Hello all. I’m so sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve posted. Too much to do, art related and life related. And the latest project I just finished was a very labor intensive project, one that I wrestled with for weeks and months. I’m happy with the result, but I know that it going to make true Skyrim players upset (I’ve already heard from a few). Alduin is almost exclusively black and grey in the game. Mine ended up with other colors. If you haven’t seen the finished video on Youtube and just want to watch it and leave it at that, just click on the photo below.
For those interested, I can just relate how it ended up so different than just black and grey. It’s pure artistic obsessive compulsion at work. When thinking about the project I looked at numerous renditions online. There were several that had a fire-like effect emanating from the body (and the mouth and nose and eyes). I decided to go for that effect. I experimented for weeks to get the lights between the scales to project outward. At one point I even bought a hundred little reflectors for pen lights from China. They didn’t work. Even though I hated the idea of using it, for ecological reasons, I ended up adding silver glitter along with orange lights. The glitter worked better than anything else I tried. Then I tried adding some orange and yellow paint, and that made the lights stand out even more! The bottom line is that I ended up far afield from the original design of Aldiun. But by that point I was too far in to back out. And so it ended up the way it did. In hindsight, I should have named the piece “Started as Alduin”. Having said all this, most of the time the project doesn’t have the lights on and it does look a lot more like the real Alduin with the lights off. See below. But you have to admit, it’s less exciting with the lights off.
I’ll try to post more regularly with whatever I decide to make next. I have a few ideas. Thanks for your patience. Make some art!
Dan
Gourmet Paper Mache Blog 
Wow! I think it came out fantastic!! The lighting effects add a lot.
Wow, Dan, I know what you mean by “too much to do…life related”! I’m chomping at the bit to get back to my art! That being said, your dragon is fantastic! It is your interpretation of “Alduin” so you took creative license. Most of the time you just have to let the creativity flow and see where it takes you. The fire effect is great!!!
Amazing results!! I like that so much!!
Keep on making art! Thanks for the inspiration and always posting your work technique. I veered off the path and started on fairy houses and mushroom forests but I still do my community masks. I now incorporate many of your techniques which are helpful for a humid climate in Florida. ART people 🙂 and cats…. always cats… yeah! Great piece.
Wow Dan! Just wow!! Amazing art…:))
Thank you very much Martina!
It’s beautiful! Congratulations on being true to your artist’s eye. It is Alduin-inspired, or maybe Alduin-evolved, not a missed mark at all.
That’s nice of you to say Beth. Thank you! I’m okay with the rendition. I like the way it turned out. Hope all is well.
Absolutely fabulous Dan, I love your unique creativeness. The colour combination is fantastic and the lights make your dragon even more impressive.
Thanks Janice. I’m glad you like the colors I added. It did bother some Skyrim players since Alduin is pretty much all hard grey and black. But it really helped pull out the lights.
awesome as always. have you even thought of making one of the dragons from the film ‘ the flight of dragons’ ?
Thanks Amy. There are just soooo many great dragons I could make, and so little time. Thanks for the suggestion though.
I think he is fabulous, fantastic and any other magnificent word! I love your assistant, too. It looks like the filming was nearly as labour-intensive as the dragon Awesome as ever. With much admiration xxxxx.
Thank you Helen! And thanks for the comments about the filming. Yes, that is a lot of work to manage. I’m somewhat disorganized about it and sometimes forget to turn on the camera (or forget to turn it off and get 3 or 4 hours of nothing moving on the video. This time I had to edit more than 125 separate time-lapse videos. And getting that down to 3 and a half minutes is always difficult. So I very much appreciate your comments about that aspect. Take care
Truly a joy to watch the video. Alduin turned out magnificent. Thanks for being an inspiration.
Thank you Vicki! I’m very happy that you like this project. It was a lot of work but I am also happy with how it turned out. Take care
Wow Dan that is truly a beautiful scary monster. Love it!
Glad you like it Hetty! Thanks!
I’m a Skyrim junkie and I LOVE this! I think it looks very like Alduin (at least the one I use with my mods) and it is really VERY nicely done. Thanks for sharing this!
I really appreciate your comment Jesusknight! I know that I took a lot of artistic license enough to bother some people. So this is a nice treat! Take care
That is awesome, one of my favorites.
Thank you Ralph! Glad you approve! This one took a lot of time and effort. So I appreciate the comment.
Hello Dan-
I have to confess, that I always thought glitter made projects a bit, you know- too ‘Martha Stewart”? You have changed my mind. What a great mix of elements, and the illuminated eyes put it over the top! Excellent work! I didn’t think you could create anything I would like more than your Maleficent piece, but this one raises the bar! I absolutely love it!
Keep up the great work!
Cher in Florida
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It looks awesome, especially with the lights on. And as to departing a bit from the original model, I see it as being Alduin in the same way Oh Brother Where art Thou is the Odyssey. It’s a new take on the original source material and that’s absolutely fine.
Thanks Stella! That means a lot since I put so much effort into that effect and it is what others are objecting to. Hope you are making lots of art.
isso sim é arte …… parabéns Dan
Obrigado pelas amáveis palavras Roger. Estou muito lisonjeado!
Hi Dan, your Alduin is magnificent! Artistic license is a thing so the nay-sayers should get over it. Stunning, as usual. Carol.
Hey Carol. Hope all is well down under! Thank you as always. Thanks for the nice words about my artistic license with this one! It helps. I also have to say that I got a very nice, unsolicited comment on my Facebook page from the maker of Alduin (and Skyrim), Jonah Lobe. He was very complimentary of the pieces. Very nice of him to say so. And nice of you too.
Every time better! Congratulations.
Hey Ivonesio. Thank you as always for your support! Glad you like this one!
Hi Dan,
I always love seeing what you are up to. The body fire effect is great.
To ease your guilt for future work, just do a search for biodegradable glitter. There are a bunch of places making it now.
Happy Creating!
Thanks Trish. I’m never going to use glitter again. But thanks. I should have checked that out first.
Simply fantastic
Thank you Janet!
This is amazing Dan. I go back through all your videos from time to time to watch your creations come to life. It’s actually therapeutic to watch. The evolution of your dragon mounts is just incredible. You somehow seem to top yourself each and every time. Also you sharing your techniques and creative processes with everyone and answering questions that anyone may have is no less amazing on your part. You are an exceptional human being and artist. Another great piece bud. Keep up the fantastic work.
Hey Tommy. Thank you for this very nice note! It is much appreciated! I actually do the art because it is therapeutic for me. It has to be done. Hope all is well with you.
This is super fantabulous!
Glad you are still making amazing art.
Lori
Thank you as always Lori! I hope you are making lots of art yourself. Take care
I would like to know how much the dragon lamp costs and how to order it
Hello Tracy. I’m not sure what you mean by the dragon lamp. I’m guessing it is my Maleficent trophy although I’ve made several projects with l.e.d. lights including Alduin. If it is Maleficent I’m sorry to say but that was a commission I made a few years ago for a Disney fan. So it is long gone. And I promise people who commission me that I won’t reproduce the project they have, that there project will remain unique. I haven’t been doing as many commissions lately. The only projects that I currently have for sale are on my website, https://gourmetpapermache.com/art-for-sale/. Sorry, I know it’s not what you are interested in. I haven’t decided about whether to sell Alduin or not.
I have had many inquiries about Maleficent over the years, and a few people have followed my techniques (or used my book) to make their own versions. I think they have all found the experience very satisfying. Just a thought. Thank you for your interest.