Back Spines

This is the second step that isn't necessary but sure looks nice. To create the spines going down Mr. Dragons back make a long thin strip of clay on the next to thickest setting of your pasta machine. Measure down the back of you dragon starting at the back of the head to as far as you want to go down the tail. To measure I normally do a dry run of attaching the strip. Mark on the strip where to cut. Each end of the strip should be tapered after you finish cutting it to size. Now that the strip is established, take a brush and apply a thin line of TLS down the neck, back and tail. Lay the strip onto the TLS so that it is standing up. To make the individual spines, gently press your needle tool (smaller the tip the better) into the strip at regular intervals. The clay will slip about a bit so try to support it with your fingers and adjust it back into place as needed. After you reach the end of the strip you can choose to leave the spines smooth or go back and texture them a bit with the needle tool. To finish up the spines take a brush and smooth any edges. Run the brush on both sides of the spines where any TLS needs to be smoothed or cleaned up.