This was my first attempt at a dragon sculpture, after a lifetime of drawing them.
I mostly wanted to experiment with the hair laying technique, but this guy continued to evolve as my imagination took hold.
I began with a foil armature layered with Premo.
I wasn't even thinking dragon at this point. Just messing around with whimsical animal shapes.
I was going for something more canine at first, so I added dog-like ears, paws and began laying a big, bushy tail.
I began experimenting with different textures, but nothing really seemed to work. It took a long time to create all of this hair, but I scrapped it just the same.
I tried some scales, and hated that even more.
After this point, I was a little stuck. He actually sat on my shelf for a couple of months as I worked on other things.
I finally returned to the project with a fresh perspective and some new ideas.
I began by laying hair along the back and adding hair to the ears.
I then gave him brows, nostrils, chest hair and a beard.
The underbelly scales were little ropes of clay attached and smoothed.
I gave him whiskers, and started adding scale texture to his body using the ball stylus.
I baked it at frequent intervals so I wouldn't mess up my progress.
The final details were the claws and fur lining the backs of the legs.
Time for paint!
I was originally envisioning a color palette with pearlescent, muted earth tones.
But in the end, I went more bold.
I painted the fur gold, and layered green and blue over the scales.
A little varnish, and all done!
All dragons need a name, so I dubbed him The River Guardian.
He isn't perfect, but I had so much fun with this piece, and I can't wait to make another one!
The River Guardian is still available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.
HAPPY SCULPTING!
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