Making A Dragon Skull.

Yesterday i started making a dragon study table, but it just seemed to be missing something. So, i decided to have a go at making a dragon skull.
This is the skull so far minus a few needed alterations, and still got to add the teeth.
Last night i started the teeth but this morning have had to remove them so i can make them more in line with the bottom part of the skull.
When complete i will age it to look old.
The table it's going on has a pile of dragon study books, lots of scrolls, jars and bowls of bones, dragon wing bones, hide, blood etc, plus a display of dragon eggs on display stands.
Realy pleased with the skull and if it looks difficult to make then really it's not. It's just a matter of patience and a vision.
Its kind of like the pattrn for a box. I just imagined it in that way and its helped loads.
Here's a few pictures to explain.


I found the images on various sites and have been using them as a reference.

What i did was to imagine each skull taken apart, and then each part rolled flat.
Then from that i made a rough flat shape with my clay, added most of the details and shapes.
Once happy with the shape and layout i then started to curve all the edges up and do a bit more smoothing and shaping. Then baked.
Once out of the oven i have added further small bits of clay to enhance the bumpy skull.
Quite often i doubt i can actually make something, and never in my dreams thought i'd be able to achieve this. I look at sculpture like this in awe and spend too much time studying pictures rather than having a go myself.
Those i study tend to be really big, and didn't think it was possible to convert to miniature.

Its now baking (again) and once baked can add the teeth and then paint and age.
As you can also see i'm terrible for keeping clay clean. I'd never be able to make dolls and things like that for sale because i seem to be a dust and dirt magnet. But in this case the dirt and dust added has enhanced the sculpt... lol.

I've also been making skulls. I made my own moulds of various skulls ive been collecting. Quite often the miniature skulls that are really cheap to buy tend to be a bit too big. Mostly it's the top part and back of the skull which is the problem and so have got round this by making a mould of the front from each bought skull, minus the over bulk at the top and back.
I've made just 4 as a tester so far and need to work on the backs now to see if i'm happy with them. Plus i will add some more little bits to the front to make them more realisic, then bake again and paint.
Even though i have used a mould, they still need some scultping and reshaping once released.



If you fancy making your own moulds sculpey mould maker is what i used. I think its on ebay.com and not ebay uk.



The packs goes a long way if you are using it to mould miniatures.

Sometimes when i make a tiny miniature that could snap easily, like a mushroom stalk, i add a tiny bit of this to normal fimo or prosculpt. It can make the clay ever so sticky to work with so can't be used for everything. But for mushroom stalks its perfect because they are simply just a little sausage shape.
It can also stick to a shiny surface like glass or a tile, so when i make the stalks i work on paper to prevent the sticking as i roll and work.
There are other products out there available to strengthen clay and promoted as such, but this i like because it gives the clay some flex.
I've not heard of anyone else using this to add strength, more than likely because it can make the clay sticky.