Fondant Dragons

It would be really neat and clever if I could say that these dragons were made to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the end of this month, but it's not the Year of the Dragon (it's the Year of the horse).
I had no reason to make them other than the need to kick my butt into creative mode. I had to do something or my head was going to explode. Yes, really - explode. You would have heard the bang wherever you were. And it would have been messy.
So, I ignored my children, my husband and the dishes for a couple of hours and made them - one for me and one for you.
: )

Fondant Dragons

You'll need:
Modelling paste - Fondant icing with a little CMC / tylose powder added to it, in two colours.
A small amount of white fondant and a tiny amount of black fondant.
Edible glue / Tylose glue
Palette knife and leaf veiner.
Ball tool.
Small fondant roller.
Circle cutter/ large icing nozzle.
Corn flour.
Skewer/ dry spaghetti

For the body:
Roll one side of a ball of paste between the flat edges of both hands.
This will elongate the neck.

Place a skewer or piece of dry spaghetti through the entire neck and body, and leave about  2cm sticking out to support the head.

Put the body aside to dry.

For the head:
Roll out an oblong piece of paste - make sure it is in proportion to the body.

Mark out place for the eyes with a ball tool. And create the nostrils with a small ball tool.
Indent the mouth with the edge of a large icing nozzle. Open the mouth slightly with the leaf veiner.

Use white balls of paste for the eyes; use a dab of tylose glue to secure in place.
Cut out small rounds of paste, cut part off. Use a little glue, and put these over the back of the eyeballs.

Add black pupils with small pieces of black paste. 

Make a tapered tail. Flatten the thick end to fit it under the body. Glue it in place. 

                                   

Cut out several small triangles, and stick them over the head, back and tail of the dragon.

 Use a triangle at the end of the tail. Pinch it slightly to create a more tapered look.

To make the lower limbs: 

Start with 2 balls of paste; roll them into sausage shapes in the palm of your hand with your index finger, but don't apply pressure to one end of each sausage to leave a more bulbous foot.

Use a dab of glue to secure them in place. 

Indent the feet with the edge of a palette knife to create the toes.

Do the same for the upper limbs, but with a smaller amount of paste.

 Bend each upper limb, then pinch the paste to create an elbow.
Use a palette knife to indent fingers.

Secure the limbs in place with tylose glue.

Make the wings by cutting a circle of paste in half, then use a small circle cutter or tip of a large round icing nozzle (eg. an Ateco 804) to scallop the edges.

Vein the wings with a leaf veiner or palette knife.

Allow to dry slightly before glueing in place.



Nearly forgot ears... Use the dresden tool to indent small cones of paste.

Glue in place.

When the body is dry, position the head onto the bit of exposed skewer/ spaghetti. (Cut it shorter if necessary).

If you'd like to, add some finishing touches:
dry brush on powdered colour; paint on dots, eyelashes, etc using gel colour mixed with clear alcohol.

Ok, I feel better now. I hope you do, too : )

xxM