Thursday, April 22, 2010

More on my BIGG Dragon...

Third stage of Big Dragon sculpt;



Base layer of Activa Celluclay Fast Mache. This will be the substrate that I will sculpt upon with Air Dry clay.





I like the Fast Mache, because it only takes 48 hours to dry completely. Unlike the original Celluclay, which can take over a week! :XD:

I have to suspend my work on it for a while, so I can concentrate on some custom orders. I hope I can get back to it soon.

Meanwhile, I have begun to paint the 'Pocket Drakes'! 

I have a reserve on two of them: the "feather" drake, and the "serpent" drake. I hope to paint up some of the others to put up for sale, at the same time....So, keep a watch on my twitter page for news about them!

Friday, April 9, 2010

BIGGGGG Dragon!

I have finally had some time to do a little bit of work for myself! This past month has been a busy one indeed!

I have been talking about my plans for sculpting a 3 foot tall dragon on all my sites I frequent. I also promised to share my progress as I work. So, Today I am making good on my promises!

The very first thing I did was find some sort of lightweight substrate to build upon. 

Normally, sculptors use a wire armature for the base of any work, but this is such a large piece, that I opted to use the strongest, and most lightweight option instead.
I chose some old roof insulation sheets made of styrofoam, and stacked them together to make a block. I used at first, the spray adhesive you can get at your local craft store...No good. It wouldn't adhere enough. :(
I then tried using hot glue...That worked quite well! Since the insulation is fire resistant, I had no melting of the styrofoam.  I then cut out a general shape from the block of my soon to be Dragon. (I wish I had the Photos of that step) But, I do for the next step!
 

This next step was innovation at its best! :D

I needed something that was lightweight, and could adhere to the styrofoam block.  I tried some of the expanding spray foam insulation that cured into yet another sturdy poly-foam, and the stuff when cured, is super easy to carve!  I had loads of fun making a royal mess of my already crowded studio, sawing off chunks, and cutting out bits and pieces!

I did this to further the lightness of the behemoth form.
 
The Stuff is fairly cheep, and I got my supply from Ocean State Job Lot; a discount store

Today, I will be taking the next step:  Applying the base layer of fast-dry celluclay to further refine my Dragon!

Stay Tuned!