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Artwork (Traditional) / Fantasy
Species Eastern Dragon
Size 1280 x 1058
File Size 197.3 kB
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So this....... If you want to know what's been eating up my time and driving me up the wall, this guy is it.
Let me tell you a little story; my school has one of the best sculpture-labs in the area, we even have a five-foot electric kiln! So when I had to sculpt an animal for my sculpture class last quarter I decided that bigger was better, and made this guy. Over the course of the two months I've had to work on him he has broken a total of four times and I have had to resize him just to fit into the kiln a total of three times.
When I say this guy is epicly huge, I'm not exaggerating. My teacher and other faculty members in the lab have commented that this is the largest project they have seen attempted in their career, and not just for the size of the kilns but for also for the tensile strength of the medium. I have literally pushed this clay to its absolute limit in both form, size, and stability.
So here's to different views of his head. To give you an idea of the scale of this sculpture my fore-arm is approximately one foot long, and his head is longer than my fore-arm. This guy weighs just about as much as I do!!!
Originally I had planned on glazing him so that he would be able to stay outside for the summer months and guard our garden, but I have a deadline to keep and keeping the deadline means that I will probably only have time to fire him once and then paint him.
So the lesson I learned was that a big dragon can be big trouble!
Let me tell you a little story; my school has one of the best sculpture-labs in the area, we even have a five-foot electric kiln! So when I had to sculpt an animal for my sculpture class last quarter I decided that bigger was better, and made this guy. Over the course of the two months I've had to work on him he has broken a total of four times and I have had to resize him just to fit into the kiln a total of three times.
When I say this guy is epicly huge, I'm not exaggerating. My teacher and other faculty members in the lab have commented that this is the largest project they have seen attempted in their career, and not just for the size of the kilns but for also for the tensile strength of the medium. I have literally pushed this clay to its absolute limit in both form, size, and stability.
So here's to different views of his head. To give you an idea of the scale of this sculpture my fore-arm is approximately one foot long, and his head is longer than my fore-arm. This guy weighs just about as much as I do!!!
Originally I had planned on glazing him so that he would be able to stay outside for the summer months and guard our garden, but I have a deadline to keep and keeping the deadline means that I will probably only have time to fire him once and then paint him.
So the lesson I learned was that a big dragon can be big trouble!
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Fantasy
Species Eastern Dragon
Size 1280 x 1058px
File Size 197.3 kB
Thank you so much for the compliments <3<3<3 (Really, comments like yours make me sooooo happy XD) This was really a lesson in patience and perseverance - luckily my teacher saw it that way, too, and even though it wasn't anywhere near finished for the end of the class she still gave me an A.
The deadline for the class has passed, yes; however I also have a number of art shows that I've been (trying) to finish him in time for display. I'm lucky in that my prof really understands when a student has tried their hardest but simply undertook too large of a project - she has even allowed me to come in after my class ended so I could finish this guy! I'm still not sure if he will be dried, fired, and painted in time for either of my shows, and that's the part that makes me the most nervous XD
This is absolutely intense.
I can instantly see off the bat the immense amount of time and effort you've put into this piece. I know from experience that working with clay can be trouble.. And my experience is on pieces that are inches in length, not feet. The form and the flow of this sculpture is wonderful; It's very nice to see such a dynamic and twisted pose in a sculpture of this size and I think it truly represents the eastern dragon well. It also seems like you've kept the dragon very true to imperial dragon design.
May I ask what you've used as the base, under the clay? Is it just solid clay or do you have some sort of armature inside?
Also, have you decided on colours once this piece is fired? I'd love to hear what your plan is in terms of bringing this dragon to life. :)
Well done, This is a very impressive sculpture.
I can instantly see off the bat the immense amount of time and effort you've put into this piece. I know from experience that working with clay can be trouble.. And my experience is on pieces that are inches in length, not feet. The form and the flow of this sculpture is wonderful; It's very nice to see such a dynamic and twisted pose in a sculpture of this size and I think it truly represents the eastern dragon well. It also seems like you've kept the dragon very true to imperial dragon design.
May I ask what you've used as the base, under the clay? Is it just solid clay or do you have some sort of armature inside?
Also, have you decided on colours once this piece is fired? I'd love to hear what your plan is in terms of bringing this dragon to life. :)
Well done, This is a very impressive sculpture.
(First off, thank you for such an in-depth and thoughtful comment! I read and appreciate every comment, fave, and watch I get but it's very rare to get one that is as thorough as yours, so thank you!)
Also, thank you for all the praise! It makes me so overjoyed that people can see the dedication and effort I've put into this, and it's part of what kept me going through the whole project.
For the base I had to tape together a couple of wooden boards, covered them with newspaper, then rolled a slab of clay for the sculpture to rest on. The dragon isn't connected to that base, though - the clay-base was merely a precaution to make sure the lab-techs can lift the sculpture with (less) trouble. For the sculpture itself I've had to make four supports (those are the big, disjointed shapes underneath his body and neck) so that the sculpture would be less inclined to break apart at the points with the most tension (I say less inclined because the tension of the wavey-shapes still applied a lot of pressure and still managed to make some "rupture points".) These supports will be used to fire the dragon, but again (along with the base) they are unattached so that after the first firing they can be removed. Now, as for the actual sculpture itself, I started with a to-scale paper armature on the inside and after rolling out and sculpting the basic shapes I cut the sculpture in half and pulled the paper out. After the paper was removed I could put the pieces back together and start working on details. Whew! That's a long answer to your simple question XD
The general color-scheme I want to go with when he's fired would be red, gold, white, and black. I'm thinking his main body will be red, his stomach will be gold, and I'll use white and black as accents around his face and tail. I'm pretty positive I'm just going to use acryllic paint, but it kind of all depends on how close I'm running to my deadline XD
Also, thank you for all the praise! It makes me so overjoyed that people can see the dedication and effort I've put into this, and it's part of what kept me going through the whole project.
