Jabba The Hutt Diorama (The Viewing Frame WIP)

Stryker2011 wrote:Hi all. It’s been awhile since I posted updates, and sadly I don’t have anything yet. However, I’ve been struggling with a lighting issue — so the wife suggested I crowd source for a solution. Anyway, my concern is with all the highly directional light sources in this environment, and once I back light the photographic backdrop that blackpool has been working on, that Jabba, et al, will become a large mass of dark shapes. Any suggestions for possible subdued lighting that won’t detract from the existing spots, but will help pull the figures out of the shadows?

Don't bother, many photographer even use up their whole life to study the lighting, it is nothing wrong and you are really normal if struggling on lighting.. that is a crazy subject to understand...

By the way as a really hobbyist photographer, I suggest you just buy some christmas use LED lights and stick to the ceiling side (which we can't see when you shoot from God view angle... Or you can hide beneath candles or fire torches for reality looks...but that only you understands the scene structure, so you might need to figure out how to "hide" those LEDs if normal way don't works...

It's good that you are working through this potential issue in advance. Wish I had some great ideas, but I find lighting to be a rather dizzying topic at best, lol. I can't even figure out what type of lighting to use for the ceiling lights at our new house. 

In all seriousness, I feel confident you will be able to work out some kind of solution. Can the back-lighting issue be 'cancelled out' somehow by making sure the whole area has enough soft, diffused light coming from another source/direction?

GubernatorFan wrote:That seems like a good thing to think about. I think part of the solution would be to go gently with the back-lighting -- or rather the lighting of the backdrop (which is coming along gorgeously; I congratulated blackpool on the beauty of the finished product, forgetting that it was not yet finished, because the grill was still missing). The other thing would be some gentle lighting right over the throne dais, and especially its front side. Now there you can probably already experiment with how much light reached Jabba naturally from the front and whether this enhancement is actually necessary (your photos above were taken at night, I believe -- although of course you might want it to work at night too). If necessary, whether you choose a weak light or perhaps a colored one (or one shining through colored transparent acrylic or whatever), is something you would have to figure out.

Yeah, the lighting behind the backdrop has to be just right. Enough to show all the amazing details, but not too much to wash everything out — or overshine everything. And yes, blackpool has been doing an amazing job. I can’t wait to add that masterpiece to this dio.

lawlaw91 wrote:Don't bother, many photographer even use up their whole life to study the lighting, it is nothing wrong and you are really normal if struggling on lighting..  that is a crazy subject to understand...

By the way as a really hobbyist photographer, I suggest you just buy some christmas use LED lights and stick to the ceiling side (which we can't see when you shoot from God view angle... Or you can hide beneath candles or fire torches for reality looks...but that only you understands the scene structure, so you might need to figure out how to "hide" those LEDs if normal way don't works...

I’ve been contemplating the idea of dimmable LED strip lights, hidden somehow in the ceiling panel. Similar idea to your suggestion.

skywalkersaga wrote:It's good that you are working through this potential issue in advance. Wish I had some great ideas, but I find lighting to be a rather dizzying topic at best, lol. I can't even figure out what type of lighting to use for the ceiling lights at our new house. 

In all seriousness, I feel confident you will be able to work out some kind of solution. Can the back-lighting issue be 'cancelled out' somehow by making sure the whole area has enough soft, diffused light coming from another source/direction?

I don’t think lighting from the front would necessarily work to bring out the backdrop “room”, without over-lighting everything in front of it. If I had made the dio deeper, which I don’t have the room for, I probably could have gotten away with hiding lights behind the arch to light that part. But that still leaves my current issue.

I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Stryker2011 wrote:


I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Not surprised such a good photographer would have a plan!

skywalkersaga wrote:

Stryker2011 wrote:


I think Lawlaw may have hit on something.

Not surprised such a good photographer would have a plan!

You are helping, to agree that idea ..see if we can help out Stryker2011 with this way

It's been awhile since I had anything to update. Just recently received a small set of strip lights to test for additional front lighting to the throne area.

Left over strip section:




Interestingly, the phone camera lightens much more than they look in person. But they work great imho. I can even change the colors and the brightness -- I can go Disco style, and even have the lights change colors after a few seconds (but I have no intention of doing that).

All of the colors are on the lowest setting (as I said, they look more subdued in person):

Orange:


Yellow:


Pink:


Red:


Lavender:


Purple:


Light Green:


Dark Green:


White:


Light Blue:


Dark Blue:


Dark Purple:



Whichever color I choose, and how intense the light has to be, will depend greatly on how the image blackpool is working on will look when it's in place and lit from behind.

Here is my personal preference at the moment (orange) with low light, and one step up in intensity:

Really happy to see an update, glad something worked out! And I agree with your pick...the orange tone seems perfect.

Ahw, Man ! You build such an amazing place

They look excellent. And having seen blackpool's updated graphic for the background (though apparently still not finalized), I just know that it will end up even more glorious. I like the orange version, but the background might end up dictating what works best in the end. To be screen accurate, white or light blue might be advisable.

