The "smoke" in the diorama was made by dying cotton balls a range of colors from black through several shades of gray and browns. Brass rods were cemented into the funnels to act as armatures. Then the different colors of cotton were pulled from the dyed balls into long, airy puffs that were applied to the armatures with white glue. Additiona layers of cotten were applied to those first laid down using hair spray as a fixative. By starting with the darker colors at the funnel and transitioning to the white, a fairly realistic representation of smoke can be created.

Back to the Thunder Child page.

All text, illustrations, photographs and design are © 2000-2002 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted.