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Raised relief library dragon mural.

All > "Art" > Painting > Raised relief library dragon mural. by jesse

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This was a comissioned piece of artwork for the DesMoines school district near Seattle WA. The dragon sits atop the top of two large door pasages. His scales are each individually sculpted and the book he is reading sticks out from the wall. He is supposed to be playing a long term game of hide and seek with other dragons (over years) and decided to hide in this library with his reading stick untill he is discovered.

Oh and I forgot when I was putting him up to even ever think about wings, so really its a lizard, yeah that sucks. Not that there was room for wings (maybe on the ceiling?)

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First I took pictures of the place.

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And drew concept art for approval by the school and especially the librarian who LOVES dragons.

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His face had to be happy (at least not scary)

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Here I drew the design onto the wall and began laying the scales on. They were made of plaster which I crafted in numerous quantities on my kitchen table over a plastic sheet. The scales are affixed with contractor glue (like tile caulking but more viscous)

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Because I was so excited I painted the face first. Each face scale was crafted over tranparent plastic with a large drawing behind it of the layout on the dragons face. These scales have already been drybrushed.

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Painting the body.

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This sorta shows the scale.

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Head detail, it took me a while to finish the hand and book.

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His tail is painted to look especially 3D.

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Here is the book finally finished.

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While I was there I painted the sides of one of the book carts that the librarian pushes around when she restocks books.