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Soulmaking Art Dolls

A Dragon in the Making

I thought I'd share a little bit about what takes place behind the scenes of a dragon in the making - starting with a step-by-step wing-making tutorial!

Miniature Pot-bellied Dragon (papier-mache)

A Dragon in the Making - Soulmaking Art Dolls

Wing-making Tutorial

You will need:

-jewelry wire (for small wings; larger wings require heavier wire)
-needle nose pliers or pointy tweezers
-exacto knife and/or cuticle scissors
-tissue paper
-white PVA glue
-a flat wide brush (at least an inch wide)
-wax paper
-a hair dryer

Cut 3 or 4 pieces of wire for each wing (depending on desired number of wing segments) each gradually a little bit longer than the first. Curve to desired shape.

Make 'Curly-Qs' if desired. Use very fine needle nose pliers or pointy tweezers. Lay wire flat on table or work surface and grasp the very tip of wire firmly with pliers/tweezers. Hold the tip very still, as the center pivot point. Use other hand to gently bend the wire round (clockwise or counterclockwise; whatever is comfortable). Curl tightly or loosely depending on how much of a curl you want. Go slow and be careful to avoid 'kinks' in the wire.

Fold the tissue paper in 4 layers (do this twice or use 8 layers for two wings at once.) Cut the approximate shape of the wing. Don't worry about perfection, you'll be trimming it later - in fact you should make it a bit bigger than the final wing size (except where the curly-q's will extend out).

(Once you start this next step you need to work fairly quickly so the glue doesn't dry before the next layer is added)

Using slightly watered down white glue (I don't really have a measurement here but too much water will cause your paper to be soaked and tear easily, but straight glue might be too tacky causing tearing as well) and a flat wide brush (at least an inch wide depending on size of wings, if you use expensive brushes wash them thoroughly afterwards to remove glue). On top of a piece ofwax paper (keep more than one piece on hand) lay down the first layer of tissue. Brush the glue gently and quickly over it, covering right to edges of the paper. Then lay down a second layer of tissue (careful to make sure edges match up). Brush this layer as well. Do watch for air bubbles but don't worry about wrinkles, it adds texture and character...especially for dragon wings; it will look a bit 'leathery' when fully dry. Don't add the last two layers yet...next come the wires.

Carefully lay out your wires right on to the tissue (while the glue is still tacky) so the ends come to a point but the curly-q's are off the edge of the paper (you might have to straighten out the wires a bit to make them reach; do this before placing on tissue paper).

(Wires on top of first two layer of tissue)

Now you can add the last two layer of tissue, brushing each one quickly but evenly with glue. Basically you are sandwiching the wires in the middle of four layers of tissue paper. (If you want to use a thicker type of paper, handmade or otherwise you might only need two layers total...this could be done with fabric as well, but you must make certain the fabric soaks up the glue effectively enough.)

(Shows the wires with last two layers of tissue on top)

*Now, you very carefully lift/peel the paper wing off of the wax paper. Start lifting from where the wires meet together at the base of the wing, use tweezers if necessary to grasp all the wires together. Transfer to a fresh piece of wax paper. Don't wait too long to do this step or your wings will be stuck to the original piece of wax paper. Now you can use a hair dryer on low to speed dry each side. Lift, and place flat on wax paper each time while gently drying...when each side is dry enough (not tacky on the outside) use your finger to pat down any serious wrinkles and press gently along each wire to make sure the paper is secure.

Let the wings dry in a safe place (a few hours or over night) and trim to desired shape once completely dry. I use a fine tip exacto knife or a sharp pair of cuticle scissors (reserved for art projects) to trim between the curly-q's. Because the wire will hold its shape, the wing is now gently posable and shape-able (is that a word? lol) but be careful!

(Shows wing after trimming)

A Dragon in the Making - Soulmaking Art Dolls

***I would like to mention that this wing-making technique is an adaptation of a tip shared by a fellow Papier-mâché artist; David Osborne. You may view David’s gallery of work here at http://www.papiermache.co.uk/gallery/artist/94/ on thePapier-mâché Resource site. This site has a great forum and tutorial section for those interested in PM. Or come join me and some fellow papier-mâché artists on a very friendly and lively papier-mâché group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PaperMacheArt/ where PM enthusiasts of all levels of experience continue to share insights and grow as artists.

Happy Wing-making!

Now for more on: A Dragon in the Making!

(This next part is not a tutorial but just some general hints and tips for successful papier-mache dragon making. In the future I hope to add a tutorial on armature making.)

Here are some of my favorite tools: cuticle scissors (reserved for art) for trimming wings, a color-shaper with a soft, pointed silicone tip for smoothing glue and paper strips, needle nose pliers/snips for shaping and trimming wire, a pair of elongated, curved tweezers for handling beads, wire etc., and under all of it is a large self-healing cutting mat used both as a protective surface when slicing paper with a knife and a work area (I just soak the glue off of it when it builds up :)

Also note the container reserved for my slightly watered PVA glue and the strips of paper torn ahead of time – ready when needed.
Important: always tear (don't cut) your paper strips, the feathered edges mesh together much better and show less in your final product.

I use the color shaper to smooth the glue on to the surface of the sculpture. (You may use your fingers or a paintbrush but for small work I like the color shaper especially for smoothing paper in difficult to reach areas such as between dragon toes etc.) Make certain that your glue is not applied too thick or your paper strip with slide but not too little either or it will dry and get tacky too soon.

Then lay a strip of paper down on the gluey area and using a bit more fresh glue smooth
the whole strip down making sure that all the edges are smooth and not lifting.

Keep moving and repeating this over the surface with slight overlaping to get even coverage. Use larger/wider pieces of paper for broader areas (dragon body) and narrower/smaller strips for the legs, tail, neck and snout.

For extra strength I alternate the direction of the paper with each subsequent layer. In the next 2 pics I am applying the paper strips ‘around’ the tail.

On the next layer of paper I change direction and apply paper along the length of the tail (for more overall smoothness it is best to apply along the length of your sculpture for the very last layer.)

My favorite part of dragon making is the finishing and embellishment stage! After adding facial details I also chose tiny sea shells and micro-beads for decorative horns.

Here you can see the beginning of dragon scale application. To get a natural overlap it is important to start the scales at the end of the tail and the end of the legs/toes working gradually backwards towards the spine and the head of the dragon.

Here she is, almost complete, and admiring her metallic green scales…

The finished work: with more embellishments on her forehead, the addition of eyelashes and glittered wings.

Once completed I like to take snapshots of my sculptures with different kinds of backgrounds and lighting…

A word to the wise, or for those who get totally engrossed in their photography please don’t leave your work unattended (and therefore open-season) to those curious felines who may be lurking about – waiting to ambush a sweet, unsuspecting dragon!

Or maybe he just wanted to share the limelight…one can never tell. Better not to take any chances!

I also took some outdoor shots. I especially enjoy photographing my dragons in a natural setting. Natural, diffuse lighting is much easier to work with!
Note: in the photo you can see the trim I used to embellish the dragon’s spine. For more photos from this outdoor set please view my blog at: http://blog.myspace.com/lilacgrove

You may also view more of my OOAK fantasy sculptures at http://www.myspace.com/lilacgrove.

Thanks for visiting Soulmaking Art Dolls!

awesomeart	Latest page update: made by awesomeart , Dec 24 2007, 4:57 AM EST (about this update About This Update Edited by awesomeart No content added or deleted. - complete history)
	Keyword tags: dragon fantasy lilac grove paper mache papier-mache sculpture tutorial wing More Info: links to this page

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