Avatar 2: The Way of Water - 1/15 Scale

"The voice of water?" - "How do we do it?"A beautiful, large-scale 3D resin figurine of the hero and his dragon that I found online...

The engraving is very beautiful and highly detailed. No assembly issues...

The only minor issue is that the hand doesn't reach all the way to the animal's harness. This is because the animal's neck support is blocking the character's legs. But one might think that he let go of the harness momentarily or that he's in the process of grabbing it...

The warped spear shaft is replaced with an Evergreen rod (Note that the technique of placing bent parts in very hot water to straighten them is far from effective...)

There's very little filling required, since the pieces fit together very well...

Note the very fine engraving on the wings. After assembly and sanding, the entire assembly is coated with a layer of white primer...

 

Painting

The paint used is Winsor & Newton and Rembrandt oil paint in tubes, and it will be applied with a brush. It is important to refer to the various photos from the film...

Here, we use Alizarin Crimson, Naples Yellow, and white...

 The upper part of the creature is more richly detailed. A patchwork of Phthalo blue, turquoise blue, dark yellow, and black, all highlighted with white or dark shades depending on the colors. The claws at the tips of the wings are shiny black...

 The head.

 The only flaw noted: the animal's chin does not match the one in the movie.

On the left, the version as supplied; on the right, after cutting and touch-up painting...

 A look at the "progress" of the work: The undersides of the upper wings have been illuminated in white with various shades...

Harness paint: natural umber, sienna, ochre, white...

The "creature's" mouth is gray and velvety white, with a pinkish hue at the back and on the tongue, and a hint of purple. Its teeth are black.

The back of the throat is coated with a thick layer of glossy varnish. The four eyes are yellow, with black pupils...

The figurine is painted with the same shades of blue as the animal. The zebra stripes are then blended into the fur...

The piece is in place. The colors of the equipment match those of the harness. The animal's upper surface is coated with a layer of satin varnish...

The Setting

The included base, which is stylized to resemble a wave, is embedded in a sheet of expanded polystyrene to make it less noticeable...

Here, we use spackling compound to create the small waves that the dragon flies over before landing.

We're taking this opportunity to fill in the hole in the mount and carve some additional waves...

Painting the floor. Using acrylic paint. In addition to the classic blues and white, there's also cobalt blue, dark turquoise, and vibrant aqua...

The result... The white is beach sand that appears between the shallow waves...

We'll finish up the foreground and the acrylic gel water spray, which will become transparent as it dries...

The Background

The background is inspired by the film's set design, featuring the planets and a second dragon approaching...

The sketch gives you an idea of the layout in relation to the figurine. It is then transferred onto the white MDF backing.

The bottom of the panel is painted to blend in with the base of the piece...

Acrylic painting done with a brush and an airbrush...

The planet, which was too sharp, is now slightly blurred. The cloud over the mountain, which was too spread out in the first image, has been redone...

The backing is glued to the back of the piece...