The most unexpected things catch your eye sometimes. Maybe it’s marble racing. Or maybe you fancy watching a car crush various soft and crunchy items. Some of us are searching for more of these oddly satisfying videos as a distraction from the world. In my case, I’ve recently stumbled upon ASMR videos of Roman Khramov, a.k.a. YouTuber Minibricks ENG, building fantasy dioramas (via Geekologie). You can learn from them, sure, or you can sit back and sink into a meditative state while you watch the layers come together.
Minibricks ENG
In the below video, Khramov crafts a Japanese style castle. He moves at the calming pace I embrace when I craft. It’s easy to follow along as he sculpts craggy rocks from foam and carefully applies layers of paint. I am living for the moment when he dabs on pieces of moss for realistic finish that reminds me of The Last Jedi‘s Ahch-To.
For something a little shorter, you can check out this five minute video in which he cuts together his construction of a large fantasy diorama. While it’s not quite in the same relaxing style as the first video, it’s still fascinating. I’m in awe of how many details and small touches it takes to construct a “realistic” fantasy world.
Then to wrap up this trilogy, you can watch Khramov make a medieval castle below. My favorite part of this one is the water made from resin. He dabs it with a paint brush just so in order to give the water the illusion of movement with ripples. This kind of attention to detail has me staring at the screen in earnest. And speaking of the screen, Khramov demonstrates 3D modeling and making the castle’s walls. I am impressed.
While I don’t know that I’d ever have the patience to undertake diorama building on this level, I enjoy sinking into this videos. You can see more Khramov’s demonstrations and designs at YouTube; you can even shop for some pieces in his Etsy store.
Featured Image: Minibricks ENG
Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.