Here be dragon.

[ldhenson]

After I successfully made my first plush animal (the bat), all the excitement went to my head and I plunged straight into my next project.

I wanted one of the amazing dragons from Reign of Fire. The shape and dimensions come from my doing a lot of sketching while staring at the movie's production photos. It's not exact, but close enough that I'm happy with it.






Here he is perched atop one of my decoupaged boxes. "What's going on back there?"








Neck and tail are wired and poseable, as are the wings from shoulder to wrist. Legs are movable at the hip joint.

Even though I'm not using any patterns from Carolyn Vosburg Hall's Sewing Tiny Toys this time, my dragon owes much to that book for construction principles.

ETA: Updated version of this dragon!


X-posted to craftgrrl (here), cute_plush (here), the_dragons (here), Craftster

Comments

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks much!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

I was really going for that realistic look, so thanks!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[basiliskicons.livejournal.com]

'fraid not. :(

I've noticed that when you try to make something from something you love, you forget to look at it as you first did.

[tearofabasilisk.livejournal.com]

Ack! Sorry, that was my icon account.

[heathwitch.livejournal.com]

*makes grabby hands* Oh, that is superb -- well done! Are you doing commissions?! :)

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm undecided on commissions, but if you have something in mind, e-mail me at ldhenson @ LJ and we can chat.

[grace-poppy.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed, heehee! :D

[pandonkey.livejournal.com]

I just followed your toys tag link from your Cornetto post, and wow. This is lovely. I have to echo the earlier comment that I'd love to see your take on Temeraire if/when you read those books. I love the legs and head and the fact that it's posable. Cute but vicious looking!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much! I've wanted something like this for a long time but couldn't figure out how to make one until now.

I take it there are different types of dragons in Temeraire? It sounds like an interesting read, particularly for me because I have a huge in-progress fanfic that combines dragons and a specific historical period.

[pandonkey.livejournal.com]

Yep, there are many varieties of dragons in the Temeraire books. The idea is that each nation has its own breeds of dragons bred for various purposes, and there are feral dragons as well. The series really is a lot of fun, with wonderful characters and a very interesting world that's steadily being revealed. I'm friending you, if that's all right, 'cause I love your toys and I think I'd really enjoy that fanfic.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

The books sound intriguing, and I'm a fan of slow reveals. Most of my current reading is on the non-fiction side but novel-wise I'm meant to be tackling the Master and Commander series, had I world enough and time...But I'd like to check these out sometime.

The fanfic (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2579524/1/The_Dusk_Descending) I'm working on takes the premise of Reign of Fire (hibernating dragons are unwittingly awakened and go on to practically wipe out the human race) and times the awakening to happen a hundred years earlier, where the characters of Newsies are forced to deal with the dragon invasion in New York, 1900. It's sparked a lot of period research on my part, some of which spilled over into a website. (Who says fandom isn't educational?) If you ever do read it, I'd love to know what you think.

Friended you back :-)

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Reign of Fire is one of my favourite movies, and this dragon plushy is just incredible. If you ever decide to sell any or take commissions, I'd definitely be interested!

[reese-ed.livejournal.com]

Couldn't resist looking at this one as well.

I love it too! I absolutely love the fact that it's posable.

[babelmira.livejournal.com]

That's truly amazing.

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

(came here from your metallicar post on supernaturalfic)

i love dragons, and this is awesome too!! :D

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

I'm way behind on these comments! But thank you! Were the dragons in that movie awesome or what?

Not sure yet if I'll be making more (I'd love to, but I'm a bit backlogged on commissions at the moment and so can't promise anything). I've had requests from some folks over at Craftster for the pattern, so I'll probably be putting one together (to sell) in the next few months. If you're interested in either a pattern or a finished dragon, I'll keep you updated as I get a better idea of my schedule.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you. He was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Aw, thanks!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!

[trystan830.livejournal.com]

you're very welcome. :D

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Oh they were so great. Those dragon designs were some of the best I've seen on film.

Please do keep me updated when you're ready for commissions again - I'm very interested! Thanks!

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

I thought the SFX people on that movie did a standout job with making the dragons look totally photo-realistic, too. One of the rare times I've ever seen CGI creatures that don't scream "CGI!"

I'm still not sure yet what my schedule will be, but I think I'll be able to do another dragon...it just may be a wait of several months. But I'm about to move somewhere where I may have difficulty finding felt (acrylic), so I'm getting supplies now while I still can. Do you know what color you want? Let me know specifically (dark, light, etc.) and I'll try to match it. All the colors I have access to are solid except for a few which are slightly mottled (olive, cranberry, charcoal, sandstone). You can leave a comment or e-mail me at lynnedhenson @ yahoo . com

[irreparable.livejournal.com]

Several months is fine - that gives me a chance to save up! :D I'm partial to jewel tones in terms of colours, reds and blues and charcoals.

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Unless you have a stronger preference, I'm going to pick bright red, as I think it'd turn out well.

If you'd like one of the other colors more, let me know, as this weekend will be my final chance for shopping :-(