Hey everyone. Well, my version of the Tiamat Dragon is finished. I am currently making custom crates to ship it off to The Chromatic Dragon restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. I swear, making those crates is harder than making the dragons.
For those of you keeping track I started this project mid-September. It has been a gloriously laborious project. I’ve really enjoyed trying to capture the essence of this Dungeons and Dragons character. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I did use the official wallpapers as a guide. But I added my own artistic touches here and there. I hope you like these. So…for the final reveal…
…I’ll start with the White dragon. I changed the tall crest on the neck to be more consistent with the art that Amy sent me a while back. Here I just wanted clean lines and a striking white color rather than a lot of detail. So she has the least amount of horns.
Here she is from the other side.
Next, the Red dragon. My camera never seems to capture the subtlety of color in my projects. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that there is much more variation in the red color than this photo suggests.
And here it is from the other side.
Just in case you didn’t see it, here is one of the wallpapers I used as a guide.
Here is the Black dragon. This is still my favorite. I guess I like the horns the best. Again, there is much more subtlety in the black than you can see. There is a bit of blue and purple and red in this project.
This is a slightly different view.
Now the Blue dragon. Everyone who has seen this project in person tells me that this is their favorite. I think people just like blue as a color. I admit it does have a very distinctive look. For those of you who followed this project closely, you’ll notice that I removed the extra horns I had where these ears are now. Once again, Amy was the one who told me that the Blue dragon had “big honkin ears!” I’m pretty happy with the way these ears turned out. They look very close to the drawings in the book she sent.
I have to admit, the Green dragon had to grow on me. For a while I thought it was just too horse-like. But I’m okay with it now. The paint helped. And I really like the twisted horns. That was a touch I added.
Here they are all together. I have to say, I’m pleased with the overall result. I hope everyone at The Chromatic Dragon find this to their liking.
I am in the middle of editing a time-lapse video of this project. I had over 180 sessions taped. So please be patient with me on this. I’ll get it done as soon as I can and I’ll post it when it’s finished.
Thanks for stopping by. Make art!!
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Amazing is an understatement!!
beautiful
Glad you like them Lisa! Thank you!
Your project turned out spectacularly! Happily it has been finished in time for you and the client to celebrate All Dragons’ Day (Dec. 22) which I decided I would create (many years ago) in lieu of any other holidays at this time of year. Dragons are to be celebrated for creativity, imagination, strength, light and warmth (returning at the solstice), and happiness for who can not be happy with dragons in their lives! 🙂
So I wish you and all of your followers a most enjoyable Dragons’ Day!
Hey Jacqui. I’m glad I met that deadline! That sounds like a wonderful day. They should let schools out that day. Thanks for the note.
Beautiful! I’m rather fond of the green dragon, myself. But they are all amazing and combine to make a fabulous piece. Good luck packing them up! Will you do the installation as well?
Such amazing talent
You are very kind Maya! Thank you!
Green Dragon is my fave! I love the whole thing Dan and well worth the wait just to see it. By the way this must be massive, if you don’t mind me asking… What are the final dimensions on these guys (width and height of them all together)?
Simply wonderful, awsome, fantastic, marvelous, amazing! You are an incredible artist! Thank you so much for sharing your art with us. I would love to learn from you a little of your art.
Your amazing! I love them all! Thanks for sharing the process.
Thank you Penelope!
This… Is… Beautiful! This is my favorite project of yours to date. Even without the camera catching the different shades, it still looks wonderful. I am also glad to see that you enjoyed making it even though it was laborious, I’ll tell you now, it was worth the effort. Great job, and thanks for taking us along on this journey.
I love them all. Each has their own might and power. Good work
That’s a nice thing to say Karen! Thank you.
Fantastic work!! It’s hard to choose but I think the blue dragon is my favorite. Thanks so much for sharing!
This is so amazing! I love them all!
Thank you Spiralcrawl! I’m very happy you like them.
Awesome!!! Man (Monster Man that is) you are dynamite my friend. You have really captured the essence and realism in your wonderful display of the Paper Mache Tiamat dragons. But the real quest is,…can you do one of my ex mother in law because her head belongs right smack dab in the middle of that fantastic piece of art. Oh yeah, I like’em all. 🙂
Thank you Paul!
