C.O.W. #150 Lich Dragon Boss Monster -- VOTING

[Michael Jaecks]

C.O.W. #150 Lich Dragon Boss Monster -- VOTING!!

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ROUND #150 VOTING

Topic: Just Lich Dragon Boss Monster !!


Deadline for the voting: Saturday 8 Aug 2009

Posting thread (closed): http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=164053.


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OK - before voting/posting read this!!!

1. Please give c&c or a reason why you voted for the image!

2. Feel free to comment on any or all entries, the artists will appreciate it!

[control01]

Artist: Control01

Concept: Ak'norem
In the deep dark coursed cave of Skarden land that words wisped in the air "The God dragon blessed one of his sans with holy life, but his son corrupted by the dark hand of Khardem, great sorcerer of the Book of Lackium...", I forget... "coursed with death the father say" but i don't remember... That the story of a warrior in the Skarden kindom.

[Gominoid]

Artist: Gominoid

Concept: The Bereling Clan

At the beginning of times, dragons were created with the aim of protecting the lesser races such as humans and elves. Because of their powerful nature, they were prohibited from using magic. They were distributed in clans, every clan had a color and their members were imbued with powerful elemental magic. Also, each clan had a Clanlord whose decisions will affect all the other clan members. The Bereling clan were the bronze dragons who inhabitated the deserts and were imbued with lightning and fire powers.
The Bereling Clanlord was always in the constant search for power so one day he broke the prohibition of using magic and with the help of ancient arcane energies he become invulnerable to all known ofensive magic an mortal weapons and also become immortal, this curse was transmited to the rest of the bronze dragons, becoming a clan of lich dragons.
When they have exceeded their life expectancy their bodies begin to decay and rotten and they loose their natural dragon powers, the only way of recovering their youth is by murdering and devouring their brothers from other clans. They cannot be killed, they have to be trapped and imprisoned in magic prisons. An old legend says that if you discover the real name of the Bereling Clanlord and shout it to the four winds the curse will be gone and all the bronze dragons will die.

[Myriell]

Artist: Mythori

Concept: Shadowfang
In search of never ending live, this old dragonlord used the pure magic of his kind to increase his own time. His once good heart turned as dark as the land he ruled.
Now his rotten body lurks through the mountains in search of fresh souls to keep him alive....

[njoo]

Artist: nJoo

Concept: Vzcikus
Sometimes strange floating green lights can be seen on the top of the mountain in the distance at night. Of those that went to investigate the source, less then a handful has ever returned, and of those that did, it was as if they has seen their death, they were scar with fear and terror that they dare not speak of what they saw.

The creature's origin is unknown, no doubt that it is as powerful and fearsome , it does not seem to be aggressive unless disturbed. as its aura of death can be sense from miles away, its stillness in the night gives a strange sense of peace and sorrow as if the time has been stopped. The creature's existence has been known ever since anyone can remember, it must be at least thousands of years old, its rage and power has been calm by the passing of time, perhaps it has a tale of its own living through the countless years of changes.

[lkjhgfdsa]

Artist: lkjhgfdsa

Concept: Illikiathisk

After living for thousands of years and spending a large amount of that time searching for immortality, Illikiathisk finally extruded the spells neccissary to become a Dracolich from a Deamon of the Void, Jolioz, who had been careless enough to be trapped upon the Prime material plane. The injuries sustained in that battle would have been Illikiathisk's demise had its objective not been what it was...

[dwinbotp]

Artist: dwinbotp

Concept: The Endless
The brave band of warriors consisted of a knight, a cleric and a Stromgald paladin, searching for bounty in exchange for gold, glory and infamy within the small outskirt town of Circlain, just beneath the towering mountains beyond the horizon. Rumors of a long forgotten beast reached their ears. " enter the Endless gorge, you will find what you seek." said the townsfolk. Equipped with their greatswords, glimmering tower shields and battle writ, they journeyed deep into the enormous rocky chasms only to discover what the "Endless" was. They have mistaken it for the gorge's namesake, before their teary eyes stood a behemoth of a creature, an ancient dragon surrounded by the stink of death and the aura of immense power so few have witnessed and fewer still to be left alive to tell. The putrid stench was all encompassing, A Lich Dragon was even worse than a red, fire-breathing one and far far worse than any other monster anyone has had to face in a lifetime. Upon the distance, The Lich Dragon's decaying body and tail cannot be seen and seemed to stretch out forever. The party felt the inevitable coming, even if they survive this battle...It would take several lifetimes and more to see this monster fall...to come back again to rule these lands yet again...and again...and again.

[Jeffsimpson]

Artist: Jeff Simpson

Concept: The Rot
Few have encountered the wandering Rot, there are even fewer who wish to. Animated to life by countless lost souls, this monstrosity of flesh, mud and hide of beings long vanished endlessly walks the plains of the Southlands. Occasional priests or noblemen attempt to find talk with the beast, in a vain attempt to garner wisdom on how to cheat the inevitability of their flesh one day making its way into part of the rot itself.

