Since this week’s post day falls on Halloween, I thought it would be fun to put a little spotlight on my second installment of my Halloween dragon coffin series.
This series started last Halloween and is a limited edition, completely one of a kind, set of themed dagons that come in their own matching coffins. Each coffin is purchased as a blank canvas: every detail you see is added or painted to add to the theme.
Last year, I created 3 sets of dragons and coffins. Those were very typical Halloween themes: vampire, mummy (although I put an Egyptian spin on the sarcophagus), and a zombie.
Each dragon was carefully sculpted, and the coffins were meticulously carved, lined, or painted.
At the end of last Halloween, I got a couple of other ideas and even started on of the coffins, but then I ran out of time. I thought it would be a fun series to bring back on a yearly basis, and I already have the two planned out for next year!
The first set I completed was the sugar skull one. I sculpted the dragon in between some commissions since it’s essentially just black clay, and then I added the skeleton when I had a limited time to create. The skeleton took at least 3 coats of acrylic paint to make it opaque. I wanted to keep the color combination simple, so I stuck with a black and white theme, especially since painting tiny details isn’t my strong suit.
However, I felt like it wasn’t finished, so rhinestones saved the day! I kept their application simple but added them around the eyes, on the smaller face scale, and down the sternum.
When it came to the coffin, I decided I wanted it to be solid black to match the dragon. I then added a skull (one I’m quite proud of, I might add), some bones, and line work to create a colorful front. I also added rhinestones for the eyes, face, and within some of the negative spaces.
My second theme came from my husband when he spotted an octopus charm at Michael’s. He thought it would be cool to do a sunken pirate coffin.
To make it extra “woody,” I carved into it before painting to make it look like a coffin made of planks. The most time consuming part of this project was sculpting the patches of barnacles all over. Each one is a ball of clay attached to a clay base and then adhered to the coffin before baking. I added shading with chalk pastels to add depth. After baking, I washed it with brown and green acrylic paints to look like wood that’s been sitting in water for a long time. I then added some dried moss for extra flair.
While I originally imagined a more undead pirate dragon with dull colors, torn clothes, and exposed bones, I decided to stick to a more “traditional” (or perhaps stereotypical?) sense of a pirate: stripes; red, black and white colors; gold accents; a peg leg; and a pirate hat. I considered adding an eye patch, but since the dragon’s main coloring is black, I didn’t want it to get lost (and I’d thrown just about every other piece of imagery in there 😉 ).
The line work on his belly is hand painted; they’re probably the straightest lines I’ve ever created. I also enjoyed the opportunity to practice making another article of clothing, his jacket. I even added little button holes ^_^.
So that’s the series for this year! What do you think? Do you have a favorite?