i think this is a good final post. i had started working on elements of this a while back and it was supposed to be the first of many like it, but what can ya do, right? time and tide and all that... hi gang. i promised a css crime before i left, but i got lazy and when it did not immediately work in the prechoster i was like "weh"...
this was intended to be the background menu for a Minecraft modpack about piloting airships through a vast magical cave:

You are from somewhere on the Earth.
Through deliberate action or pure happenstance
you are no longer on the Earth:
You are under it.
This is your memory.

...but that did not pan out! so now it stands on its own.
*i added in audio and the loading screen when i decided to host it on my webbedsite so not 100% css
making-of below!! we got videos & photos & musicks and peeb from peeb adventures! do take a look!

here we start with the earliest sketches of the menu layout and logo. originally, i was going to have players navigate the menu by dragging a speed controler, but i did not like how much of the scene it was going to block out, so i arrived at a different solution later on...
you can also see some marker tests for colors; a lot of the materials here were colored with marker and not just paint!!

here we construct the basic frame of the diorama out of cardboard. originally, i had a much more overtly 'crafted' aesthetic in mind, so these cardboard 'planks' were going to be the final product!
after a trip to my local art supply, i began to shore up the bottom paneling with balsa and bass wood.

i knew i wanted to do some kind of decorative carved paneling, but i was not sure how to do it until i saw an old candlestick at a garage sale! i made molds by pressing sculpey into the embellishments.
i briefly experimented with hot glue for fun, but ultimately went with sculpey for the material of the final pieces. painted with acrylic, i think they look quite convincing!

i wanted to get a bit of a spooky or magical tone going, so i had the idea to add 'carved' faces to the paneling using the same painting technique i did for the other pieces. here they are after sculpting, immediately after painting, and then in their final spot.
you can also see some more detail has been added to the panel frames... and also: see the worm! here is the captain's chair. the fabric was cannibalized from a thrifted pair of pants & then left to sit in a bowl with some water and acrylic paints for a few hours. some extra weathering done with metallic posca & alcohol markers.
also featured in this image is the window frame! Bending the wood for this was terrifying! i am still amazed it worked out in the end.

now it begins to come together... the WHEEL was incredibly fun to make. i originally planned to animate it, and so the twine behind it actually can rotate it if pulled back and forth. the edges are lined with metallic posca to give a bit of that refined/aged look.

this was maybe my favorite part of the process... aside from what comes next, that is:

trinkets! so many trinkets! it was imperative i gave the impression this ship had traveled everywhere... here they are before and after painting. if you want to know what each one is, i advise you investigate the link at the top of the post :)
also, check out orbo's odyssey & peeb adventures. fun games!

jumping around the timeline a little, here i am working out placements for trinkets before painting. also see the more completed set-- around this point i decided to go for a more 'real' look, bit the bullet, and replaced the cardboard planks with wooden ones.
..after painting, we are nearly where we want to be! yippee!

i had the thought to include a tube with bubbles flowing through it, so i employed an aquarium bubbler and water pump! at this point, the diorama also gains a wooden frame for easier transport & rigging lighting.


yes, lighting! finishing touches now... here is the LED hanging from the frame for the mouseover effect, and some yellow lighting at the bottom left. in the Minecraft version, menu icons float there, but they do do not exist in the final version on my website.


and here is the photography setup. i realized that i did not want to erase 181 hanging LEDS so i settled on a directional light instead, which worked out quite well! also note the smart lightbulb; this was a lifesaver in fine-tuning the atmosphere.
nearly there! after this, i filmed a short clip of the set with the lights turned on, then isolated it in da vinci resolve, turning it into something i could use as an overlay. also got ahold of some lighthouse stock footage and made a gif of that... et voila!


for the sake of completeness, here is a recording of the minecraft menu iteration. the background music is original, and quite unfinished. notice the shadows moving with the mouse-- in the CSS version, these are static. now that i am no longer constrained to CSS, i plan on implementing this (and the music) on the web version eventually.
quick edit: the music is present now!

last thing!!! as a little bonus, here are the raw photos that the title & spiral icon are made from. this sculpey was never baked; after these photos were taken, it had served its purpose and went back to the Sculpey Mass from whence it came.
and that concludes the process!