[wanwan]

Artist: wanwan

Concept: Jejuni
Jejuni constantly rebuilds itself with the rot and decay of it's fuelled by the ether of tortured souls. The stench of it's warm, bacteria filled innards have taken many a man before their sword was pulled. Jejuni waits, lurks, watches the horizon for the day the undead will rise from the vents and fumes of the earth to take over the land of the living.

[Feil Magnus]

Artist: FEIL MAGNUS

Concept: TENEBROS
Tenebros used to be holy dragons, blessed by the endless, their duty was to protect dwellers of kamaran, the human world.
Powerfull and loyal they yet had weak resistance against the power of alchemy used by evil darklords. The darklords thought they could control the dragon's power with their knowledge... they failed.
The holy dragons decrepited, became uncontrolable and thus unleash chaos and destruction wherever they go.
They were were called Tenebros after the name of the alchemist archlord who found the forbiden formula.

[sketchius]

Artist: sketchius

Concept: Greater Druug

The Greater Druug is one of the most powerful types of dragon-mages, having conquered through magic even death itself. Armed with a relentless arrogance for lesser creatures and a fearless indifference toward it's own life, the Greater Druug is a foe best avoided.

736740

[Mighty5cent]

Artist: Mighty5Cent

Concept: Aakhor Cave Dragon
The dragons seek out caverns lined with magic purple aakhor crystals. Over time, magic seeps from the crystals into the dragon's body, making it able to survive terrible injuries and live an unnaturally long life. The dragons fight to defend their territory and maintain control of their lair.

[Ragnj]

[*B]Artist: [*COLOR=White]Ragnj[/COLOR]

Concept: [*COLOR=White]Necro-Draoin[/COLOR]
[/B]To gain infinite life the dragons of Hanha need to travel to Golgotha too with sorcery become undead. Their sacrifice is great, they need to give away both their brave heart and clip their huge wings in the trade with the necrons but in return they become immortal.

[insubstantial]

Artist: Insubstantial

Concept: Urnataroy Depths Endboss
Sometimes a dragon turns mad and don't want to join the circle of rebirth.
These ones are driven by hate and fear.
In aim to keep their personality alive these kind of dragons entrap the life-energy in the rotting body.

"Wanderer, it is told, that the Dungeon in the Urnataroy Depths is one of the Lich-Dragon hidings, and it is disadvantageous to encounter one of them alone..."

[VegasMike]

Artist: VegasMike

Concept: Decayragon

As I crested the peak I finally saw the legendary monstrosity I was sent to destroy. She was much bigger than I had anticipated, I gasped in horror! This drew her attention, she spread her great tattered wings and let out a blood curdling roar...this was going to be a hell of a battle.

737390

[Mr--Jack]

Mr--Jack

Spire Guardian
Only the eldest of the great dragons are left now, withdrawn to the nearly airless heights of the mountain spires; in the sub-zero temperatures they use a combination of subtle magnetic-field distortion and arcane energy-manipulation to extend their lives long past their natural span and to, if the word may be used, markedly outlive the rest of their otherwise extinct race.
It is said that the man who can make it to the top of a spire will be blessed with a fraction of the guardians' eternal life; some, more cynical perhaps, have suggested that their death hasn't necessarily relieved them of the pangs of hunger, nor mellowed the dragons' naturally violent temperaments.

[Mulm]

First time COWer here! :D

Artist: Mulm

Concept: Dragoodoo

Knights are always warned about the dragon. Their maidens wave a tearful farewell as their loved ones ride off to slay the beast and win fortune and fame. When it comes to this particular dragon, however, it will not be slain. It will most positively slay whatever comes at it, and absorb their life force and ad it to its own. Every life will ad to its power.
So please, beware the dragon.

[SaintLConcept]

Artist: Art4All

Concept: Salamannder
also known as the red dragon, salamannder is an eternal dragon ,it consumes human soul, its origin is unknown but some say,it was a heaven's keeper before until it is devoured by its own greed and turn itself into a vicious creature that consumes every living soul, undefeatable, invulnerable to both magic and physic attack, it can only be killed by the owner of the pure soul, GOD only.

[.Elec7ro]

Artist: .Elec7ro

Concept: Bazu
Bazu is a nocturne creature, he sleeps at the day and recharge hes energy and lights, hy use the lights to protect him for the enemys hypnotize them and eat them, he aslo can shoot powerful energy lazer
http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k426/E7art/lichdragon-1.png

[Mr. P Show.]

Artist: Mr. P Show.

Concept: Knight Guardian


There was once a knight that guarded a fairy province whom became possessed with the spirit of an ancient powerful mage. Possessing the Knight's body; the Mage formed a dragon out of lava to protect itself from a fate it foresaw yet doubt. Now a young fairy warrior must confront an evil that may determine the life or death of a knight and the future of the Land of the fae.

