Using a 1/2 inch drill bit, drill a hole in the mount about 3-4 inches from the top, centered. Remember, the hardware required to display your final project needs to be larger and stronger than your average portrait nail or screw. He is the true paper mache master! Please note I have no personal connections with Dan Reeder.) In this case, the mount has been cut in a diamond to accommodate a large shelf bracket.įor smaller, more balanced sculptures, I recommended following the steps in Dan Reeder's: "Paper Mache Dragons: Making Dragons & Trophies using Paper & Cloth Mache." (Purchase it here. This sculpture is VERY heavy toward the front and requires extra support to make sure it doesn't pull itself off its own mount. Choose the shape and the size of the mount based on how much of a "frame" you want around the neck. The quality of the finish on the raw ply is up to the maker, as you may be painting, antiquing and embellishing the mount for your final touches.
#Dragon base ms paint free#
Make sure that the wood's thickness is at least 3/4 inch or thicker and is free of knots. (Bear with me on this one, I know it's a lot.) You can buy a premade mount online, or you can build your own mount using any solid wood or plywood. Do this to the jaws and teeth, and to take it a step further use dark wax. This may seem counterintuitive, but it actually adds contrast. (2 parts water 1 part paint.) Dip your brush in the mixture, then paint as normal, but after painting, WIPE IT AWAY with a paper towel. To do this, we need to take some black paint and dilute it with water. So we need to weather this guy to give him a more realistic look. ĭragon's don't have shiny new teeth, however. Make sure the ends of the cloth are on the outside of the jaw. Take a small stip of saturated cloth, fold in in half and loop it around a tooth.Twist, shape and manipulate it so it has as many wrinkles as possible, or just until you like the way it looks.(I did this step backward on accident, but it still looks pretty cool.).Drench the cloth in glue until saturated.Cover the jaws in cloth, marking the edges with marker.Thick fabric won't work as well or work at all. Make sure you have thin fabric (like bed cloth). Sounds crazy, but this cloth-mache dries hard and holds excellent detail. So we're going to re-create that with cloth and white glue. Stick the tooth on and wait for it to cool.ĭragons aren't just big hunks'a bones! They have gums, ridges, and skin.Rev up a hot-glue gun and glob some where you want the tooth.Wrap clay around the tooth, covering all foil.OR, using aluminum foil, make a tooth shape.Lay out your teeth and bake according to manufactures directions.Get a metal baking pan and place parchment paper on it.Give the ball the sharp point by pinching it.Move the angled hand back and forth, elongating the ball.Angle your other hand and press it against one side of the ball.Place the ball in the palm of your hand.Take a small bit of your mixed clay and roll it into a ball.If you don't want to warm all that clay up with your hands, use a clay roller. I used translucent (1.4 ounces) and silver (4 ounces) polymer clay for this dragon's teeth, but you can use any colors you want. Believe it or not, teeth aren't that hard to make. Now for the best part of the dragon: The teeth! These bad boys can rip into anything: armor, horses, castles, so they better be pretty cool. Pick one shell to be the upper jaw, and one to be the lower jaw.Pull the shells apart, and pull the newspaper out.Using a serrated knife, cut along the line.Draw a wavy line around the head's diameter.To create the jaws, we need to cut the head open. Let's get our paper mache head and neck from earlier. Our poor dragon's gotta eat! He'll need some serious jaws. If you do that, leave it in with the light on, but NO HEAT. It will take a long time to dry, so you may want to put it in the oven. 8 layers is the minimum for a big creature like this. Fold the piece over and place it on your surface, being sure to press down on it so it sticks.Slather the paste onto a strip until it's saturated.Dip your hands into the mixture (coating the palms).If it has too many lumps, wait 30 minutes and the lumps should disintegrate. If too watery, add flour, if too dry, add water. To start out, use 1 1/2 cup of water, and 1 cup of flour, and stir until completely combined.I like a little more water than flour, so it's the consistency of honey. For the paper mache mixture, it always depends on your preference.Doing this will ensure the piece looks like a single piece, more natural. Tear strips so they have ragged edges.