Clay Dragons with jsthreads14
By Michele Thymmons and Jessica of jsthreads14
Clay Dragon Sculptures with JSThreads14
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Have you ever seen a creature or something in nature and been captured by it? Inspired by it enough to start wanting to create or capture them in a way only you can? Jessica talks about how she does exactly that and more having found a love of dragons early on. And interested in dragon movies/tv shows and dinosaur movies/tv shows that may inspire you? Keep reading to find some of our favorites! Jurassic World, Land Before Time, How to Train Your Dragon and many more! While you read the goodies we have for you below, I’m going to go find my iPad to watch some of these movies below :)
Jessica: You can find her on her Website, Instagram or Etsy Shop. Note, at this time, Jessica is taking a break from creating her awesome dragons and focusing on her fiber works but you can still follow her on her Instagram and have a reminder on her Etsy Shop to send an email to you when she is back up with clay dragon sculptures. :)
I can't pinpoint when my love of dragons was ignited, but I still remember my best friend and I using the dragon glyphs in Dragonology to write secret messages to each other in school. I just loved looking at and reading about the different dragons. In my freshman year of college, I watched a screening of How to Train Your Dragon on my campus, and immediately fell in love with the plot and the characters. About that same time, I found Dragons & Beasties on DeviantArt, and I was introduced to the wonderful world of polymer clay dragons.
I deeply admired these figures at first, never considering giving sculpting a try as my previous extent of art consisted of stick figures. It wasn't too long, however, before polymer clay called to me in my search to find a new creative outlet, and I was extremely frustrated with it. In fact, I gave up before finishing a face. My husband picked it up and made me a little dragon bust, and then I shoved the remaining clay in a desk drawer for two years before I decided to try it again.
And this time, I stayed with it. I finished my very first sculpture, a dragon figurine I created based off of the mobile app DragonVale. It was only a matter of time before I started developing my style and growing as an artist. I've been sculpting for 4 years now, and I definitely think my progress is slower compared to the artists around me, but I do what I can and love what I do! My niche is polymer clay dragons, but I experiment with other creations. I also dabble in crochet and resin. I'm very much the kind of person who needs a couple of different things to stay busy.
It takes a lot of time and patience to hone in any skill or learn any medium, so if you're looking to enter the world of polymer clay (or anything really), just remember that! I didn't learn how to work with this material overnight, and I wasn't exaggerating when I said the only art I could do beforehand was draw stick figures. I have had no formal training; I'm completely self taught, so if someone like me can do it, you can do it too! Also keep in mind that everyone moves at their own pace. This is a hard one for me to remember sometimes, but it's 100% true.
The Blue Bottle Tree
This is a fun website chalk full of wonderful information. I like to use it when I'm thinking, “I really want to change up my glaze; I wonder what would be good to try” or “I'm trying to get xxxxx effect; I wonder what would best achieve that.” There's lots of information for people who are new to polymer clay too.
YouTube
This may seem like a pretty large resource to name, but I spent A LOT of time watching YouTube videos about polymer clay when I was first starting, and I still spend a good chunk of time watching videos. There are lots of videos that talk about polymer clay basics and techniques, and tutorials for you can make something specific (like cupcakes, flowers, animals, etc.). I recommend this to anyone who asks me about a place to find good information regarding polymer clay. My favorite clay YouTubers include PolymerClayTutor, NerdECrafter, PolymomoTea, Mo Clay, aCupofCakeTV, among others. I usually dedicate 15 to 30 minutes a day absorbing th as it's also a good way to pick up on trendy things in the clay community.
Pinterest
Very similar to YouTube, Pinterest has a great bank of polymer clay tutorials and inspiration. I use this almost every day! It's also a great place to get ideas for color palettes.
Dragons & Beasties
When I was first sculpting with polymer clay, I followed a tutorial Dragons & Beasties posted on YouTube. I'm linking her Twitch account, however, as she recently started streaming several times a week, sculpting dragons and answering lots of questions!
Poly Clay Amino/Amino (app)
A social media resource for creators, I recommend Poly Clay Amino particularly if you're younger (if I had to guess, 10 to 14 is probably the age range most prevalent) or just learning how to work with polymer clay. It's a fun place to post your creations, browse tutorials, and engage with other people working in the same medium. Building friendships in the clay community is a very rewarding part of the process!
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Note - This post contains affiliate links, which means I will make a commission at no extra cost to you, should you click through and make a purchase.