[pahavasa]

Artist: pahavasa

Concept: Wydrazony
The wydrazony are hollow inside. All of their intestines have rotten away due time and they move because of magic and mechanics alone. The wydrazony eat their prey as whole, prisoning them in their stomachs forever and using them as a power source to prolong their unholy excistence. As they are practically dead they cannot be killed by ordinary means.

There are many variations about how the wydrazony came to be, but the true story behind the species remains a mystery.

737494

[lunascythedragon]

Artist: lunascythedragon

Concept: lich-dragon
The lich-dragon managed to overcome death by feeding of the souls of the living.
Surounded by magical spheres it breaks through the midnight sky. While it's freezing breath coveres the ground and stops the victims from moving the spheres swallow it's preys souls. The spheres are containers for the souls so they can't escape and whenever it is necessary the lich-dragon swallows them to regain it's power.

It's mysterious magic keeps it's body from breaking apart, while the souls lengthen it's lifespan and give it energy. For each soul consumed a little glowing sphere grows under the skin on the wings. If the souls energy is completely consumed the sphere disappears, but as people say these creatures' wings are alsways covered in numerous glowing spheres.
Some say that the only way to kill them is to cut their wings off, but noone has ever dared to do so...

[Steve Somers]

What is the key to longevity? Is it a healthy diet? Regular exercise? Or is it some ancient and arcane enchanment that keeps a thing alive well beyond any predestined expiration date? Perhaps. Or perhaps some creatures are just made of tougher stuff....

Fang was always the baby dragon that the other baby dragons in the nest would pick on. Literally. Biting and clawing at their baby brother like a dog's chew toy. That one silly fang of his put him at the bottom of the pecking order. But each time they would peck, his hide grew back tougher, and his scales thicker. As a result he grew to be not just more resilient than the average dragon, but an impenetrable creature with a body that was nearly solid from scale to bone.

How he came to be Boss was no big suprise. He wasn't any smarter, stronger or faster. It was simply because everyone else dropped dead eventually. His promotion through the ranks was -- inevitable.

[ErikStorstein]

Artist: Zilrion

Concept: Necrofaen
The Lich dragons are quite a rare sight, but if you are looking for one they can usually be found within deep dungeons. Within their body you can find human souls trapped, locked in by the arcane symbols covering what's left of the dragons flesh.

737954

[sepu]

Artist: sepu

Concept: Tka'atch Ni'itek


Every old dragon, when discovers himself able to perform necromancy becomes also tempted to prolong his natural life by eating souls of brave knights, as in their hearts lay best substance of life.
Also every woman would like to be forever beautiful and young, and will do anything to archive that...

While one of adepts of Dragon Necromancy Academy is fulfilling his part of a deal by performing complicated spell on such woman, her lover is coming to slay the beast, and soon will become woman's part of a deal - to bring a snack for hungry, busy magician.

[DeathByChris]

Artist: DeathByChris

Concept: Windegorh
A Lich Dragon that lingers in the cold peaks of the mountains only to consume the souls of anyone who traverses the treacherous land below. It has been said that whom ever shall defeat the beast will be rewarded with eternal life.

[jouste]

Artist: jouste

Concept: maggotmaw tangleguts!

being a lazy dragon and an even more inept sorcerer, the lich transformation was not very kind to maggotmaw the necrotic dragon.

maggotmaw spent most of necromancer school chasing tail and getting hammered, this left him ill-prepared for the lich transformation. his sloppy necromancy failed to staple up his decomposing body properly and after the first spell he cast; his skin exploded. this left his entrails dangling down in a horrific writhing mass of gory-grabbing tentacles!

donning the name maggotmaw tangleguts he blasts all who oppose him with his maggoty, corruption inducing breath and strangles the life out of his foes with his man-o-warian intestines of disgusting death!

sadly maggotmaw's dangling innards have a tendency to grab anything they bump into including livestock, roofs of buildings, and even the occasional siege tower, this is akin to having toilet paper stuck to your shoe when leaving the bathroom.

738244

[merlemage]

Artist: merlemage

Concept: lich crawler
The Lich Crawler crawls around the world feasting upon the dead, trying to quench his never ending hunger. Only uses his weak wings for gliding over chasms and the like.

this is my first cow, be gentile hehe

738277

[ArkhamAngel]

Artist: ArkhamAngel

Concept: death under the mountain
I have heard tales from the trackers and farmers about. But surely such mythical beasts were invented to keep young children within arms reach? "Do not wander child, for the beast will take your soul"

[bhenart]

Blake Henriksen: Bhenart

Concept: Drakaes
As is common to all sentient beings, the lust for power was one of the greatest downfalls of the ancient dragons. Though noble creatures and sought after for their extensive wisdom in the dealings of man, these revered beasts fell prey to the trappings of such nobility.
Nowhere was this trait found greater than in the high dragon prince Drakaes. Deeming the dragons to be divine Drakaes named himself ruler of all dragons and consequently demanded worship of all living beings, dragons included. A great internal war broke out amongst the dragons, each fighting for leadership of their species but Drakaes substantiated his claim by calling on the ancient and dark magic long thought to have faded from the realm of dragons. Through harshness and prolonged bloodshed Drakaes eventually established himself as Lord of the Dragons and god of his world. However, as time went on the dark magic warped not only his body but his mind.
Having successfully escaped the grasp of death he then grew suspicious of his fellow dragons, ultimately decimating the entire population so as to ensure his eternal place as Lord of the Dragons. Drakaes now roams his world aimlessly, inhabiting the depths of mountains and feeding on all that come in his way…

[isso09]

Artist: Isso09

Concept: Golden Terror

Many a brave soul set out to climb the mountain peaks in search of lost treasure. The yellow glimmer they see through the snowstorm becomes their nightmare as their hopes are crushed by the half-decayed visage of an ancient evil.