Awesome!!! Man (Dan the Monster Man that is) you are dynamite my friend. You have really captured the essence and realism in your wonderful display of the Paper Mache Tiamat dragons. But the real quest is,…can you do one of my ex mother in law because her head belongs right smack dab in the middle of that fantastic piece of art. Oh yeah, I like’em all. 🙂
You are too funny animalexplorer! Actually, I do enjoy doing caricature. Maybe I should make a trophy with five human heads on it! Maybe five of the Wall Street executives who never went to jail after bringing down the economy.
Wow Dan! The dragons are absolutely amazing! I might even take a vacation just to go see them in person…😱👍
Thanks Martina! I’ve thought the same thing!
That’s a masterpiece! So sad that your camera can’t capture the variety of the colours.
Thanks Ricki. Considering the wide variation in color between all the dragons I’m happy enough. But there is more color than the camera picks up. But I guess that’s the advantage of seeing them in person.
Can’t decide which one I like best! There are so many different facets of each one that are interesting! I usually go into Photoshop and do a color correction on my photos. It is really helpful if you have that program. Spectacular as always Dan!!!! 🙂
Hey Diane. I do use Photoshop. I love that program. I’m happy if the camera picks up any subtlety. There is much more variation in color than these photos suggest.
Stunning! I like the green dragon the best, or at least its photo here — but there are so many interesting things about each one! You have truly surpassed yourself, sir!
I’m very happy that people like the green one. I mentioned earlier that I’d lost objectivity by the end. That was the last head I made and I just wasn’t sure I liked it as much. But I’ve since changed my mind. I do like it as well. Thanks for the note Karen!
Hello Dan,
wow, what an unbelievable result! I love it! They look as if they move and will soon break into reality. I can just hear their bestial screaming and their breath directly out of hell…..
Hope there will be some more of your amazing artwork.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you Arnd! I’m very happy that you approve! I’m very flattered.
This is so great! love Tiamat I actually made a costume based on her earlier this year and the smiles i get from people when i ware it are awesome 🙂
That must have been a fun costume! Glad you like this Tiamat Lila. Thanks for the note.
EARS yay! so glad i could help and cant wait for the video of this coming together. the black looks wonderful and the eye really make him/her look nasty >:) and the green argh i cant put into words how awesome this is!
Hey Amy. So glad you approve of the ears! I think I got them pretty close to the drawings in the book you sent. Thank you for not pointing out any more errors now that it’s finished. It has to be finished. Thanks for your help.
Again just ASTOUNDED by your TALENT. Amazing work. So inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Melanie! You are very kind.
Wow! That looks so beautiful! Such awesome art!
I have bought your book and going to give it a try but it will take me years to even be able to come close to what you’re making. Not a stranger to making dragons, have been making them in clay and now I’m collecting newspaper so I can start. It will be fun 🙂
Hello Rubydragon. Trust me, you will love your first piece. With a login like that I assumed that you aren’t a stranger to dragons. Good luck!
This must have been a huge artistic challenge,Dan, and again, you raised the bar on your work. The variation in detail, posturing and delightful details all brought to life with a terrific paint job.
I never realized that dragons had so much variations. Your work continues to amaze me.
Thank you so much for sharing your progress with the rest of us. I look forward to your video.
This is a true masterpiece? I just love it!!
What nice remarks! Thank you Cher! It was a challenge. That’s a big reason why I accepted the commission. Glad you like it!
Brilliant work!
Thank you Solitaire!
Dan, Absolutely astounding work and I’m sure that the customer shall be delighted but I’m just so glad that I won’t be the one who’ll have to dust it. lol.
Yes, dusting will be a bit of a chore. I use a slightly wet paint brush which seems to work. Thank you!
Awesome work! You are an inspiration to this novice paper machier. Thank you for sharing the process!
You are very welcome Penelope! good luck with your pieces!
This is amazing Dan!! That restaurant got a 100% more cooler now for sure!!
And all of the heads are amazing for different reasons. I really like how you experimented with patterns we haven’t seen you using them before.
