First, the painting.
Painting this project was a lot more challenging than most. Because the paint does not easily come off the resin horns and eyes I had to take care from the beginning not to splatter paint everywhere. My “fast and furious” method of painting became slow and laborious. Don’t get me wrong, I took this as a challenge and enjoyed every minute of it.
First I carefully painted between all the horns. Then around the eyes.
On the main part of the trophy I painted first with dark blue, then while it was still wet I added some white to get a lighter shade on the scales.
Of course after the initial painting dried, I “blackwashed” the project. This is where many people who use my techniques hesitate. They fall in love with the bright colors and they don’t want to “ruin” the piece.
But it never does. It accentuates the detail and makes the colors pop even more.
As I did with the mouth, I added glitter over the entire project. I wanted it to look frosted. It’s an ice dragon after all. Still, it was risky. But I have to say that I’m very happy with the way it turned out.
I’ll add some final photos in the next post.
P.S. I must give a shout out to my little “helper” Maisie! How could I work without her encouragement. (Abbie doesn’t care about my projects, but she’ll stop by to say “hi” once in a while.)
Thanks for stopping by!
Magnificent! You never stop raising the bar, Dan! Keep up the amazing work-
Thank you Cher from Maine and Florida!
Dan from Seattle, Washingmachine.
I have always admired your work, just want to encourage you. As I look at the ice dragon I was imagining his entire body weaving in and out of the wall his head would be mounted on. Now that would be the most awesome of all your work if you made that happen. Imagine a portion of his body and wing a bit further back and then wall and then tail end again emerging from the wall…
Hey Rose. That would be very fun indeed, although if I was going to do such a thing I wouldn’t want to use the plaque. Thanks!
As always Dan, Just amazing! The black wash always makes it look great, though there are times I have thought I kinda hate to “ruin” the color, but it does look much better, its a very unique look. That was a huge amount of work, I bet you are glad to be at the finish line with this one! Next…lol
Thank you! I’m always happy to see a project finished, but not because I was getting tired of working on it or unhappy about the labor. I really do enjoy every part of the work including the slow and tedious parts. I appreciate your comments.
Absolutely stunning! I have followed your work for years, and you never disappoint!!!
Glad you like this one! Thank you for the nice note!
Wow Dan! This ice dragon is going to look amazing lights on or off!
Glad you like this project Rick! I think the lights turned out okay.
Hey Dan,
I have really loved watching your dragons evolve! You keep pushing the electronics and materials you use to accentuate them. Really great! I’m always excited when you put out a new video too. This one is so beautiful! When will you, or have you ever, added sound to any of your sculptures? like, maybe on a motion sensor?
Thanks for the nice remarks Shawn! I think the lights look okay on this project, but I don’t think I’ll continue with that. Not sure what sounds would work coming from a dragon. But I appreciate the suggestions.
You are an amazing artist. I would love to commission a Maleficent dragon from you.
Thank you Claudia. I am very flattered. Unfortunately I never make the same project twice. That is a promise I make to people who commission my work. I guarantee that the work will be unique.
Completely AWESOME!!! Very nice job Mr. Dan. I can’t wait for the video!
Thanks Mark! Video is finally done!
I am a newbie at paper mache. Love you work and the “blackwashing technique”. What are the best types of paint for this?
Hello Jerry. Sorry, I’m just now seeing your question. I just use all purpose paint. And water based paint will do. Water based so you can add water to make a wash. I use black a lot but I’ve also added blue washes and red washes.
Thanks Phoebe!
Top class thanks for sharing with us, amazing.
Thank you so much Jimmy! That is nice of you to say!
Hello😊
My son (8 year old) has followed your works since he was 7 old. You are his inspiration👍. Now he would like to try to make his first papermach. Thank you for sharing inspired vdo and blog.
Best regards
Mom from NORWAY 😊
Hello mom from Norway,
So glad to hear that your son enjoys my art work! I wish him all the best!
Your Dragons are wonderful! I have been in love with Dragons for many years but have never yet built one. It is a challenge. I have made some scary fish I call “psycho” fish from papier mache and have sold a few. The weather in south Texas, where I live, is quite humid and because of this I have added a coat of Bondo before I paint and they seem to be impervious to moisture. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Thank you Roberta. Glad you like the work. I love making aquatic creatures. I also made many crazy fish over the years. Living in the Pacific Northwest any thing coming out of the water was popular. I appreciate the note. Good luck with your art!