Also my first cow. 0 votes FTW!

[daveneale]

Artist: daveneale

Concept: Lil' Snapper

Once an all-powerful gigantic dragon feared by all, the Lil' Snapper has used all of it's powers to prolong it's life, slowly shrinking in power and stature. Now the size of a small gecko, the snapper shouldn't be discounted in a battle, for though it may be small-it's bite is most certainly more vicious than it's squeak.

738560

[BlkCelebration]

Artist:BlkCelebration
Concept: Chamukoh
Once a noble beast, the Chamukoh now sits atop a platform high above the mountains awaiting brave warriors to challenge it and serve as his means of continuing his existence.

739112

[darkly]

Artist: darkly

Concept: Shadrogk, The Old One

Shadrogk the last of The Old Ones still lives on Mount Lakdore' which has been the final resting place of many a brave warrior in search of a valiant deed. If you be man enough, maybe you could rescue the fine maiden from that evil lich beast. God speed you my friend, and be safe!

739188

[kimliatach]

Almost did not submit.
Creature became less dragon like than envisioned during creation.
Amazing work everyone.

[Hideyoshi]

Artist: Hideyoshi

Concept: Balikhan

The great Balikhan lives in the great Volcano Dungeons of the great planet Grayt. Great.

[Arbinn]

Artist: Arbinn

Concept: Nar'Mha, Runelord


Nar'Mha was not voracious or violent in nature and even cared for some living beings it came across while alive. Those other beings rarely showed any sympathy or honour for a terrifying and gargantuan beast they met though. A band of knights were aware of the dragon's reluctance to harm people and decided to use this to their advantage when they attacked it. The knights managed to deliver fatal blows to the peaceful wingless dragon before it finally wiped them out, furious for being betrayed by the people he had been kind to. Being a member of species with innate ability to handle magic to some extend Nar'Mha devoured the souls of the fallen knights to further punish them. This foul act trapped Nar'Mha's own life force inside his dead body and carved unholy scars to his skin.

Now the Runelord inhabits a barren desert with seething hatred towards treacherous living beings. He does not actively seek to fight or kill anyone but receives sadistic pleasure if the opportunity presents itself. Nar'Mha uses the devoured souls of the cruel knights to fight attackers for he finds this "puppet theatre" highly amusing and keeps going as long as the foolhardy hero is able to continue fighting.

[Lighty]

Artist:Lighty

Concept: Driven Elangelic
An Elangelic is a species of dragon born between a universal time frame. Essentially dimension and time drifters, sifting through portals eating up energy grime secreted by life force. The Driven Elangelic is a dragon tired of living a restless life and wishes to gather up enough energy to anchor itself to a time frame, although this is nearly impossible to achieve... without become mad in the process.

[Michael Jaecks]

Lighty: I am sorry, but I have already started the poll. I realize I am in general somewhat flexible with the deadline, allowing every time zone to get a full day of work on the deadline, but I have to cut it off somewhere.

.Elec7ro: Fix the link to your image or use the image attachment manager to attach it to your entry or no one will be able to vote for you.

Also, a bit of housekeeping. I owe a few folks some COW stars. I've gone back and checked the rounds... it should be one more each for njoo (149), scorge (148 ), and dwinbotp (147)... I think that's it, but I am shouting this out to be sure. If you think you are missing a COW star, PM me with a link to the round you won. Thanks!

new round is up!

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=164984

[wanwan]

jouste: Love your comic image, I think it's the best handling of guts I have seen!
vegasmike: the detailing and power in this image rocks, great patience!

Good luck everyone!

[Lighty]

Lighty: I am sorry, but I have already started the poll. I realize I am in general somewhat flexible with the deadline, allowing every time zone to get a full day of work on the deadline, but I have to cut it off somewhere.

Ahh, in that case its fine! Its all about the art anyways. xD

[kimliatach]

Went with Mr--Jack, the double wings, the vivid serpentine shape. I Like
It was a hard call though.
Vegasmike, I love the corpulent foul nature of yours.
Jeff Simpson I love yours but it does not feel very undead.
Njoo, tis well wicked.
Zilrion great atmosphere, cool design.
Jouste, almost got first place fantastic disgusting beasty
BlkCelebration, great piece.

