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I agree with what SnakeEater said. It combines some of my interests. I was collecting for years, but the last time I actually set my stuff up and had a war was about 1985, and we strung stuff all over the upstairs of my Parents house. We played for 5 hours with the stuff and I didn't have 1/100th the stuff I have now. It would take weeks to set up an all out war.

I was kind depressed I had nothing to do with my figures but collect them and put them on shelves, and I saw some of General Hawks Dios and some guy named "Tim" had a cool site. I showed it to my wife and mentioned how cool I thought it was and she said "why don't you do that? I mean, its not like they're (the figures) are doing anything but collecting dust". At first I thought, No! I wouldn't be any good at that. Then I found JoeDios and I read forums, asked advice and I started....the rest is history.

For me, it's Very time consuming. filming one scene can take 2 weeks. I build the set, photograph it with figures, post a few of the best and ask advice on how it looks or what I can do to improve it. Sometimes, it's just a matter of a few minor changes (like in my museum) other times, I throw the whole thing out and start again (like with my throne room). Then I decide what the dialog in the scene will be, place the figures and take pictures. this usually takes 2-3 days. I take probably 5 pictures for every 1 I publish. I check them on the PC, see how they look in CBC (comic book creator) and then if I like them and I'm satisfied, I tear down the set and build the set for the next scene. (nothing is worse than realizing one of your KEY shots is blurry AFTER you tore down your set!!!) .

I have the Story line and the scenes plotted out in my head BEFORE I begin. And I don't make a complete Story wth one Dio.I just tell part of a bigger story. I try to use at least 3-5 different scenes (sets) in each chapter so you don't get bored with the scenery. How many complete stories can you tell with 10 pages and one to three different locations?

My dio keeps telling the same epic tale (I've done 6 dios and they are in a sequence). I want you guessing what's gonna happen....where am I going. It's hard sometimes. you get lost halfway through and want to quit. Right now I have my 7th installment 95% done and because I'm in Iraq, I can't finish the last scene (which is about 2-3 frames/pictures) It's frustrating!

Realize I'm obsessive and a perfectionist. I put WAY too much nitpicky work into my dios(even though I still need MORE...there I go again!!), but I hope it shows! If you look at it and get into it and forget for a moment you're looking at small action figures placed on a set I built on a desktop in my garage and lose yourself in the story I've told for a moment, it was worth it to me.....but at least let me know!

I know what lehsreh is talking about. I have about 30 people I sent my last dio to and I think I got what? 10 responses? I don't care if you don't like it, just tell me....you know? It's kind of a thankless job. I'm hoping when I return to make a Dios Vault site where we can download dios from authors here and elsewhere!

My advice, try it! If you don't wanna get too involved, start the first scene of a story as a teaser and see what kind of feedback you get. You can learn a lot if you don't take critism personal! Have fun and enjoy it. I do!

I wish I had the time to shoot dio shots, probably when my kids get a little older, and the renos in the house come to an end I will find the time, lately I can barely find the time to come here or do any photos at all.

I've got to say though, even though I may not comment on all the pics and dios I try to look at all of them, what fantastic work is done here, we've got some top notch talent, and some people with fantastic imaginations. I think Hasbro & IDW would do good to look at some of the dio sites for ideas, cause they could get some great stories from here and from other dios.

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SILENT DUSTY

"...but for a soldier his duty is plain. He is to obey the orders of all those placed over him and whip the enemy wherever he meets him."
- General Ulysses S. Grant

Hi been gone away from this site for far too long.

Anyway back to subject. For a dio it depends on what I am trying to do. Some can take an hour to shoot and another hour to photoshop, however something else for whatever reason can take a month. There is no clear line to say what it is, sometimes though I can get delayed when something just isn't working and I am trying a new angle to make something else work in its place. What is frustrating is shooting a whole sequence and being down to the photoediting process and realize it just doesn't fit. That delays me the worst cause I ahve to start from scratch.

Another big delay is sitting down shooting or editing and coming up with a whole new idea that is perfect, its easier when shooting since you can just shoot the sequence for later, tougher in editing since you might have to go back and reshoot, but that happens to me alot (more often than not in fact).

I started doing dios because I’m lazy.

