window securely to the box.

Place the lid on top, then insert a dollhouse lamp to illuminate the scene from within.

Cover any visible seams with Kraft paper and smooth them out using a ruler.

Finally, paint the exterior of the box in sand or dark beige to help it blend seamlessly with the scene.

Step 14: The Result

You’ve Created a Pirate’s Cove!

Display it with pride or use it as a scene for stop-motion, storytelling, or a swashbuckling shelf piece.

Can’t wait to see what you create!

Introduction: DIY Pirate Cove Diorama