[ErikStorstein]

I hope I wont offend anyone, just trying to give some constructive feedback here.

Control01: Interesting comiclike style, I wish there was more depth though as it looks a bit flat to me. Keep it up, seeing an improvement from last round! :D
Gominoid: cool backstory, as for the image there's a few perspective issues, and it looks like you've used very soft brushes with overlay mode as well as upped the contrast a lot. I'd also try to make the focal point more clear :)
Myriell: I like the skulllike features of the head, and the tounge (poor wizard) I feel you could use more texture or atleast variation in the skin on the dragon though (atleast when yo handle the mountains around him like that)
njoo: *holds up sheet* can I have your autograph? no, but really. Been a huge fan of your work since I started painting/drawing. Keep sharing, you're a great inspiration!
lkjhgfdsa : Wish I had a larger screen to see that one. I enjoy the small details like the jewlery a lot. I'm not sure if this is just my screen, but everything looks so super saturated. I'd try play with variation there, it can be a little much all at once.
dwinbotp:I love that dragons head, and the way the tail just continues into the background. The colour palette is the only thing bothering me a bit, but that's probably just a personal opinion.
Jeffsimpson: this one instantly caught my eye, and i loved the story behind it. My personal favourite!
Wanwan: That looks just mean. I wish we could see more detail though as it's mostly a silhouette at the moment.
Feil Magnus: Cool concept, but I think you could of spent some time making the image read better.
sketchius: Love the hands/claws at the end of the wings. The dragon looks very voodoo like (if that says anything at all) which is cool. The wings might look a bit off for me though o.O
Mighty5cent: That face looks evil. The crystals in the foreground are at the moment smaller than the once in the middle ground, I also feel the character could do with some more depth :)
Ragnj: I'm having problems commenting on this one as it's so different from what I do. I do like the style though, but I'd try make it more clear what's going on as I'd have no idea if I didn't read the description.
insubstantial: Looks like you'd get an electrical shock if you came close to that one O.O I'm not really sure what's going on with that right hand though, it does look a bit out of place to me.
VegasMike: Awesome! love the way you handled the skin. The perspective of the head looks off for me though (I have a feeling I'm making a real fool of myself now though saying that to someone so much more experienced than me O.O)
Mr--Jack: Love it, the head especially. Not much to criticize, I'd want more colours and maybe more interesting designbits to the other parts than the head, like the tail.
Mulm: I like the shamanlike feel to it, and the colours. I'd request a bit more detail to the face ;)
Art4All: Could work on making it look less flat, and I'd probably desaturate the background or atleast give it a colour that contrasts the creature more.
Elec7ro: can't see your image I'm affraid >_<
Mr. P Show.: I love the head of your dragon, and the overall mood of the painting. For me it doesn't read much as a lich dragon though.
pahavasa: Mate, I wish you'd kept the hands hah. Enjoy the texture on the dragon :) Wish you made the eye more clear, maybe adding a highlight in it caused by the torch there would help? :)

ok now it's getting late, I'll try do more tomorrow if I get the time :)

[Razorleaf]

I just can't believe I only get one vote. These are all excellent!

I voted for insubstantial for several reasons. One I just love the colors, two I like how grand the scale is and three I think that the pose is quite dramatic. I favor those paintings that tell a story with a single character. Very nice!

[theFoust]

Voted for Jeff Simpson.
His had a design that was by far the most original, while still holding true to the set rules. Also, I could imagine myself facing this creature in a game and bieng in awe, and I might be a huge Jeff Simpson fan as well (more black!).

I also loved lkjhgfdsa's, but that's more of a love of the style than the concept.
I liked dwinbotp's metroid-esque design.
VegasMike's was very nicely rendered but it was too obvious "zombie-dragon" for me.
Mulm! That is a great first COW! way better than mine...
jouste has a great comedic thing going but I just couldn't...just...no lol

omg way too many people entered this time theres no way I'm commenting on all the ones I want that's too much text.
Also, I did start a design for this one, therefore I did not break my promise that I made last time of starting every week, I just didn't post in the WIPs.

[DeathByChris]

I voted for Dwinbotp because of its dramatic lighting and choice of colors, although it was a tough choice I also really liked VegasMikes because of its detail and action.
I also enjoyed Mr--Jack's but I felt it looked unfinshed personally. Mulm's was another favorite of mine, great job everyone.

edit: I also want to say thanks to Dwinbotp for posting his process in the WIP thread, showing how he developed his composition I like that kind of stuff.

[Pesmerga]

For me, it was between njoo, lkjhgfdsa and insubstantial.

njoo's style is one of the coolest. I loved his Saladin drawing and again he delivers with an incredible concept. However, it didn't quite impressed me enough. It just looks cool but it lacks that kind of epic feeling or that thing that makes you say: "Oh my god, that is one bad ass dragon!". I don't know how else to say this lol. Probably because of the cartoony style which I think doesn't fit well here.

lkjhgfdsa 's dragon is everything you kinda hope for. The colors and details are impressive. I mean, the dragon is wearing a necklace and some bracelets for christ's sake! I love the general mood also and there's a real sense of scale. I have a feeling he can win this one. There's just an incredible amount of work here. His dragon is a bit cliché though. Like you've already seen him somewhere else. So I guess it kinda lacks originality a bit.

insubstantial: Ok, this is my personal favorite. Probably because of the colors. Black dragon with purple light glowing from within. That's probably what I would go with if I had to paint a Lich Dragon Boss Monster. It's definitely a badass evil dragon and I have no problem seeing this dragon at the last dungeon of an RPG.

