Aesthetics Making a Water Dragon! [FINISHED!]

Hello again, DoA! I haven't been lurking around here in about three years...but with a lot of us trapped inside, I finally had time to gather some materials and do some doll projects again!

INTRO:
One doll is going to be pretty extensive (for me at least! dyeing for the first time, sculpting my own additions, etc) but she's coming later. This one is something I've been wanting to do ever since I first got into dolls!

Sometime last year I snagged a [Doll Leaves] Little Fire Dragon from a lovely person on the marketplace, and he's BEAUTIFUL! I've never been so in love with a sculpt before. He ticks all the boxes for me, and my favorite part is his articulated tail, little paws, and STUNNING face. He's the perfect size for me, too. A lot bigger, and in some ways more forgiving, than my very first project. Here's a picture of my current dolls hanging out, waiting to get painted (and repainted)!

(Scuff mark courtesy of one of my terrible cats - both the unicorn and the traitor are fine.)

I usually don't base my designs off of the company face-ups in the first place, and especially not here. In fact, even though fire might be in the name of the sculpt...we're going for an ocean fisherman vibe!

CONCEPT:

I always have to draw the character in order to get a feel for them first. I'm not good at going in without a set plan, so here's what I came up with:


Very blue!

It took so long for me to actually come up with a design idea for him! I loved him so much, I was actually intimidated! Originally I was going to make him an ice dragon and was going in a Viking-ish direction. However, I really wanted some cool stuff going up one of his legs, and the ocean waves ended up feeling a lot more Japanese influenced! I actually did a lot of research on the practice of Ama fishing - so hey, you can't say you don't learn when making dolls!

While he's really just an ambiguous fantasy dragon, I like to imagine he's a benevolent spirit of sorts, often appearing to fishermen and diving women to warn them of danger in the water. I incorporated some evil-eye imagery onto him too, as it fit the blue color scheme. The eyes on his hands are so that he does no evil with his touch, and the eyes on his back are so evil can't sneak up on him!

No modifications are needed for this one, I don't have any issues with his sculpt. I am going to paint his nose to be more cat-like than the tiny nostrils he comes with - just because I think it might make him look more interesting. I love his head and face because he almost doesn't look like any specific animal at all!

MATERIALS:

• MSC (Matte)
• Liquitex Gloss Varnish
• Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints + Matt Medium
• Detail Brushes
• CLEAN! Eyeshadow brushes
• Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils
• Magic Eraser and Kneaded Eraser
• Cotton Gloves
• Respiratory Protection (HERE is a great thread about that - be safe!!)
• Embroidery thread (to hang him from when drying)
• Mungyo Soft Pastels (an airbrush would've been perfect for this guy - but I'm neither good at airbrushing nor own one)
• A prayer to the Buddha of compassion that I don't absolutely ruin this and get mad about it...
• Hope and confidence

LET'S GO!
First, we're getting started on the blue gradients along his body. As I speak he's drying outside after the first coat!


I haven't done a face-up and body blushing in a LONG time, so I'm a little nervous! Not as nervous about when I eventually get to those wave tattoos, though. Wish me luck!

 

Little update! I've been layering a LOT of pastels. It is, truly, making me understand the benefit of an airbrush. Even though I love the soft look pastels give...if I keep modifying dolls on a regular basis I might have to save up for one. Even these super nice pigmented pastels take quite a few layers and at least x2 coats of MSC each time!

I'm also coming across the tough choice to decide if I'm going to take him apart or not. I'm not confident with my restringing abilities, especially for smaller dolls (I've actually never done it before!) However, it means I can't get in all of the joints and segments, especially between his tail and hips. I'm wondering if it'll even be worth it? Since these are high friction areas anyway, I'm not sure how fast the color would chip off and make the effort moot.

So he's tentatively still got his body ...for now. I might have to wait until I'm brave enough and have already restrung another doll before I feel like I can take him apart! The blushing on joints and inside-areas might be something we revisit.



His head is coming along really nicely, aside from a few stray dots of pigment that managed to get into areas they shouldn't be. I'm waiting until I'm perfectly happy before I decide to take a little q-tip in acetone to clean those parts up. His body is doing okay, but suffers more from some noticeable patchy spots. I consider the blushing for his head done for now, and will likely do one or two more passes on the body. The base is Cyan, and on his nose and extremities I've put a little bit of prussian blue! The one leg isn't fully shaded because it's going to be the leg with the tattoo. I didn't feel the need to cover the whole thing when it's just going to be painted anyway.

 

Another night, another update! This is that point of the project where everything's kind of ugly.

Today comprised mostly of finishing off the blushing and finally starting on paint! I have infamously unsteady hands, so there's been a lot of correcting and refining, and things are still very much in the 'mess' phase. I started to block out the rough shape of the waves and body details and sanded down any dry acrylic that's gotten too thick. Even with matt medium, I still had some parts of it turn out a little chunky. Not sure if that's something I'm mixing wrong, or if it's because I haven't worked with acrylic as a medium in about 5+ years. Fine grade sandpaper does the job wonderfully, though!

His face is pretty much finished, and I'm actually pretty happy with it! I ended up elongating some detail coming from his tear ducts - because it looked too plain in 3D, even though the concept art didn't really need it. In the end, I think it makes him look more elegant! He just needs some fine details with pencil and he's good to go.


I'm going to use some acetone to clean up his headplate and knee joint, and tomorrow he's going to be sprayed again and we can continue on with the waves! I have a feeling I'm going to be fiddling with them quite a lot.

Also, he has eye patterns on his hands and back - and I originally planned on them just being markings. However a friend of mine suggested it would be cool and monster-y if he actually had 'real' eyes there! I'm currently deciding on if I'm going to just do a dollop of UV Resin or layers of clear gloss - or if I'm going to make some eyes and set them into his paws. I think if they're pretty enough it could be really striking!

 

I took a break for a few days as I gathered up the courage to finish him! The waves scared me the most, but honestly were pretty relaxing to mess with. I still have horribly shaky hands, so my detail work isn't nearly as clean as I'd like it to someday be - but he's LEAGUES better than my very first attempt at a doll. Maybe at some point, I'll be able to overcome clumsiness and achieve the truly crisp look I think many of us strive for! I ended up using Posca Paint Pens for the detailing on his back and linework for the waves. They actually took to the doll quite well and really helped with the refining process, as compared to normal acrylic paint (which I still struggle with being too goopy. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear them!)

BUT! He's all done! I've ordered another pair of eyes for him that I think will contrast with his face better, but these ones are still quite pretty! I also ordered some little items to maybe put onto his hands to enhance the eye effect. Once that's all settled I'll bother taking a few photos with something other than my very outdated phone. I'm sure I could continue tweaking for another week if I wanted to let myself, but I think this poor guy can only handle so many layers of MSC. His nose and the waves and eyes also got a coat of gloss varnish!




Thank you for taking this journey with me as I customized my first doll in 3+ years! I'm happy he's not blank anymore!

 

Thank you so much!! I wasn't sure how he'd turn out either, but it's been a big confidence booster seeing that he looks pretty close to what I wanted!

thanks for the tip, too! I think I definitely need to invest in some thinning medium or testing the water trick. With how stubborn and impatient I am, I bet I could've taken the time to layer it more thinly and would've had less of a struggle!