Aria the Dragon

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This model proved to be an extremely challenging build, especially when it came to keeping it support-free. I was eager to see if I could create a delicate, "Pern-like" dragon and built Aria in Blender while adhering to the no-support directive. Additionally, I decided to rig her so I could experiment with various poses and reuse the model if needed. Please note that using rigged models isn't simply a matter of posing and printing - high-resolution sculpting must be completed after the pose has been baked into the geometry. The temptation is strong to put your model in an elaborate pose, but you'll quickly find that the original idea is unprintable, and you'll need to work with the angles to maintain the look. I wanted Aria to crouch like a lizard rather than sit flat on the ground like the Adalinda model. However, to keep her support-free, I had to make her look up, which I think gives her a gentle appearance. I came across an excellent dragon rigging and modeling tutorial series on Blender Cookie: http://cgcookie.com/blender/cgc-courses/creating-... It's by David Ward and is free, very useful, but it doesn't cover 3D printing considerations - I was on my own there. Aria is my first rigged model, and I wouldn't have made progress without the guidance from David's tutorial. The style of Aria was also inspired by the fabulous dragon sculpture on the Dragon Bridge in Ljubljana. Aria The Dragon has been printed many times by various people. She serves as a good calibration object for those who like dragons.