(Shawn Carlin - AM244 )

Immortalizing Memories in Miniature

by Pam North

As a child of the 1980s, Shawn Carlin grew up on sci-fi and fantasy films that used miniature sets to create fantastic worlds, landscapes, and architecture. He loved being immersed in these movies, although he was not yet knowledgable about the creation processes of those sets. His interest in creating his own miniatures started around 10 years ago with the start of a Halloween village using ceramic buildings designed by Department 56. “My mom loved her village setups during the Halloween and Christmas seasons while I was growing up,” he recalled. “When I had my own family and purchased our home, I knew I wanted to create my own displays for my family and friends to enjoy. My mom’s setup was pretty simple, with basic white cotton cloth rolled underneath the buildings, and wires were basically everywhere. When I thought about it, I wanted a system to hide the wires, but also a detailed environment around the buildings for realism. As I started to build the initial platform, I just kept adding more details, with the scenes  becoming more realistic. I was proud of how my efforts turned out. When my family and friends said they couldn’t believe what I created, I was officially hooked in wanting to do more!”

With no  formal training in the field of miniatures, it is simply Shawn’s lifelong love for art that drives him, honed with lots of practice and trial and error. His passion as a miniature artist is the foundation for his desire to excel at it. Now his passion is accompanied by a bigger goal, which is to inspire other artists and promote the world of miniatures. “It is an art form that needs to flourish and stand on its own.”

Shawn recently has completed two miniature pieces: The Hut in the Forest (approximately 1:64 scale), and Snowball Fight (HO scale 1:87 scale).

The Hut in the Forest was inspired by the fairy and folk tales of the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. Their stories have a dark edge to them, but the stories also have messages on humanity and how we treat others. He felt like their story, “The Hut in the Forest” would be a perfect theme for a dynamic and visually interesting diorama. The story involves a king’s son who was cursed by a witch and turned old, to live in the woods with a cow, a hen, and a rooster. The curse could be lifted if a woman was to show love towards the old man and animals. For The Hut in the Forest  the materials used were: foam, tree bark, tree roots, plaster, clay, basing materials (grass and moss) that were both natural and from Woodland Scenics. LED lighting was placed inside the fireplace for effect. Cotton was used for spider webbing and smoke effects. Finding the perfect root for the tree, then finding the right curves on other branches to give the unique shape were the key goals. With a circular base needed of approximately 12” in diameter, he found a tree root in the woods near his house that had the start of an interesting curve. He hollowed out the bottom section, and made an area for the door, then used other branches to further accent its unique curved shape, blending them together seamlessly. He built around the tree with added dense vegetation to make it look overgrown by nature, then lined the exterior in bark to enhance the tree-looking aesthetic. He used a combination of regular brushes and an airbrush for the paint application. As he explained, “I like to use acrylic paints and inks for the weathering effects. I do use dry-brushing techniques, but go super light on the paint so I don’t create clumps or make the paint look chalky.”

For Snowball Fight: Shawn explained, “When I was a kid in a time without internet, hardly even imaginable now, I lived in a neighborhood full of kids and friends my age, and every winter we would have massive snowball fights in a large field near my house. I wanted to recreate that moment from my childhood.”
Materials used for Snowball Fight  were: foam, clay, small tree branches, tree bark, balsa wood, resin. Snow effects are made up of clay and powdered snow basing materials. Almost 75% of this piece is handmade using different tree barks, tree roots, plaster, clay, foam, and other materials. The female figure and animals are 28mm resin miniatures. The grasses and moss are basing materials from Woodland Scenics; HO scale figures and powdered snow are made by Woodland Scenics. The entire piece was hand-painted using standard brushes and airbrushing.
Shawn wanted the main focus on the snowball fight, with the woods and nature as backdrop behind. The scene initially was carved from foam, then coated in white air-dry clay; tree and fence details were added, followed by all the ice and powdered snow elements. The paint application was important to enhance the appearance of children running around. Having a few footsteps outside the main area created an illusion of movement on a static piece. For the snowball fight to appear realistic, the ground needed to appear muddy and slushy where distrubed by many people, while the outer areas would appear less touched. “The choreography of the Snowball Fight characters was the most fun to arrange. I made sure every figure synched with another miniature to create a moment unique to the pair. One was either throwing or being hit by the snowball.”
Shawn used over 7 different techniques to create different snow and ice texture  in Snowball Fight. “Living in New England, I see snow for 4 months of the year, and it looks different when it is fresh compared to sitting for months. It melts or accumulates depending on the terrain,  so I tried to make the effect as realistic as possible based on what I see every winter.” He imagines how weather impacts the look of the terrain in his pieces. “The mind is expecting imperfections in a bizarre way, so if it is too clean it does not look as real. I enjoyed adding the pathways and sidewalks so one could mentally stroll through the scene and maybe see a moose in the woods, or a lonely snowman,  or even see a horse-drawn sleigh dashing through the snow.”

With both projects Shawn had images in mind how the finished piece would look. Before starting, he made sure he had all materials needed, and had thought through the entire process, which helps him progress smoothly and focus strictly on the technical execution. “Small additional fun details will pop into my head as I go, but the overall concept is locked in from the start,” he said. “The snowball fight scene was a great way to relive a fond childhood memory. I can look at it whenever I want to remember that time period in my life.”

Currently both pieces are on display in his own personal collection and not for sale.