For the base I had to tape together a couple of wooden boards, covered them with newspaper, then rolled a slab of clay for the sculpture to rest on. The dragon isn't connected to that base, though - the clay-base was merely a precaution to make sure the lab-techs can lift the sculpture with (less) trouble. For the sculpture itself I've had to make four supports (those are the big, disjointed shapes underneath his body and neck) so that the sculpture would be less inclined to break apart at the points with the most tension (I say less inclined because the tension of the wavey-shapes still applied a lot of pressure and still managed to make some "rupture points".) These supports will be used to fire the dragon, but again (along with the base) they are unattached so that after the first firing they can be removed. Now, as for the actual sculpture itself, I started with a to-scale paper armature on the inside and after rolling out and sculpting the basic shapes I cut the sculpture in half and pulled the paper out. After the paper was removed I could put the pieces back together and start working on details. Whew! That's a long answer to your simple question XD
The general color-scheme I want to go with when he's fired would be red, gold, white, and black. I'm thinking his main body will be red, his stomach will be gold, and I'll use white and black as accents around his face and tail. I'm pretty positive I'm just going to use acryllic paint, but it kind of all depends on how close I'm running to my deadline XD
When you paint him, it will be well worth your while to use epoxy or polyurethane marine paints or automotive paints (Metalflakes! Shiny!). They are made to withstand very long exposure to sun and weather. Do NOT apply these paints inside; they both produce toxic fumes while curing, with the urethanes being worse in this respect. The urethanes have the advantage of being more flexible and hence more scratch resistant. If you work outside, fumes are not a problem.
I'd never thought of using automotive paints, but that's a very good idea! I'm still not sure what kind of time-frame I have on this guy - last time I checked on him about a week ago he was still drying out.... I may have time to paint or glaze him, or I may not. Right now it's just a matter of letting physics do the work XD
The urethane paints are much more flexible than the epoxies, so I would suggest urethane auto paints to avoid cracks since that ceramic will likely expand and contract more than metal. Metal flake dragon with clearcoat for the win!
If you use urethane and are worried about insects or blowing leaves outside, get a cheap 24" square window fan (box fan) from Walmart, and put him right in front it it with the fan blowing outward to carry away the fumes. Make sure that you have a couple of windows open on the other side of the room to let in fresh air, and make sure that if there is a wind, that it is blowing in the right direction to help.
If you use urethane and are worried about insects or blowing leaves outside, get a cheap 24" square window fan (box fan) from Walmart, and put him right in front it it with the fan blowing outward to carry away the fumes. Make sure that you have a couple of windows open on the other side of the room to let in fresh air, and make sure that if there is a wind, that it is blowing in the right direction to help.
Great advice, thank you! I had never thought of using automotive paint on ceramic before, but it makes perfect sense for a large piece that will be displayed outside.
The time-frame I am working with is four weeks until my senior exhibit. If he finishes drying this week then I will have three weeks for gradual warm-up and cool-down, and possibly just enough time for glazing. If I can glaze I will (because it is free, and because I have a lot of restrictions on what is allowed in the senior exhibit), but if not I'm keeping the urethane paint in mind.
Aside from cost, my biggest concern is getting this guy qualified to be in the show. I have a friend who is in the senior show who does wood-working art with a laser cutter - the faculty won't let him show it, though, because we don't have a laser cutter in the wood-shop but they have made it clear if he did the same work with a table-saw it would be fine. Believe it or not, they're even discouraging painting students from submitting anything other than acrylic or oils because "they don't teach them" - so gouche, watercolor, and everything else is highly frowned upon. -sighs- I still have to get the go-ahead from my faculty adviser, and it just kills me that I may be forced to finish this one way or the other just because the school teaches a very specific way of glazing or patina-finish.
The time-frame I am working with is four weeks until my senior exhibit. If he finishes drying this week then I will have three weeks for gradual warm-up and cool-down, and possibly just enough time for glazing. If I can glaze I will (because it is free, and because I have a lot of restrictions on what is allowed in the senior exhibit), but if not I'm keeping the urethane paint in mind.
Aside from cost, my biggest concern is getting this guy qualified to be in the show. I have a friend who is in the senior show who does wood-working art with a laser cutter - the faculty won't let him show it, though, because we don't have a laser cutter in the wood-shop but they have made it clear if he did the same work with a table-saw it would be fine. Believe it or not, they're even discouraging painting students from submitting anything other than acrylic or oils because "they don't teach them" - so gouche, watercolor, and everything else is highly frowned upon. -sighs- I still have to get the go-ahead from my faculty adviser, and it just kills me that I may be forced to finish this one way or the other just because the school teaches a very specific way of glazing or patina-finish.
Good news! (And this really made my day!!!!!!) The faculty adviser I have chosen - who is basically my mentor, if I were to have to choose a word - has told me that she's more than willing to stick her neck out for me and support my needle felting work as sculpture if I work to make them align more with my artist's statement. I'm more than willing to work on a good compromise, and I'm overjoyed to have a faculty member on my side.
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