This isn't my first Cosclay sculpture, but this is my first really big, experimental piece where I pushed the limits of what I'm able to do in polymer clay. My dragons are usually stocky because small, skinny pieces made out of brands like Premo and Fimo are delicate and easily broken. Cosclay is flexible when baked, theoretically making those small pieces unbreakable. Cosclay also holds its shape incredibly well during sculpting and baking, unlike softer clays that sag under their own weight (honestly, this excites me even more than the flexibility of the clay). Thus, I set out to make a long, skinny dragon with the most delicate legs that I could manage. This guy is huge compared to my usual sculptures, being about 4 inches tall and 5 inches long, compared to the standard 1.5 inch tall and 3 inches long dragon.

Working on this dragon was a struggle from start to finish, as almost nothing went the way I intended, but I learned a ton while working on him. Most of my dragons get baked once, with the occasional project taking two bake cycles. This guy went into the oven four times because I kept running into problems. In short, I spent WAY more time on this dragon than I intended to, but I learned so much and I'm excited to apply that knowledge to future projects.

Lesson #1: Don't let your half-finished Cosclay pieces sit unbaked for days at a time. Cosclay dries out quickly and this can lead to cracks in the clay, which leads to long, delicate pieces falling off. For this piece, none of the legs are the originals - they all had to be replaced to some extent.
Lesson #2: Most polymer clays will scorch if they are baked above their recommended temperature. Cosclay, on the other hand, will melt! Don't put your clay pieces too close to the heating elements in your oven. This is another reason why some legs had to be replaced, plus, I never got those melted bits of clay off my baking sheet - I think they're there 'til the end of time.
Lesson #3: Raw Cosclay blends onto baked Cosclay almost flawlessly (this is something that Premo doesn't do as well and is part of the reason why I try to finish my sculpts in one sitting). However, the raw clay won't stick to the baked clay, so you need to adhere everything with glue or liquid clay. Or, as I later discovered, try glazing your piece between sessions and the raw clay will do a decent job of sticking to glazed clay.

Crafted from Cosclay polymer clay, Pearl-ex mica pigment, color-shifting chameleon pigment, microbeads, and hand-painted glass eyes.

This dragon is currently looking for a home! You can check out his shop listing here: howmanydragons.com/collections…

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https://www.deviantart.com/howmanydragons/art/Willowy-Seahorse-Dragon-Figurine-876710317