creation station

my myspace doodles

2007-07-19T15:54:00.000-04:00

found a doodle to try and morph:

this is what i came up with:

On Notice Board

2006-08-17T19:43:00.000-04:00

In true Colbert fashion, here's my notice board:

pictures! yeah!

2006-08-07T20:03:00.000-04:00

And the long awaited photos arrive.

First up, here's Draco, the oldest. He's also one of the least shy normally.

Next is Monk (left) and Silverback (right). Monk is very protective of all the others (or very vain and knows what a camera is) and is in almost every picure I've managed to take of my koi.

Carrotcake (left) is hard to get because he and Snowmask (not shown) like to dart in and out of view. Greenback (also not shown) will still hide at the first hint of picture taking, food or no food.

Here Monk is again with Brownie (left). Brownie is the closest to trusting me enough to eat out of my hand. He actually will come up to get the food when my hand is less than an inch away from the water. Silverback is the one inbetween.

Here's a couple of shots of my smaller container. It's got a beta, some shubunkin, and a few mosquito fish.

Yeah, fish!!

2006-07-20T15:55:00.000-04:00

I have been out and about (read trying to get in shape by doing a million and three projects all at once and sleeping very little) and have made a miniature koi "pond" out on my balcony ( I really need to get a house). through much trial and error i have living fish in it. there's the ever present algae eater (not the chinese version), a snail, and 7 koi. Their names are Draco (oshii asagi or oshii tancho goshiki), Monk (Gin Rin tancho sanke), Brownie (sandan hi utsuri), CarrotCake (OhMoyo menkaburi Kohaku), GreenBack (Butterfly midorigoi), Snowmask (soragoi), and SilverBack (nezu ogon). they have managed to make it about two months now all together (if you want koi go to the PetsMart out at Turkey Creek) except for Draco whom i've had for about 5.5 months.

soon to come: photos

Apparently my definition of "brown" is way different from the koi breeder's definition. Theirs is a light yellow-brown saffron. Mine is a deep bistre brown. Brownie's color by their definition is "black". Interesting. Here's the list of colors for those like me who are unsure of the colors.

FUN FUN FUN!!!!

2006-05-04T17:31:00.000-04:00

This is from our bout with the Chippendales.
First here we are all together... funny since this was the LAST picture taken.

Next is my favorite. ;D He kept coming back to our area so we got to see him (and his wonderful tattoo) alot.

He's yummy and likes to shoot guns. Pun intended.

Everybody now: "Save a horse. Ride a cowboy!!"

Isn't the bride to be a good sport? Let's here it for Jules!!!

little known easter fact..

2006-03-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

The Easter Bunny brings all good children eggs and is a cute little rascal.

But I wonder...

http://joeschwartz.net/easter/eggs.htm

Valentine's Day Y'all!!

2006-02-13T12:40:00.000-05:00

'N here's a poem fer all y'all fellers to try on yer wimmen.

Collards is green,
my dog's name is Blue
and I'm so lucky
to have a sweet thang like you.

Yore hair is like cornsilk
a-flapping in the breeze.
Softer than Blue's
and without all them fleas.

You move like the bass,
which excite me in May.
You ain't got no scales
but I luv you anyway.

Yo're as satisfy'n as okry
jist a-fry'n in the pan.
Yo're as fragrant as "snuff"
right out of the can.

You have some'a yore teeth,
for which I am proud;
I hold my head high
when we're in a crowd.

On special occasions,
when you shave under yore arms,
well, I'm in hawg heaven,
and awed by yore charms.

Still them fellers at work,
they all want to know,
what I did to deserve
such a purdy, young doe.

Like a good roll of duct tape
yo're there fer yore man,
to patch up life's troubles
and fix what you can.

Yo're as cute as a junebug
a-buzzin' overhead.
You ain't mean like those far ants
I found in my bed.

Cut from the best cloth
like a plaid flannel shirt,
you spark up my life
more than a fresh load of dirt.

When you hold me real tight
like a padded gunrack,
my life is complete;
Ain't nuttin' I lack.

Yore complexion, it's perfection,
like the best vinyl sidin'.
despite all the years,
yore age, it keeps hidin'.

Me 'n' you's like a Moon Pie
with a RC cold drank,
we go together
like a skunk goes with stank.

Some men, they buy chocolate
for Valentine's Day;
They git it at Wal-Mart,
it's romantic that way.

Some men git roses
on that special day
from the cooler at Kroger.
"That's impressive," I say.

Some men buy fine diamonds
from a flea market booth.
"Diamonds are forever,"
they explain, suave and couth.

But for this man, honey,
these won't do.
Cause yor'e too special,
you sweet thang you.

I got you a gift,
without taste nor odor,
more useful than diamonds...
IT'S A NEW TROLL'N MOTOR!!

YARRR!!!!!