GubernatorFan wrote:They look excellent. And having seen blackpool's updated graphic for the background (though apparently still not finalized), I just know that it will end up even more glorious. I like the orange version, but the background might end up dictating what works best in the end. To be screen accurate, white or light blue might be advisable.

 That's true, it's hard to tell for sure without seeing it all together. But it's nice to have different options!

Thanks, Sky and Guv. I agree, the white and blue might end up being more feasible. It will definitely depend on the background.

Make it Pi....dagnamit!

Nice one, MerylAkiba. Pink is probably last on my list... but we’ll see; maybe with the backdrop lit up, pink might just be the color that makes it all work.

I just love multicolour LEDs. And just magine getting some purple Hookah haze in there. I guess it could work by connecting the hookah with a secret tube from under the DIAS. Or just blow that stuff in their general direction.

I like the yellow and orange lighting.

Thanks, fellas.

I decided to play around a bit and added a few more characters to see how they look.

They are looking great! You've done an outstanding job with this diorama.

Thank you, Brother.

Those light spots look spot on, like in the movie. You get it? Spot on.

Ovy wrote:Those light spots look spot on, like in the movie. You get it? Spot on.

Sorry for the overly long delay, here is a small size preview of the final version of the backdrop that should fill in the archway

Don't apologize, Alex. What you have done here is a work of art. I can't thank you enough, my friend. Now I need to gather the funds to have this printed up. I couldn't be happier. it truly is a thing of beauty that may very well outshine all the work I've done on this dio.

Thank you. I'm going to go cry now (Manly tears, dammit. Manly tears of joy!!).

By the way, if I still could, I'd be doing this right now:

HAHAHAHA epic, you'll have to teach me to insert those funny gifs!

Since we all have a birthday sooner or later if you have a paypal account I'd gladly fund a part of that printing as a belated birthday present, I have quite no idea how much it could cost tho!

Awwww, WOOOOOOW, that truly *IS* stunning work. I am SO happy for you, Stryker....I know how much effort you've put into this diorama, and the backdrop is absolutely PERFECT for it!!!

Well done, blackpool! 

blackpool wrote:HAHAHAHA epic, you'll have to teach me to insert those funny gifs!

Since we all have a birthday sooner or later if you have a paypal account I'd gladly fund a part of that printing as a belated birthday present, I have quite no idea how much it could cost tho!

What you have done is present enough, Brother. I should be paying you for all the time and work you put into this.

Posting gifs is actually pretty easy. Instead of clicking on Host an Image click on the icon to the right of it and enter the social media link of whatever gif you want to post. The Guv actually pointed that out to me.

skywalkersaga wrote:Awwww, WOOOOOOW, that truly *IS* stunning work. I am SO happy for you, Stryker....I know how much effort you've put into this diorama, and the backdrop is absolutely PERFECT for it!!!

Well done, blackpool! 

Yep. It is. Thanks to blackpool this is going to be amazing.

Outstanding beautiful and intricate work, blackpool! And not just for Mark, but for all of us who enjoy looking at it, and who will enjoy looking at it installed in his awesome diorama. So glad to see it completed in all of its spacegangster glory.

Mark, I don't know what you have been looking at (and if I'm overlooking some aspect), but compared to what you have been shelling out for this hobby, printing this should not be very expensive. I haven't done it since the move, but when I printed out my backdrops at Staples back in the Midwest, they usually ranged between $15 and $25 in cost. Make sure you're printing them on matte poly paper (which can go up to at least 36 inches -- I think -- in one dimension and whatever you need in the other), because you don't want glare, and because thinner paper will crease from the color ink. Or do you need more than 36 inches (I think that's what the limit was, but you can double check) in height?

The size is bigger than Staples is capable of. I found a company that prints over-sized images (this one is 46.8" x 22.5") -- the cost isn't cheap, but less than some of the places I found (a little over $100 according to their pricing calculator) -- but we'll see. I uploaded the file to them, they will evaluate based on my requirements, and then give me a final price. Other places I found wanted $300 + for an image that big.

Stryker2011 wrote:The size is bigger than Staples is capable of. I found a company that prints over-sized images (this one is 46.8" x 22.5") -- the cost isn't cheap, but less than some of the places I found (a little over $100 according to their pricing calculator) -- but we'll see. I uploaded the file to them, they will evaluate based on my requirements, and then give me a final price. Other places I found wanted $300 + for an image that big.

Wow. Maybe you have thought of this already, but does "cropping" this to just the clearance that will be visible (the opening within the arch) help reduce the height? Or is there a way of dividing this into two images that could be placed more or less seamlessly together on the back panel? Another idea: if you are within easy reach of a good university library and if they have a map room, they might be able to print out large sizes for little or no cost (though I am not sure if they could assure as good a paper quality as Staples).