Here on Corrupted Crafts, we love our dragons. This dragon is supposed to be a little music loving dragon, and some new techniques were used. If you have not yet made the dragon base from last week, do not continue this project as that base is needed for making this little guy. Plan to spend a good chunk at the crafting table for this one, this dragon took about 4 hours to make.
What you will need
- Sculpey in red, yellow, black, transparent, blue
- Gold pigment
- Wire
- Glue
- Oven
- Pan
- Chain
- Dragon base
- Patience
Starting with a Clean Surface
Pull out a piece of parchment paper to work on and wash your hands really well. Wipe off your pre baked dragon base with some rubbing alcohol to make the clay stick easier.
Rolling out the Base Clay for the DIY Dragon Nerd
Roll out a good size chunk of red Sculpey, fully kneading the clay and making it soft and ready to go. This should not take too long with Sculpey, as it is a very super soft clay.
Flattening the base clay for the DIY Dragon
Using a rolling pin of some sort, flatten the clay very thin, enough to cover the whole dragon. The thinner the better, remember you can patch up the dragon with extra clay and smooth it down if you need to.
Putting the Red Polymer Clay on the DIY Dragon
Gently wrap pieces of clay all over the dragon, including the head. Don’t fully squish the clay on yet, we still have shaping to do before we can fully squash the clay on.
Cutting the Space for the Belly
Using a boxcutter blade or exacto, cut where the underbelly goes on the front using straight clean lines. Remember you can go back and clean up the edge later.
Pressing and Attaching the Clay Seamlessly
Now that you have a designated space cut for the underbelly, press the red clay onto the base and smooth it on as much as possible. It may not want to stick at first, just keep playing with it until it sticks.
Rolling out the Black Clay for the Stomach of the DIY Dragon
Using a small piece of black clay, roll out the underbelly and cut the black clay to fit. Put it on the designated spot on the dragon and smooth it down with the other color. Draw lines on the black to define the belly scales like a snake.
Sculpting the Feet of the DIY Dragon
Using the red clay again, make two tear drop shapes. Use a dotting tool to separate the toes of the DIY Dragon. Use black clay to make little black spots and put them on the bottoms of the feet as paw pads. Attach one under one leg and the other one up like he is kicking. You may need to attach an extra piece of clay under the foot that is in the kicking position to keep the dragon level.
Sculpting the Front Paws
For the front paws, I took some more red clay and caked it onto the wires I arranged in the base. I smoothed them down like little arms, securely blending them into the dragon, and then squished the end of the arm for the paw and used a dotting tool to sculpt the individual toes the same way I did for the back paws.
Making the Expression
For the expression of the DIY Dragon, I went with a more Snoopy-ish derpy happy look. To achieve this look, I rolled out black clay into a thin little snake and made two V shapes, and attached them upside down to the head of the dragon.
Making the DIY Dragon Headpiece
The headphones are easy to make. Use two circles of black clay with a blue and black rectangle piece in the middle. Squish it onto his head. Then start making little gold hairs and sticking them by the little headphones.
Making and Coating the Gold Horns
Sculpt horn shapes out of white clay and dip them in Aztec Gold pearl ex pigment. Dust them off and stick them to the dragon. Add a few gold spikes to the head and smooth them onto the head, helping to hide any areas that do not look the best.
Sculpting the Wings
Roll translucent clay out and wrap it the ends of it on the wire for the wings on the base. Use your nails to cut a shredded edge onto the part of the wing that hangs down. Cover the wires in red and black clay and smooth the clay onto the body.
Baking the Dragon
Once you think you are satisfied with your dragon, preheat the oven to 275 Fahrenheit and bake it for about 30 minutes. Don’t worry about leaving it in there too long, I learned that Sculpey doesn’t burn unless you leave it in for hours on end or above 275. Once you pull the dragon out, realize you don’t particularly like it. That’s perfectly okay, and on Wednesday’s post we will fix this little abomination. Happy Crafting!