A Fantastic Beast Week 3

I have been trying to figure which material is best for my project. I have considered Sculpey but my creature might be to large to bake it.

I have considered paper mache but I don't know if I'd be able to acheive the effect that I want, as well as the fact that I don't know how hard/easy it will be to attach the scales (made from iridescent cellophane).

Another material is one I found out about today from a fellow peer - Chevant. My only cons for this one are that it doesn't dry out and I don't know if I'd be able to paint it. It is hard but malleable once warmed up.

I have researched into "What is the best material to use for creature sculpts" and it often came up with the same things. Milliput, Monster..., Super Sculpey, and different types of Chevant.

I have used plasticine in the past and found it too waxy and soft for me to sculpt and achieve what I want to achieve. I also want my piece to be long lasting and neither Chevant nor Plasticine would achieve that.

However, delving deeper into my research I have just rediscovered Air Dry clay of different brands. Although, this artist uses these specific ones for delicate dolls, which isn't exactly what I am going for but will further look into as I think this might be my best option.(https://www.adelepo.com/blog/2016/03/doll-making-how-to-discover-the-best-clay).

Bearing in mind this is if I make it a big sculpt. However, with the way my research is going, it looks like it will have to be smaller than anticipated.

I ended up sticking to sculpey (50\50), meaning the final piece will be smaller than anticipated. The size of the oven I will use will limit the size of the piece as well. I also really need to think about poses. More specifically dynamic poses. I have also incorporated an S form as this adds to the aesthetic of it, making it pleasing to the eye.

I have been looking at pictures of animals (more specifically big cats like tigers) and their different stances and poses to get the look of the pose right for my creature. This has helped the pose look more natural.

This week I got to eager to start and didn't think about whether or not it would fit in the oven. I'm also a week ahead of schedule and have only just started artist research into Jordu Schell. (see blog post titled A Fantastic Beast: Jordu Schell)

Armature is 30cm (approx) and the actual dragon is meant to be 12m tall, thus making the scale 1:30.

Should've bulked up the armarture a bit more with foil rather than simlpy using sculpey as this means I am using more sculpey than anticipated.

Jess has suggested bulking it by using the muscle strucutre. Attaching pieces in the shape of the muscle to where it is supposed to go. As this would help with th muscle defintion later on in the sculpting process.

Should not have mixed the sculpey as this has taken time away from actually working on the creature sculpt. I have spent the weekend mixing the sclupey in order to time manage better. This will enable me to work on the sketches in the evenings anf the sculpting fduring studio time.