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Reptangle β Secret Keeper dragon
Published: 2011-07-13 05:30:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 7887; Favourites: 203; Downloads: 81
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Description
A photo of the original sculpture of the Secret Keeper dragon . This is the finished sculpture that we made the first molds from.Related content
Comments: 56
Β The original sculpture was made from an air drying, water-based clay called "critter clay".
Β This one is a gypsum reproduction
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(I know, old comment is old)Β
How does Critter Clay hold up? Is it more similar in consistency to grey water-based ceramic clay, or Sculpey?Β
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It is sticky and it can be difficult to work with. It is somewhat similar to ceramic clay, but much more plastic. It will support itself when wet much better than any ceramic clay.Β It is REALLY strong when it is dry, but it is not water proof. It will turn into slimy mud if it gets wet again.
Β It looks terrible when it dries, but that's what paint is for.
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Okay, thank you so much. All this info you're giving me is really helpful. (By the way, that blue gryphon over on eBay is simply gorgeous)Β
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I hope he got a good home. One of your most gorgeous gryphons I must say.Β
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:3 very pretty... those scales amaze me ^^
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Your work is amazing. Do you make the eyes as well. They look so real!
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We buy the blank glass eyes, but we paint and fire the glass paint onto the backs ourselves.
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Oh cool. May I ask where you buy them?
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We get ours in huge quantities from the manufacturer, but you can buy eyes similar to the ones we use from Van Dyke's Taxidermy supply. They call them "Wood carver" bird eyes in their online catalog.Here's a link:[link]
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Thanks so much for the link, they have some beautiful eyes! And reasonable prices.
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It looks like my guardian angel, very beautiful and lovely.
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Stunning. I keep wondering, how do you melt and cast pure awesomeness?
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Mmmmn every time I see one of your perfectly smooth, scaled, large sculptures unpainted I just wanna llllllick it....would probably taste horrible though...
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I take it you've tried? XD
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The dust goes up your nose and in your mouth. It really isn't too bad.
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One day... I'll get a Paint Your Own piece. Seeing the unpainted pieces always inspires me, almost as much as the painted pieces. I love the detail in this original sculpture, especially around the snout and the eye ridge~
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Oh this is gorgeous.
Are you going to make PYOs of them?
I love those soft eyes!!!
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There is a pyo "Keeper" dragon,it's not the same sculpture but somewhat similar in attitude.
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Wow, the detail you put into your sculptures is just beautiful. I'd love to see this one in the old white colour with the gold eyes
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It looks beautiful in white, all the details stand out so well. And the wealth of textures and scales is mind-boggling! They flow so well on the form, creating amazingly realistic effect (realistic dragon sounds funny, but it's true). And his face is so thoughtful...
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How do you put the eyes in? Are they placed before, during, or after sculpting?
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The eyes are flat on the back. They are shaped kinda like little frizbees, so they slip into the eye socket, up under the upper lid and then drop down behind the lower lid. Normally they are glued in place after the piece is completely finished, but I needed to make sure the sculpture will fit the eyes, so I put them in place while I am working. The eyes will be removed when the mold gets made.
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Interesting. So when you sculpt you leave a space to slide the eyes in?
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Yes, they are cast without eyes and we glue them in after they are painted.
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That's so interesting. Thank you for responding.
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It's awesome, BTW, to see one of the originals. It just blows my mind that not only are there details galore, but that they look RIGHT. It blew my mind the first time I laid eyes on the brown dragon, lo those many years ago, and it blows my mind to this day....
Complexly incredible work!!!
(Better than simply incredible....
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There's plenty of mistakes!
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Ah, but a true master can hide them in plain sight....XDXDXD
And I want to echo what another commenter said...What are the chances you'd do a tutorial and show us how it's done? I even went websurfing for Denscal because I'd not heard of it before....
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Gypsum, eh? Hmmm. You must be casting the stuff in blocks like hydrostone or something, and then drawing a vacuum on it to get the bubbles out.....
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Yeah hydrostone, denscal, or something softer, depending on what I am doing. I don't start with a block, I make a rough sculpture out of clay and have a casting made of that.
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Okay, that makes a lot more sense.... (I'm intensely interested in your methodology...
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Sculpt something in clay. Have it cast in gypsum. Carve and sand for 1 year. Decide to change the position of the wings and head. Cast it again. Sand for another 4 months. Simple
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Hey, I am OCD, you know. 
Yargh. Not impossible, but still yargh. XDXD
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I take the nearly completed gypsum piece and saw it apart. I try to do this when nobody is around. It is distressing to watch.
I then reposition what ever it is and shmarm it back together with clay or wax or whatever, and have the mold maker recast it. Then I start again from there. I do this way too often. I don't think this is something I want to do a tutorial about, it is pretty unprofessional.
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Personally, "unprofessional" doesn't enter into it. I want to know the good and bad, the hard and easy. My methods of digital painting are unorthodox and haphazard at best, but it gets me there eventually, and there seems to be no shortage of people who want to see the odd directions I take on the way....
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Do you have a tutorial or something for the person who's feeling adventurous and wants to try this?
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I don't have a tutorial. Believe me it isn't nice orderly process! I usually don't know what I am doing.
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Absolutely gorgeous. May I ask of what you use as materials for the sculpture?
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This is carved gypsum ( dense plaster).
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@_@
ALL. THOSE. SCALES.
My hat goes off to you for having the patience/dedication to sculpt out all those little details.
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