Planning is everything, and of course I'm sure many of you are wondering why the koi in my pond are facing away from my attractive waterfall feature. Knowing the details of real life help to make it realistic when you create a miniature version. Koi are very sociable, but tend to hide out until a food source appears, when they suddenly become very active. To show off my miniature koi, I want them coming to the surface of the pool, so I need to create a feeding scene or they will just appear static, mildly interesting, but without the realism I love. I want to be able to view the koi, the waterfall and the fish feeder, so the koi need to be facing where the person who feeds them will appear.
I've added some 'fish food' pellets made from unmelted bits of embossing powder to give the koi an excuse for appearing to rise to the surface. Tiny drops of tar gel near the embossing granules make it look as if the food has just splashed in to the pond.
Try to work out a view with some type of action whenever you are using animals or moving features in miniature scenes. You can create a much less static scene with a bit of planning.