They all get my vote. But for the work and effort, I just have to give this one to lkjhgfdsa! Congrats dude! Impressive work.

VegasMike also did a pretty cool dragon. But it looked more like a bone/foul dragon or an undead dragon than a Lich Dragon. It was kinda missing that magical aspect that made it look overpowerful. His dragon looked kinda old and feeble like it could collapse any second. More like a hasbeen dragon haha.

That's about it. There were a lot of other cool concepts. But those are the ones that really got my attention.

Congrats everyone! I wish I could draw cool dragons like that.

[Mulm]

My vote goes to dwinbotp not only because the dragon's design appeals to me but because of the very nice presentation. I am too dragged in by your color palette. The narrow crevasse is also a nice setting for a boss monster, blocking the path of the player :O

Other favorites were njoos creation, BlkCelebration's striking piece and Jeffsimpson original design. Mr--Jacks is really cool too, awesome composition and I love your dragons face! I am also partial to Zilrions alchemy idea. Honorable mention to jouste for the cutest boss dragon ever ;)

Thank you Zilrion, DeathbyChris and the Foust for feedback! :D This has been a great round!

[lunascythedragon]

My vote goes to pahavasa whos dragon got some really nice design. I really love the dynamic head design and the idea of the hollow body with it's victims inside. Also the high saturated and light colours give it a quite magical appearance.
I can imagine a fight in a really dark cave with the player having a torch and in the middle of the cave is waiting the dragon, whos head and stomach is glowing green and blue similar to your picture.
really cool entry ;)

sepu is also one of my favourites
I like that it has got a lot of different features on it's body, especially the hands are really cool.

everyone did a great job and the topic was pretty neat too

[Ricardo Robles]

Really stunning entries here.
my vote was between Dwinbotp and Mulm, they´re my favourites.
I finally voted for Mulm, I like the pose and shape of the head, and the fact that he is showing his magical power, which seems to absorb life.
Also, I like the simple background, it seems that the dragon lives in a ravaged place with no light.

[Tyrus]

insubstantial gets my vote because the picture gives off the feeling of a terrible magical undead dragon, but still keeps to the idea of a species in both the picture and the description. Something many of the other entries lacked.

[Steve Somers]

Trying to pick one that's best out of these is silly, there's so many awesome pieces. So I just pretended I was an art director picking out creatures that might appear in a book with "massive black" in the title.

njoo - love the anime style on this one, reminds me of Evangelion. Plus it's a good style for these activities because it looks very complete without having to be a renaissance painting. I love the way you play with line and proportions.

lkjhgfdsa - I like the way this is painted, and the dragon has some human qualities including the jewelry. This should be a D&D cover, it fits with that style pretty well.

dwinbotp - I was watching your work on this as you built the environment first, and then the beast from there. Gave me something to think about in terms of building an image, and I like the way it turned out.

Jeff Simpson - Wow, your painting style with the tablet is top notch. Even though "dragon " isn't the first thing that pops in my head when I see it, it's still just a great piece of artwork especially the way that stony armor is handled.

Insubstantial - that's pretty bad-ass, looks as though he's about to whip the mountain apart with some glowing purple energy plasma. Has a bit of Godzilla feel as well.

Vegas Mike - Nice painting -- holy crap. must've taken some time. I hope GWAR sees this beast of tattered flesh and builds it for their next tour.

Mr Jack - Decided to vote for yours simply because it just feels evil, like a Danzig dragon or something. My only critique on yours is if this was ever translated into a working 3-d model for a movie those wings might be slapping into one another.

Zilrion - Nice skulls on the wingtips -- He has a very massive feel from the way perspective is used on the dragon.

Sepu - Yours went in some strange areas which is good, it's a weird piece, and I liked your explanation on the wings in the WIP section. My critique on yours is that the coloring got a little strong after starting out subtle and monochromatic - sometimes less is spookier..

DeathByChris - very cool, very strange. Definitely a favorite in terms of rendering.

jouste - very funny, dig the informal style.

bhenart - the bat head was a cool choice for this, he looks exceedingly wicked.

Dave neal - I was really tempted to vote for yours just because it's so well done, the lighting

blk celebration - Nice beast, looks almost demonish, the head is especially well designed.

darkly - dude, what happened to the trophy head? That was damn funny.

as for my own this was my first entry for one of these, and I think I strayed from the topic, but I like what I came up with none the less. Looking forward to doing more of these.

