DIY Miniature Stingray Ocean Diorama

In this video I show a step-by-step tutorial for making a DIY Miniature Stingray Ocean Diorama. This is another steppingstone on my way to create more complex resin crafts and dioramas involving epoxy resin and modelling clay.

I start with a wooden base and then add some DAS air-drying modelling clay to create a ripple structure that you would typically find in shallow oceans or rivers due to wave effects. I leave this to dry for one day and then cover it with two layers of sand which will represent the ocean floor.

The next step was to create the miniature stingray models. I decided to create the body of the stingray out of dark blue modelling clay. I cut off a few pieces, softened it by repeatedly rolling it between my hands and then shaped the stingray body. I also used black colored modelling clay to create the eyes. When finished, I hardened two stingray models in the oven according to the instructions on the clay packet which made them rigid and ready to be painted.

I decided to use a white acrylic paint for the bottom and also spots on the top. This created the high contrast look that I wanted. I also used a lighter ocean blue acrylic paint to highlight the edges and blend the bottom and top colors using dry-brushing.

The resin I used is Smoothe-On EpoxAcast 690 which is a clear cast epoxy resin. To limit bubbles and particles in the water part I first covered the base sand layer with a thin layer of resin and left this to harden overnight. I found, through experimentation, that this made a massive difference. The resin seeps into the sand and locks in any bubbles or particles on the ocean floor. Bubbles that appear on this layer is easily popped using a heat gun.

When I mixed resin for the water part I was very careful to prevent any bubbles being introduced during the pouring or mixing since I don’t have a pressure pot yet for curing resin. I mixed about 120 g of resin and colored this with one drop of indigo alcohol ink. This ink appears more purple when added but due to the heat, and it becoming more diluted when mixing, it creates the perfect ocean blue color that I was looking for.

I created the resin dam with recycled plastic and stiffened this with corrugated plastic blocks. I then added some resin, added the stingrays and the rest of the resin carefully to limit any bubbles. The project was then covered in a plastic container to prevent any particles or insects falling into the resin and spoiling the project. The piece then hardens overnight.

The last step was to finish off the wooden base by covering it with multiple layers of sand to look uniform with the sand in the resin water.

I was very happy with the result. The resin had minor bubbles in it but this did not spoil the piece at all. I really like the way the stingrays looked and will definitely want to use them in the future projects. The water and sand also look very realistic.

When doing this project I learned more about using resin and modelling clay which are materials that you can do so much with. I really look forward to trying some larger diorama type resin project where I can include an ocean scene like this or even some other epoxy resin crafts like resin jewellery or resin lamps.

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