Way back this past summer, I started a project to serve as a prop for my Berk Viking cosplay. What dragon-training viking can call themselves a true viking unless you have a dragon to train? So I began making my dragon.

It's no secret that I'm enamored with Toothless and his species. So when I knew I was going to make a dragon to carry, I knew it had to be a Night Fury.

No, this is NOT Toothless. This a juvenile Night Fury dragon. He has all his fins intact, and is a great deal smaller than the adult dragon. Just barely small enough to carry!

Now, the original plans for the prop dragon were to make it a plush toy, like the smaller Toothless I already made last year. Somewhere along the way, it grew into a puppet concept. The actual finished product is half plush, half puppet. The head, mouth and neck are controlled by the puppeteer's hand while the rest of the dragon's extremities are stuffed. The body core is hollow foam.

The final dragon puppet is right at 5 feet long, from nose to tail tip- 2 feet longer than I intended! I guess that happens when you don't make concrete plans and just start building! His fins are semi-firm, and feel like the contain cartilage, with quilted details. His feet spot 4 soft, stuffed claws each. The head is entirely foam construction. Almost all of the puppet was hand-sewn!

No patterns were used or created in the making of this puppet. I simply took some foam sheets and started building, using the knowledge gained from making other puppets in the past. He is NOT for sale! I will not be making any more of this, as this was difficult and time-consuming.

My Night Fury made his debut at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2011, and was a huge hit! He was even featured on Japanese television!

Toothless, Night Furies, and Berk © Dreamworks
Puppet concept and final product made by Nicole "AnimeCat" Holland