Hey Nacho. Nice to hear from you. Yes, part of the fun of this project was getting the different textures. It was a challenge to get them all to work together. Take care
The final version is as spectacular as I imagined it would be. Wow! You did an unbelievable job as usual!
Thank you for the note Teresa! I’m very flattered but the response! After so much work, it’s nice to know that people like the piece.
This is so brilliant I can’t pick just 1 favorite. I like the black & green dragons. We watch you make these but no one can comprehend the work involved in just 1 much less 5 of these. There customers will be in awe of this wall piece. Fantastic!!
Thanks Ralph! I’m very happy to hear that you like this project. It’s pretty dramatic when you are face to face with it. Thanks for watching.
omg…..they are awsome…..i liked watching the progression… and the green one is my fav!!!
Thanks Beth! I’m glad you like the green one. For some reason I worried about that one the most. After a while I lost all objectivity. I did the green one last, so I just wasn’t sure about it. So I appreciate your comment.
love these dragon heads, they are all great
Thanks Elsie!
Dan, you have done a fantastic job! Each one has a personality that shows through. Any chance we see a tutorial of the crate you’re building? (;-) Good luck, congratulations!
Hello Norma. Thanks for the kind remarks. I am working on a time-lapse video of this project. I guess these blog posts are the closest thing there is to a tutorial.
Fantabulous! That is a word right? Every time I think you can’t top your last project, you do. This is incredible and amazing. You and your talent are one in a zillion.
Lori
Hey Lori. You are always so sweet. Fantabulous sound great to me! You know how this is, it’s much more elbow grease and practice than talent. But I’m very happy you like how this project turned out. I heard from the owner of the restaurant who said that he, and everyone else associated with the restaurant, loved it. I’m very happy that they want the art. Thanks as always for the note!
Wonderful, Dan, just wonderful! Congratulations on the finish. And on the process.
My favorite details about this piece are the horns on the red dragon, and the magnificent variety of skin textures. Is that an under-layer of chicken wire on the green dragon’s neck, or did you hand make hexagonal scales? Either way, the green dragon’s neck keeps drawing my eye — in a good way!
I am secretly (okay, not-so-secretly) hoping that you will do something loose and easy as a cool-down and/or victory lap, but whatever you do next will be… you, and will be wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharing your work with us on this blog.
Thank you for the nice note Elizabeth! I’m glad you like the neck of the green dragon. Once again I took my lead from the official wallpapers from the Dungeons and Dragons site. I did indeed fold a piece of cloth for each scale. That’s why these projects take so much time. Not sure of a victory lap. I want to finish my dragon-like dragonfly first.
Reblogged this on Into the Labyrinth and commented:
This man does an amazing job on his paper mache creations! I love them!
Amazing work. I love to seeing it. Thanks for sharing.
You are very welcome Marilyn! Thank you for looking!
Stupendous, Dan! Such wonderful faces, each so different but each pretty darn scary. Your paint work is wonderful, love the tongues, the horns and of course the ears. You’re an inspiration, Dan.
You should be very proud of this Dan. It is like Michelangelo’s David. Stunning, perfect and wonderful! I have followed you for years and what a journey from your first screamer! Thanks for the art fix! Oh and I love the little baby dragon. Very difficult to work in miniature.
Wow outstanding piece & what a massive project. It will turn a lot of heads in that restaurant. Cudos!!
Thank you Ralph! I hope they like the piece. Take care
Wow, it’s turned out really well! I’m particularly impressed with how each head is very different and has its own personality, but they’re all still clearly part of the same animal. You should be very proud, and I know the restaurant will be very happy.
Hey Stella. Thanks as always for your nice remarks! One of the reasons I painted all the mouths the same color is to insure some kind of continuity between the heads. I’m just happy that they like it at the restaurant. Hope all is well with you.
FANTASTIC!!!
Thanks Ivonesio!
Obrigado por nos graciar com a sua arte!
Te esejo sempre muito sucesso!
Sou seu mais novo fã!
Você é muito bem-vindo Daniel! Obrigado pelas suas palavras gentis!