For this article I’ve done a little something different. No dragon series is complete without discussing all the amazing and awe-inspiring dragon and dinosaur movies/tv shows. This list is by no means exhaustive but meant to introduce you to a number of the most recent and popular movies/tv shows that could be inspiration for you to start your own sculpting journey. :)
Movies and Tv Shows about Dragons:
How to Train your Dragon 1, 2, and 3 about the dragons of Berk who were first fought against as enemies and then through Toothless and Hiccup’s friendship turn into friends and pets for the Viking towns. One of my favorites :) Who am I kidding, I love all the dragon movies and have seen all but one multiple times. Of note, there is also a tv series that goes along with the movies as well :)
The Never-ending Story and Falcor, the luck dragon who is more Chinese dragon than European dragon, has been loved for generations (to include me). Reminds me, I need to introduce new little ones to this movie :)
Reign of Fire set in a time when dragons were discovered and set fire to the world, taking it over and terrorizing mankind in the 21st century. One of my favorites :)
Dragonheart is about a dragon who shared his heart, too late, realizing it was shared with a tyrant and finally earned his way to be a part of the stars in the heavens through a tragic ending.
Dragon is the first of a series by Christopher Paolini full of magic and dragons and adventure.
Pete’s Dragon about a boy who befriends a dragon and their adventures in the backwoods. Two versions - older 1977 animated dragon and the second version in 2016 which was more live action with a furrier Pete’s dragon.
Shrek - everyone’s gotta love the pink, eye-lashed female dragon who falls in love with a talking donkey. :)
Maleficent has her loyal servant which is a dragon and Maleficent herself has glorious wings.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire the movie shows several dragons as part of the Tri-wizard Tournament but the book goes into details about many more dragons to include about the older Weasley brother who works with dragons.
The Hobbit the Desolation of Smaug both the movie and the book are detailed about Smaug the dragon who’s lust for gold and vengeance and the fight of the Dwarfs against it to regain their mountain is an awesome film for Tolkien fans and dragons fans alike.
Game of Thrones has Daenerys’ three dragons who were hatched from fire and grow in a world where dragons have not been seen for millennium.
Dragonslayer is an older film (1981) but one where the cinematography and special effects were touted as a huge achievement at the time.
Dungeons and Dragons is about a tyrant who attempts to overthrow a peaceful kingdom ruled by a tough empress. The Role Playing Game has been widely successful.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy the Nazgul/fell beasts while looking more like wyverns were supposed to be more like a pterosaur as written by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Movies and Tv Shows about Dinosaurs:
Jurassic Park Trilogy and soon to be the Jurassic World Trilogy probably my absolute favorite with the raptors being my favorites for sure :) all about dinosaurs brought back to life via DNA in amber and the ingenuity of the parks founders. How does this affect our world? Check out these movies and stay tuned for the last of the Jurassic World Trilogy in a couple of years. :)
The Lost World TV movie adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s book where a expedition is led to a plateau in the Amazon where dinosaurs roam.
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs where the main characters Manny, Diego, and Sid meet dinosaurs in a tropical land beneath the ice.
Night at the Museum series who doesn’t love the T-Rex who just wants to be thrown a bone like an oversized dog? :)
King Kong (2005) is not the typical dinosaur movie but one where King Kong has to face off against two T-Rexs to save the heroine of the movie.
The Good Dinosaur is a great kids movie about what would happen if all the dinosaurs didn’t go extinct. :)
Land Before Time (movies and tv shows) Littlefoot and his friends (Petrie, Ducky, Spike, and Cera as well as some of their new friends Ruby and Chomper) have been around since 1988 and show no sign of stopping. Great movies and tv shows for all ages!!
Walking with the Dinosaurs is all about dinosaurs simply, living very similar to a nature documentary.
Dinotrux and Dinotrux Supercharged (tv shows) all about dinosaurs who uniquely are all some form of construction vehicles and their adventures.
Dinosaur Train (tv show) about a family of pteranodon’s who adopt a t-rex named Buddy and their adventures on the dinosaur train. They travel throughout their time and others to meet new dinosaurs and explore their world.
Thank you for joining us for this interview with JSThreads14! Check out Jessica's website and her Etsy Shop where you can find other dragons and creatures that are unique and amazing!! You can also read more about her and other dragon makers in the article 45 of the Most Talented Dragon Makers on Instagram. You can find other interviews and tutorials here about sculpting, pattern writing, blog creating, and wood carving. I’d also love to hear from you about what types of resources you want more information on as well as Makers you would like to nominate for an interview! Please email me or leave a comment on this article! Looking forward to hearing from you and have a great day!
Have you ever wanted to capture the dragons of your dreams? Bella will be your guide through the wondrous world of Mirordor; a magical realm of intrigue, unfathomable magic, and Dragonkin! Every Dragonkin in Mirordor has a story to tell, some sad, some happy and some downright silly, but one thing is for certain, no two dragonkin are alike. Dragonkin live within the world of Mirordor, a parallel world to our own, a place where Humans have not stepped foot in a millennium. Until Bella came along.