I always wanted to do a comic for a long time. Following the advice of “write what you know” I dug my old GI Joes out of my parent’s attic. I thought action figures would make things easy with all the characters already created and I thought taking pictures would be faster than drawing.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Turns out dios are a whole lot harder to do. I never though about all the limitations like facial expressions, poseability, props, sets, the domino effect, etc. Photography isn’t easier than drawing either. There’s lighting, focus, perspectives, flow from shot to shot, etc. (I’m sure everyone here knows what I mean.)

Another reason I started doing dios was that I thought it would be unique. I was under the impression I was doing something innovative. About two months after starting Troops of Doom I found JoeDios. I had no idea there were so many people doing dios and at much higher quality than I was. I almost quit TOD right then. But I decided I was having too much fun and became a member instead.

Writing is the easy part, the ideas just pop in my head. Most of the time anyway. When they don’t I stand a bunch of figures on the computer while I’m working. Having them in view all day will often spark an idea. Photographing I take 10-20 shots per frame, up to 140 per episode, to get the best possible photo. More options the better.

Dios take a lot longer than I expected, and TOD is always done in frantic last minute panic. An episode takes me a half hour to five hours to do. I’ve found good ideas take less time than bad ones.

Looking back this post seems negative but it’s not. I’m having a lot of fun with TOD and JoeDios. As I build some more sets, get some props and buy some proper lighting the limitations will lessen and the enjoyment will increase. It’s like being a kid again.

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My JoeDios photos | Flickr

Man, you guys have me pretty jazzed to get to work on one. Truth be told, I've got a story in my head; the beginning of one anyway, and I'm just worried I wouldn't allow myself the time to finish it. Though if I get really excited about the story... who knows what'll happen?

Thanks all for sharin' your thoughts. It really does seem to be a labor of love.

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On a quest to collect and customize the 1985 Joes in Modern Era form. Aaand maybe the Cobras, too.

Holy crap! There were five troop builders in 1985 - what am I getting myself into!?!

Sorry I'm late, but even though you've already apparently made up your mind to do one, I'll share my story anyway:

I'd read a few dios here and there, but I wasn't really that into them. I used to post on JoeCustoms occasionally, and while I was there, Hammerfel offered to host my G.I. Joe music files on this site. So I signed up for JoeDios, and I looked at pictures here, and after a while the bug sort of bit me. I started with a one-off, two- or three-page meeting between some Joes (Barrage, Bombstrike, and Hard-Drive) and the Autobots Hound, Wheeljack, and Optimus Prime. Then I started gradually adding bits to the story, jumping around, just doing it for fun. After a while, I got carried away and turned it into a full-fledged dio-story! I went back eventually and filled in some of the blanks from the earlier, unplanned segments, but that first story is still kind of a disjointed read for about the first half.

After that first story, I was getting some really nice feedback from everyone here (though many who used to comment on my stuff are gone now), so I decided to turn the story into a three-part epic. I actually planned out the second and third parts (albeit loosely), and set to work photographing. Now here we are three years (!) after I posted that first page (Barrage was brand-new when I shot it!), and I'm nearly done posting the final segment of the trilogy.

I'll admit, there were times when it got to be a bit much, and I started losing interest. But I always see things through to the end-- And whenever I convinced myself to dive back in and keep working, it would immediately become fun again. I love the characters I'm working with, so that makes a huge difference. Plus, after I finished the first story, I took about four months off, and after I finished the second one I took about five (I think) months off there. It always helps to refresh yourself!

I think that about covers it. I've talked about my process many times on this site, but in a nutshell-- I come up with a plot, I shoot pictures that tell the story I've written down, I choose the best shots and write the script for them, then I throw it all together in Photoshop and eventually post it here!

Anyway Dave, I look forward to seeing whatever you produce! And for some reason I have a feeling Flint is going to be a main character...

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is on indefinite hiatus...

Ha ha... he's gonna' be one of 'em, and no worries; Duke'll be pretty prevalent, too. I'm REALLY gonna' try not to focus too much on one character, but who knows what'll happen.

Thanks for your thoughts about dios. I really should leave comments for ya', but I suck at it. I'm always amazed at how well you can adjust the scale of the TFs in your shots, and how different figures represent the same character. I can tell you have fun shootin' the thing, which is nice, too.

Anyway all, I've already got a panel done, but it's WAY too early to show anything yet. I'll keep ya' posted on the progress.

Have fun!!!

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On a quest to collect and customize the 1985 Joes in Modern Era form. Aaand maybe the Cobras, too.

Holy crap! There were five troop builders in 1985 - what am I getting myself into!?!