2005-09-16T12:15:00.001-04:00

Ahoy ye, mateys! Gather round and have some fun. 'Tis a little thin' that's been across the seas a while and be quite ammusin' t' join in on like. Grab yourself a name or walk the plank!
- Mad Ned the Executioner
Avast!!!

almost done with the color

2005-08-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

Just a little more detail work left to go on the hands and maybe silver lining on the rest of the scales (argh!! so much work that means steady hands!!!)

adding color

2005-08-22T16:25:00.000-04:00

It took a bit of time and effort but getting the color on is a very satisfying process. *Note to self: don't try putting color on the spikes when drunk. :P

finished front and back

2005-08-22T16:22:00.000-04:00

Just what everything ended up looking like after baking.

putting on the large spikes

2005-08-22T15:56:00.000-04:00

I decided to add on the spinal spikes seen commonly on european dragons. To site the spine I rolled up a couple of thin beads and allowed them to travel their sinuous way down the back and tail. I made my spikes out of the same wire I used elsewhere and shaped them like staples so that I got more area to hold each spike in and it took a little less thinking to figure out spacing since each spike set was approximately the same size. *Note: I should have made the spike set earlier because after baking the tail spikes were loose in a couple of places where I'd not worked the clay much.

process pic

2005-07-25T18:02:00.000-04:00

Just a series of pics from me putting the skin on. No real order to that.

clay

2005-07-25T13:42:00.000-04:00

I'm using a technique where the sculpture gets fired more than once. The under layer for draconis is going to be white clay. Rather than take a bunch of time and energy to knead the dough into a single consistency/color by hand i choose the easy way of rolling. Take out a portion of the clay and cut it into pieces, stack those pieces and then roll it out flatish. Cut the clay into pieces once more, stack them and then roll them out flat again. Now your clay is very pliable and thoroughly mixed (although if you're mixing two different colors to make a new one the only real way to do it right is to knead it together a little at a time by hand).

You need to try and make sure the clay isn't any thinner than about an eigth of an inch when using it for the wings or other parts that stick out away from the body (horns, spikes and the tip of the tail). Really thin clay burns before the thicker clay even sets when too far away from the main body. Proceed in stages to cover the body, filling in slight musculature and definition as you go. Don't be afraid to experiment with body positional changes. What you don't smooth over in this stage can be covered up later with scales and such.

Since the spikes for my dragon are going to be a different color than the body and they're really thin in any case, I make placement markers with pieces of wire held to the body by a ridge of clay. I like putting these spikes on in pairs so that there is a length of wire like a stapler that would be flat against the body with clay covering it for support. I don't have any progress photos for creation of the mouth (if yours is open) but it needs to be done in this stage. You first take your "gum" colored clay and make the interior gums. These are basically trianglular shapes that fit into the mouth. Next create a tongue (mine is red) and insert it, pressing down on the clay as far into the throat as you can get. Because I am assuming that the draconis has teeth much like an alligator or preadatory mammal, there are to be both an inner an outer gumline. Roll cones to create the teeth and place them along the outside of your interior gums. Make a thin roll to go along the bases of your teeth to create the exterior gum. Finally roll out a length for your lips and have them cover the gums to your desired shape.

filling out

2005-07-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

Next, of course, comes the part where we flesh out our creation. Use your own best judgement on how large or small parts of the body are in relation to one another, but if you're going to make a more anthropomorphic dragon, looking at an anatomy book helps quite a bit. This draconis will be built much like a horse and cat. The base of the neck is above and slightly behind the "arms" shoulder set. The chest is deep and the legs have longer "feet" in relation to the upper legs. The head is like a horse's with a long nose and eyes set more to the side. Placement of wings differs by whom you ask but I believe that the "wings" rotary element would start above and slightly behind the "arms". Both of the base animals I'm using are four legged creatures so to allow the draconis to stand upright, a more Raptor look is needed with the tail and wings supplying the needed counter support for the stance.

creating a skeleton

2005-07-25T12:52:00.000-04:00

What holds the body up? Bones! How much structure do you need for your sculpture? Depends on what your sculpture is doing. My dragon is going to be standing upright so needs alot of support all along the spine and on the legs and tail which will support the greatest weight. I chose to coil the wire for strength and preliminary shaping. the wings' s main bones can be put in at this time too (you might want to beef up the shoulder area if your wings are going to be held out from the body). Also, mammals and lizards both tend to have appendages with the same number of digits on each. In the case of dogs and cats the last digit has become severely abbreviated (the dew claw) but is still at least partially evident. In larger sculptures to only include the head and neck area, creating a jawline at this time is probably a good idea.

tools

2005-07-25T11:56:00.000-04:00

I find it helpful when there are at least a set of suggested items to have in order to start a project. What I think is needed for this is a large flat surface, clay (I use Sculpey as it allows you to go slower to get things how you wish), a clay knife/ rounded smoother tool, a clay chisel/ puncture tool, some wire (I got mine from the art section of Walmart. It's stem holding wire you'd use for roses and such), needlenosed pliers with wire cutters, aluminum foil, and a rolling pin. The plastic tools came with a sampler pack that I bought but are extremely useful for hard to reach areas.

starting off

2005-07-25T11:48:00.000-04:00

I'm doing this to help keep a record of my own method for creating a dragon sculpture and the world this particular draconis species is living in. Hopefully the world will expand itself and become a story to share with others.

2005-07-25T01:53:00.000-04:00

the "go-between"