Fairy Dragons: Rainbow

I swear looking at all your beautiful little sculptures is so much fun and so inspiring.  I have a question, do you use a small armature for your sculptures?  I am a novice and have just started trying to make sculptures with polymer clay.  I made a teeny tiny one for my son but I had to put a little wire in it to keep it upright and stable.  Also, are there any books you might suggest for techniques with sculpting with polymer clay?