Bongo 2: a step by step of how I make a dragon

Bongo the first

This is Bongo the first. I made him out of metal wire, aluminium foil and clay. However, Bongo is a bit sick. His paws have not developed well, his wings are ripped in places and he can hardly stand on his own. 

Therefore I decided to let Bongo retire and make a new Bongo. And I want to share you my step by step process of how I make my new dragon. It is not finished, so I will create several step by step blogs and give a link to the other steps here.

Bongo 2, step 1: The looks

For the very first step you need:

1: paper

2: scissors

3: a pen

4: a template (own made or from the internet)

 
Bongo 2 has to be 1) a dragon, and 2) be able to move his neck and tail. Bongo 1 had a too stiff neck. it was not comfortable for both of us.
Because I wanted to decide the looks and see whether everything was in proportion, I took a template of a dragon from the internet (this template is from a paper folding website, but you can use a fabric pattern or anything you find usefull) and adjusted it to my taste. Because I am not folding the paper, but cutting all the pieces, I allowed my template pieces to overlapp. I also numbered the pieces, so I could find the right pieces together after I cut it out.

 Using photoshop and a 1*1 cm grid, I took some paper (which conveniently also had a 1*1cm grid) and drew the pieces seperately. This allowed me to make adjustments, I could not easily make on the template. Because the template was only for the upper half, I drew the pieces twice. 
The belly en lower neck pieces have the same upper side and length as their template equals. The lower side is the above shape to get the look of overlapping breast plates. I also made some muscles for the arms and legs.

After I cut out all the pieces, I taped them together again. First I taped the upper and lower parts of the template piece, so I would get an oddly shaped ring. Then I taped the rings, only taping the lower pieces and leaving the template pieces apart. 

As you can see, Bongo 2 is looking quite promising. His legs are better proportioned, his wings do not get in the way (because the paper is weak, I taped them together to get them in the air a bit) and he looks like a great, healthy dragon. The template is working out well.

Next time I will make more pictures of the process.