ELEKTRA
Private Commission
EA was tasked with creating a contemporary addition to the dragonverse: A dynamic and anatomically realistic vehicular dragon sculpture complete with proportional wings capable of rotational and bilateral flight motion, and programmable LED lights visible throughout its physique. And, of course, this baby had to breathe fire.
A team of 60 artists and engineers collaborated on this complex project from the initial prototyping to the spectacular finished product. Along the way we invented a new and unique flexible webbing for the wings that allowed for individually addressable embedded high-density two-way LED strips; designed light-transmitting scales made of UV resistant polycarbonate; installed a fully retractable hydraulic wingset boasting a 60′ wingspan; and designed custom 3D mapping systems for content development. Our remarkable achievement represents a successful alliance between artists, innovators, metalworkers, LED technologists, structural engineers, pyrotechnicians, dreamers, and dragonriders.