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gorby
Now, that's a BIG question.
First you'll need a board of some kind. Some people use wood and some others use a picture frame (usually loads in charity shops at good prices). I usually use insulation board. The benefit of using insulation board is that it's easily carved and usually available free in a skip near you. 🙂
Then I often cover it in soil. You can buy diorama soil or alternately, real soil can be used as long as it's heat treated so to kill micro organisms. Mixed with diluted PVA glue it can be applied as a (very messy) paste to the surface which dries rock hard.
If you intend to use static grass it looks a lot more realistic if you use two or three different colours and lengths.
There are loads of items which can be bought or scratch-built to make dioramas more realistic, it all depends on how much work or money you are planning to devote to the project. More detailed advice depends a lot on the type of dio you are intending.

John Hughes
Alternately, there are premade dios which require minimal assembly and painting. They're a good option for a beginner.

Steven Van Dyck
Look for a picture of the real thing and then imagine how you could cut out a piece of diorama from that. Keep it small enough so the focus will stay on your model.

jaero
thank you guys for the help! i reckon i could go the foam dirt and oven approach, i will update this post as i go through making this diorama!

Kesa Tiho
As john said you can buy pre made dios, italeri makes great dios, accessories and minifigs for dios. Also a company called noch makes synthetic foliage and pre built trees, dios, figures, etc but the scale isnt listed. There are many more companies like tamiya that make stuff for dios but i dont want to go on a rant, rather id say you should trust what gorby says because hes been in model building for maybe twice my entire lifetime

Cuajete
Looking good so far 👍

Moreno Baruffini
I really like these classic builds! 👍🏻

Roy McKay
For gloss try brushed on floor polish (klear or similar) if you can get it

Ben M
Tamiya X-22

Colin
I do have some Tamilya X-22, can it be mixed and sprayed with regular Vallejo airbrush thinner? Iirc it's not the same kind of acrylic paint as vallejo paints.

Ben M
No, you need to use X-20A or isopropyl alcohol (won't work as well). It is alcohol-based rather than water based. It will not react if applied over or under Vallejo but it cannot be mixed.

I currently use X-22 for gloss and Vallejo flat clear for flat. I prefer to airbrush (maybe) less toxic solvents.

Colin
Cheers, I will definitely give it a try for my next project.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Andy Ball
those transparencies!! A great, clean build and complimentary diorama too!

capt. R
Thank You!

CaptGPF
Only ask is to include the background ocean. 😀

Georges henrion
Fantastic work, congratulations

capt. R
Thank You!