[volscalkur]

Once again I have to say I’m totally blown away by some of the entries this week! Great show everyone who finished and made it into the finals! :)
I did not get mine finished in time; (obviously)LOL I guess I tried a little too hard to get everything absolutely perfect since this topic combined two of my favorite subjects ever: dragons and undead, that combined with being both very busy and having a nasty summer cold make up my excuses for this week… grrr excuses excuses!
As usual I am still planning to finish up my entry even though I missed the deadline. This topic is too cool not to finish! :)

This round was almost as hard to vote on as the creature of shadow and flame!!

As usual I’ll try to give some useful feedback, these are only my opinions and may or may not be accurate! :)

Control01- Awesome line work and great dragon skeleton, I like the cell shading style, though IMHO it looks a bit flat and unfinished, I think it could have been pushed so much farther with some more time spent defining forms and shadows… nJoo’s piece also used a similar style and yet still looks 3 dimensional.

Gominoid- Nice story! I like the color choices and how some parts of your dragon are glowing with evil energy. The dragon it’s self becomes a bit indistinct in the darkness though.I like the appearance of rot and decay! :)

Mythori- I really like your piece! The classic dragon pose is great, how it is looming around the mountain shows it’s tremendous size and power when compared with the tiny wizard below, I also like the color choices, blue shows power, but at the same time fits nicely with the whole undead theme. The fore arm on the rear arm seems a bit too long when compared to the arm facing us. I love the magical glow coming from inside!

nJoo- Awesome! That’s pretty freaking bad ass! Lovin the multiple eyes and glowing orb of energy inside it’s hollow chest!

Lkjhgfdsa- One of my absolute favorites! Wicked details as usual! (I won’t mention the anatomy since that was already mentioned in the WIP thread) I really like how subtle, but intricate the background is! Follows the topic very well but a bit more rot and decay would make him look more lich like IMHO but the magical energy bolts make up for that. Excellent!

Dwinbotp- Excellent as usual sir! :) Nice story too! Excellent lighting- it sets the mood very well!

Jeff Simpson- Excellent piece! I really like how you took a different approach with yours then a traditional dragon, and the story brings it together very well. However IMHO it was neither dragon-like or lich-like enough to fit the brief- a contradiction I know but that’s just my opinion. :)

Wanwan- Reminds me of the dragon from mortal kombat! I really like the contrast of the green and red, and how tattered and melted the wings and tail are! :)

FEIL MAGNUS- Nice story! I like the floating symbols, the piece looks a bit rushed though and the dragon it’s self is a bit confusing. I’d spend more time working the details of your actual dragon. :)

Sketchius- Nice colors! I love the beard! While this a great dragon, it does not look at all evil or undead.

Mighty5Cent – Love the crystals and glowing green smoke! The small person in the fore ground is a nice touch!

Ragnj – Cool idea! I’m diggin the long neck and the hole in Its chest where it’s heart used to be! It would be great to see this colored! :)

Insubstantial- Excellent! I really like the colors and the anatomy of the dragon it’s self. The spikes are awesome and the crackling magical energy makes it seem very powerful!

VegasMike- You got my vote! Holy crap! That’s awesome! Looks like the art on a magic card! Crazy details! I love the decaying flesh hanging off the bones and tattered wings. The pose is very powerful and it’s clear that the only thing keeping this dragon “alive” is the magic glowing inside of it. While some may argue that it is not lich-like enough I disagree, by definition a lich is a powerful magical being that has used arcane magic to bind their immortal spirit to their mortal body to prolong their existence in the land of the living long past their normal life span, while I do agree it would be cool to show more magical energy type stuff, I do not think that the lack of it hurts this piece in any way. Fits the brief best and the rendering is top notch! Awesome job!

Mr—Jack- Awesome render! I love the pose and the four wings are great (perhaps somewhat impractical, but still very cool!) I like the head too!

Mulm – Very nice! I really like the pose as well as colors and thespines coming off the head. The chain of life force is great! Reminds me of a chain of paper dolls. Great story too!

Art4All- Very cool! I like the scales and the lightening! The perspective on the head seems a bit off to me, but nice job none the less! :)

.Elec7ro- Aw man that sucks your image link broke, you can use the paper clip icon when you post to attach your image to your post. :)

Mr. P Show- I really like your piece, very classic style and pose, however it does not say lich dragon to me, cool as the dragon is, it does not appear undead in anyway. Very nice piece though!

Pahavasa- Love the fur and smoke and the little people inside are awesome! It’s kind of a combination of Eastern dragon around it’s head and neck with European body and wings! Very cool!

Lunascythedragon- Very cool! I like the flaming orbs and how your dragon seems to be partially made up of flesh and bone and partially made up of energy. The head s pretty sweet too!

Steve Somers – Awesome! I really like the style of yours and the story! Good to see an Asian dragon, I’m surprised we didn’t see more in this round! I like the fire the cobra-like neck, while I appreciate that you were going a different direction, I have to mention that your dragon is not very lich-like or undead in any way.

