Dragon With Partition Wall
This is how it looked after a clay partition was added to divide the dragon roughly along its spine and the edge of its left wing. The clay partition is for blocking a section of the dragon off from the rest of it. I'm going to divide this dragon into 3 separate sections painted with latex and backed by a rigid support mold made of Forton MG and hydrocal. Each section will interlock to form the whole dragon, but can be broken down into individual pieces for storage and easier transport.
The only clay I had on hand was very close in color to the clay I used to create the model. This approach is not ideal and I don't recommend it to anyone without lots of experience working with clay. Many people use plasticene or other similar polymer clay to make the partition wall. I don't use it very often and don't have much of it. It's harder to smooth against the model to create the needed seal to prevent seepage of latex beyond where you want to allow it to go. This way was the least costly way to go for me.
Contrasting color would make it easier to see the partition when it's time to
remove it. I only had this color ready for use and didn't want to wait for my
reddish clay to soften enough to use instead. I didn't think of adding water to
the red clay soon enough that it was ready when I got to this stage. I tried adding green food coloring to the clay but it didn't show up. I know I could use iron oxide or some other oxide, but I don't want to make a permanent change to the partition wall clay. I'd like it to stay as close to its original makeup as possible so that there are minimal surprises if I ever re-purpose it and kiln fire it.
remove it. I only had this color ready for use and didn't want to wait for my
reddish clay to soften enough to use instead. I didn't think of adding water to
the red clay soon enough that it was ready when I got to this stage. I tried adding green food coloring to the clay but it didn't show up. I know I could use iron oxide or some other oxide, but I don't want to make a permanent change to the partition wall clay. I'd like it to stay as close to its original makeup as possible so that there are minimal surprises if I ever re-purpose it and kiln fire it.
After I'm done applying the many layers of latex, the wall has to be removed. It will separate from the clay of the dragon due to a difference in texture and level of dryness between the 2 clays. This works well as long as you remember never to wet the partition wall clay. It it's sticky from wetness, it will adhere too well and be more inclined to become permanently enmeshed with the other clay. This is where expertise comes into play. Let's hope I'm as good at this as I aspire to be and that there won't be much trouble separating the 2 clays without distorting my model when that stage of the game arrives.
Partition from Backside
This shows the dragon from the backside. The clay partition runs along the edge of the upper wing. Then down to the table base at left. Plastic sheeting must be already laid in place on table base wherever the partition and forthcoming latex and plaster layers will be applied. The lower wing in the foreground is left untouched. It will be in a separate section. The 3rd section will consist of the area between the 2 wings and its continuation down to the table base. One of its edges will mesh with the 1st section along the upper wing and along the hind part of the tail. I may decide I need to make more than 3 sections. There's still time to decide.
Wing Revisions and Partition View 3
I wanted to show this angle to reveal the changes I made to the edges of the wings. In a prior step, before starting on the partition wall, I removed the squareness of the upper wing. Then I saw the need for changes to the lower wing. I removed a small piece of wingtip that protruded so much, it looked too vulnerable to breakage. I also added more bulk to the edges of the wingtips to reinforce them and match them more closely to the upper wing. I added texture lines to the inside of both wings. This photo also gives a fuller picture of the way the partition slopes along the dragon's contours. And it nicely shows off the extra details I added to the spine, don't you think?
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