Bob Ross Painting ‘The Old Mill’ Recreated as a Marvelous Mechanical Diorama

Mechanical artist Physical Render quite painstakingly recreated the iconic Bob Ross painting “The Old Mill” as a 3D mechanical diorama. The painting was featured in the ninth episode of the Bob Ross series The Joy of Painting.

This, I hope, is a humble tribute to the greatest teacher of all, Bob Ross. And the greatest deserves a diorama that is more than just 3D.

Physical Render also shared how he built this marvelous design, complete with a working water wheel and a flowing river.

I walk you through the entire process, from sculpting the terrain with XPS foam and clay to the engineering challenges of installing DC pumps and a reservoir to create a continuous water loop. I also try to keep this as sincere to Bob Ross’s famous painting techniques—starting with dark undercoats and highlighting with layers—translated onto a 3D surface.

The Original Bob Ross Painting

via Tom Scott

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.