Hi Justin,
What I,ve done in the past is use real garden dirt for a Diorama base.The colour of it does,nt really matter at the time because I paint over it and use artist chalks also to colour it.The main thing about the dirt is the texture it gives.
On a wooden base of desired shape and size glue down some styrene foam,then add a thin layer of plaster to desired shape or effect,let dry.
Once plaster has dried ,cover it in a layer of white glue,add it liberally.Then with some garden dirt(preferably dried)sprinkle it over the white glue,let the dirt sit ther e lumps and all,leave for about 24 hours or until dirt is dry and set in the glue.If patches appear simply add more glue and sprinkle again with your garden dirt.
Now comes the fun part!.Once your sure the dirt base is dry,get a spray can of primer I used car primer and spray the earthen covered base.The dirt willabsorb a lot of paint but keep spraying in layers until the paint comes through.
Now you can spray a base coat of earth brown and work with washes ,highlights,chalks,powders to the desired effect.
Good luck ,Andy Cairns.
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