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Description
Aurora is a newborn Parasaurolophus hatchling. Only a couple weeks old, she is already curious about the world around her. She is a very special baby - she is a female, but she was born with vibrant male markings; for this reason her tribe considers her a good omen, and she is going to be trained as a priestess when she is older. Already her tribe has dressed her in ornamental "gowns": a "skirt" of currency (more to help her handlers find her by sound than just for ornamentation!), and a bright blue sash around her neck to signify her spiritual destiny.
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Aurora took me 19 hours to craft, and marks a huge milestone for me. Like her namesake - the Roman goddess of the dawn - Aurora marks the beginning of a "new day" in my art. Instead of needle felting I have incorporated fabric; instead of a simple armature I have given her a more complete "skeleton" of wire bones and foam muscles; I have followed realistic anatomy much more closely; I pushed myself in my sculptural techniques; I tried new painting and sealing techniques on her feet and face; and overall I have tried to put more "work" into my work-time.

I don't know if I will continue a full "fabric wrapping" technique in my new art. While it did take considerably less time than needle felting her would have (and while the texture of the fabric did allow for greater textural detail over the entire piece), it doesn't seem quite "right" yet.

As beautiful and wonderful as Aurora is as a finished product, she is far more valuable to me as a learning process.

Description
Aurora is a newborn Parasaurolophus hatchling. Only a couple weeks old, she is already curious about the world around her. She is a very special baby - she is a female, but she was born with vibrant male markings; for this reason her tribe considers her a good omen, and she is going to be trained as a priestess when she is older. Already her tribe has dressed her in ornamental "gowns": a "skirt" of currency (more to help her handlers find her by sound than just for ornamentation!), and a bright blue sash around her neck to signify her spiritual destiny.
~~
Aurora took me 19 hours to craft, and marks a huge milestone for me. Like her namesake - the Roman goddess of the dawn - Aurora marks the beginning of a "new day" in my art. Instead of needle felting I have incorporated fabric; instead of a simple armature I have given her a more complete "skeleton" of wire bones and foam muscles; I have followed realistic anatomy much more closely; I pushed myself in my sculptural techniques; I tried new painting and sealing techniques on her feet and face; and overall I have tried to put more "work" into my work-time.

I don't know if I will continue a full "fabric wrapping" technique in my new art. While it did take considerably less time than needle felting her would have (and while the texture of the fabric did allow for greater textural detail over the entire piece), it doesn't seem quite "right" yet.

As beautiful and wonderful as Aurora is as a finished product, she is far more valuable to me as a learning process.