This Dragon Tail Is Made Of Anodized Titanium, And Its Got A Couple New Details!

This dragon tail is made of anodized titanium, and it’s got a couple new details!

First is the spade tip. The client wanted this more complicated shape, so I worked out how to get the upper piece to attach through a slit in the pattern of the tail. Like my normal spade tips, it also attaches in with lobster clasps, so it’s removable and swappable for different colors/materials. In this instance the client went for black painted plywood, and I threw in a plain un-painted birch plywood one as a spare. 

The second new thing the client requested was the type of spikes used down the spine. The manufacturer refers to these as an eagle claw shape. I do like their profile, but instead of being symmetrical like the rest of the spikes I use, they curve to the side pretty dramatically. I could see it working really well on a big leather collar or super-spiked-out jacket, but for this application I was not super fond of them. But the client liked them, so that’s what matters.

The tail itself is made with a bunch of different colors of anodized titanium: violet diamonds beneath each spike down the spine, a mix of dark and light blue for the background, and a scattering of teal and green. I clustered the teal and green scales towards the top surface, and faded the blues darker on the underside. I got photos of it in a bunch of lighting conditions because the colors can really vary depending on the type of light they’re in.

I’ve been wearing this leather cuff most days since this last Halloween, so 8 months now. It’s the same pattern as this one, but finished with lots of neatsfoot oil instead of a matte acrylic clear coat like I typically do. The neatsfoot oil darkened the leather significantly over the span of a couple weeks, but it’s been pretty much unchanged since then. Originally the two sides of the bracelet were light green like this one, and un-dyed plain tan leather. The light green dye didn’t look very green anymore once the oil darkened it, so that’s probably not a combination I would repeat in the future, unless I specifically wanted this kind of earthy vaguely-green light brown. (Which would work in certain aesthetics.)

Quick update, commissions opening soon.

I’ve been super busy for the last... while... so haven’t been able to devote as much time as I’d like to crafting. My normal-job work has been super busy with us scrambling to finish a set of construction drawings for this (actually really neat I think) roof addition. We just yesterday sent out (what I believe to be) the final set of drawings. Then in the evenings I’ve been working really hard to finish writing a LARP that we’re running tomorrow.

Next week I’m going to be attempting to power through a costume for the @magicmeatmarch challenge. I’m not yet sure what direction I’m going to take for it, so if you’ve got ideas for a costume I should make let me know! The first year I made a stack of armor pieces, and the second I did a sort of rogue get-up where I made a leather jacket. I’m kind of thinking about doing like an evil spell-caster or necromancer thing, with a bunch of black strap work in pentagram shapes and stuff. Something to take the bondage-harness aesthetic but reconfigure it into something more fantastical.

After that project is done, my queue of big projects will be pretty much taken care of! So I’ll be opening up for tail commissions! I’ve had a bunch of people contact me over the last few months asking about them. (I’ve occasionally been too busy to even respond to those requests, so my apologies to those folks.) People who’ve submitted tail requests in previous rounds will get first dibs, but I’ll be posting the official opening announcement next week.

This dragon tail is made with a camo pattern! Or at least, a reasonable approximation of one. 

Primarily green, with blotches of brown, and scattered flecks of black and yellow. All scales are anodized aluminum, linked together with stainless steel rings. The commissioner’s character has a removable blade at the tip if their tail, which they may fabricate themselves later, so I included some lobster clasps for them to be able to easily attach it in.

This tail measures in at 33 inches long, and weighs 3 pounds 1 ounce.

Do you happen to have anything ready to go in blue/purple and white? I would be looking for something for my daughter... we're both hardcore larpers and she plays a drake. Fell in love with your product, but she's being cautious about purchasing something prior to seeing the completed product (we've been burned BADLY before). Let me know, your stuff is gorgeous!!

I’m assuming you’re asking about a tail? Those take long enough to make that it makes no sense to craft them ahead of time to have in stock. I make them on a commission basis when my work schedule permits. 

I feel you on not wanting to pay for something sight unseen. When I take commissions, I only take payment after the piece is completed and I’ve posted photos for the client to see. It means the client gets proof of completion before they pay. A couple times I’ve had clients back out at that point, citing lack of money, but in those cases I’ve always been able to sell the tail pretty quickly to someone else. So I’m generally fine with this setup.

I’m currently preeeetty busy, sadly, and can’t take commissions right now. When I am able to take orders I’ll post announcements here.

Also, I guess I should probably put together a contact form that asks for people’s emails. As is, people tend to ask pretty specific questions anonymously, and there’s no way to respond except by typing out a politic answer and blasting it to all my followers, which is annoying for everyone involved.

Made these scaled bracers recently, it’d been quite a while since someone ordered this design. They’re always fun to make though. Wet-forming the scales to point up and give it texture always takes more force than I remember. Finding a good source for paracord definitely made the laces more reasonable, though.

Available on my Etsy store as always!