Zilrion- Sweet concept! This looks like the art for a game boss! I like the key symbol and skulls on it’s wings! It would be nice to see more of the dragon it’s self, but I can’t complain with a background that cool! :)

Sepu- Very ethereal and other worldly! I really like your color choices and your piece in general, it is very well rendered and fits your story quite well. Not quite sure about the boobs on the dragon thought? :)

DeathByChris – Nice colors! I like the snow flakes and blue glowing magic!

Jouste – That’s super cool! I really like your style and your story is awesome! Yours was a close second! Wish I could vote multiple times! It fits the brief, has a very cool unique style and is funny as hell! :tihi:

Merlemage- Welcome to COW! Yours is very cool, and really cute in a strange undead sort of way! :) I really like him! Hope to see more in future rounds!

ArkhamAngel- Very nice! You have pulled off the evil undead dragon look very well! Love the expression! I would like to see more of the dragon though, didn’t notice that its supporting its self on its wings in the front until I had another look.

Bhenart- Very cool! I really like the bat-like features of your dragon! And the glowing chest cavity is very cool as well! Good to see someone else here from CO! :)

Isso09- I really like the half bone half flesh face of your dragon! It would be nice to see more of the dragon, the pose while dynamic is hiding most of his anatomy. :)

Daveneale- Very cool! I like the direction you took- sacrificing size for life- once again does not look very lich like to me, but very well done and a great concept! The lighting is superb!

BlkCelebration- Nice pose! I really like the head and wings!

darkly- Very cool! I really like the moonlight and the colors! For some reason the head seems a bit small to me? Love the wings!

Kimliatach- Cool idea, but I can’t really see much of the dragon at all?

Hideyoshi- I really like how this piece seems to be captured in extreme speed, the background and the dragon’s wings look like they are blurred from motion! Awesome!

Arbinn- I really like the story behind yours, and the scales and magical energy really add to it!

Lighty- Cool idea, and interesting color choices, I think using some harder brushes to bring out the details would really add alot! :)

This round was awesome! Great job everyone! I’m very inspired by all of the amazing art work people came up with for this awesome topic! Wish I would have finished mine in time, but now I can spend more time on it!
Looking forward to trying to come up with a venomous, pale blue, obese egg layer!
Good luck everyone! :)

[TomCardin]

I voted for VegasMike, absolutely awesome dragon anatomy. Everything around looks very desolate and leeched of life. very well rendered.

Lots of other great entries. Quite an impressive turn out. Even I had a couple sketches going but just no time to myself to get the job done!

[emerging]

seriously guys too many good ones i wish i could vote for multiples so i could vote for njoo, lkjhgfdsa, dwinbotp, Jeffsimpson, insubstantial, VegasMike, Mulm, sepu, DeathByChris. But my vote goes to insubstantial (i have a weak spot for purple hehe). Great round too bad i missed it :(

[Deon]

My vote goes to jouste - I know there are more classic Dragon Liches on here, but I just really liked this one! :)

[BlkCelebration]

Thanks to the people that took the time to comment on my drawing, really appreciate that.

So many great entries like most have noted, just wanted to say I had fun doing this topic.

Some of my favorites included:
njoo: Love the style and pose, definitely looks imposing.
lkjhgfdsa: Really nice scene you depicted and the way you did the skin texture came out great.
dwinbotp: Love the colors and the pose makes it look powerful.
Mr--Jack: Great pose and the head looks great. Can't go wrong with 4 wings!
Jeff Simpson: I like how the dragon is almost amused that he is being challenged by the puny mortal. Great rendering style.

I voted for VegasMike because he painted an awesome scene that made me imagine that a great battle was about to begin. Not to mention the great skill used to paint it. The dragon's wings are great to look at and I like how the skin hangs on top of the skeleton.

[AhkNemet]

A friend of mine is uber into Lich and uber into dragons so I knew when I showed him this thread that he would love it (he's not a member of CA) and he had plenty to say lol.
I asked for his opinion on which said Lich Dragon best to him, and he said VegasMike - so that is who I voted for - apparently it epitomises the Lich Dragon (although I would have thought just a bit more flesh would have worked too) - I also liked the energy in the picture, that the dragon is focussed on the person which gives it scale.

I noticed a couple of the others are not actually looking at the person even though it seems like the person is in direct confrontation to the dragon.

My other favourite was Insubstantial, which had an awesome dark energy and wonderful movement in the picture and great aggression.

I think some of the dragons weren't quite true to Lich - too much flesh or not enough of the magic power element - but some of the poses are inspired ;)

[jouste]

thanks deon! XD

i voted for jeffsimpson's because even if it wasn't a safe "traditional" take on the whole undead topic, it did bring out different thoughts on what an undead could be.

jeffsimpson proved that a horrific and unknown beauty can exist in such an old stand-by of an idea. 5 stars mate.

oh and i also owed him money.

[Steve Marworthy]

VegasMike - above and beyond man! Excellent Job

[wanwan]

I got some votes! How did that happen?!