"DRAGONS" - open thread - Draw a Dragon

[Banned_User]

This is an open Thread for people to post work relating to the topic.
I started this off with a finished concept of a dragon that was a collaboration between "Sammy" Sammy Hall & I.
I figured it would be cool to see some new takes on "Dragons" since the topic has been brushed upon a few thousand times by almost every artist. So lets keep things as original as you can. Try to be creative and remember that the term dragon can lend itself to a broad variety of species of dragons.
Ice, Wind, fire, earth, rock, land, sea, four legs, no legs, 2 legs, 4 wings, large, small etc..
Try to inspire others with something ORIGINAL

RULES FOR THIS THREAD:
1* - Please do not post existing artwork, work that you have posted already or work that you have had from your golden ages. This thread is meant for NEW work to be inspired by this thread. If I catch you posting something I recognize from having seen the work already, I will remove your art
2* CHANGED RULE- sketches are acceptable
3* Collaborations are acceptable
4*- Perhaps post some insight to your design and the type of dragon it is.
My colors -

Sammy's Sketch -






Fell free to comment on peoples work as well- otherwise the thread would be boring

[Sammy]

Great idea Mike --- allways up for some dragon fun : ) --- you're getting really great with your piant, nice job especially on the wings!

[Crow]

No dragons to post (at least yet) but I just thought I'd say "Damn!" That's some solid stuff! As Sammy said, nice job painting, and I really like the sketch of the dragon that has four wings rather then the normal two.

[alti]

yo mike OC thisarvo

[Odds]

wtf are you doing Hillart?
anyways..

nice dragons/drawings, Mike. i dig the red scales.. they're sexy. the only thing i need to crit on is the image of the dragon on both hind legs. the pose looks sort of static and awkward for the dragon. try to think of what he's doing on 2 legs... is he backing away from an attacker? try to push that pose a little more. keep up the good work!

[DernierCri]

nice idea for the thread...

on the first one I really dig the metal gear on the dragon but the tail /is that a tail?/ looks a bit too stiff I think... goes in too straight line...

more dragons ppl...

[JoshuaTheJames]

Cool. Really fun peices!

I really like that last one.

-Joshua

[Daunting]

Im already drawin the thumbnails.

[max-cant]

no dragons from me but i do have this to offer-

i used to totally love playing these games cos they were so different from the same old boring stuff -

http://www.moonapples.com/lagi/

You have to plow around in the directories a bit to dig out all the good stuff but its well worth it i think.

Best dragons -
TIA-MAT from dungeons and dragons show (cos it wailed on VENGER everytime)
EBORSISK from willow (points for originality)
OMEGON from flight of dragons - best voice

good thread idea - nice stuff so far ........... hope it 'takes off'

[Muttonhead]

Posted this one recently, but it's relavent:

[alti]

megga huge dragon with heads galore,



cool thread.

[alti]

random amber eating dragon

[Muttonhead]

Alti - Love your dragons! I like that they feel more like multi-headed centaurs, thats a unique approach I haven't seen very often, if ever. Thanks for the post! Got more?

-Sean

[alti]

hey thanks mutton, i got a few more that i'l scan up.
i'l just gotto get them abit more refined, i have a tendency to make my drawings too loose and too open to different interpretations, i know what i'm looking at when i see it, but other people sometimes have a hard time making out the shapes in the detail.

so i'l fix up a few more .. its all practice.

[thebluepuppy]

dragon a go-go baby...

nice stuff everyone. im going to work on it as soon as i finish work

[jfwalls]

I'm gonna post something too! As soon as I do something....

[ATAHUALPA]

nice stuff on this site, very very inspiring!
Often when I don't know what to draw....I always find myself drawing dragons.
This is always possible!

This one was finished yesterday:



That one is little bit older (2 month):



and I have posted some dragons in my mails a little bit ago: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=31874

Great thread!

Martin

[Banned_User]

OK- people PLEASE READ THE RULES

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but i stated that I would like to see NEW work not work from your golden ages- meaning work you did a while ago, or work that you have posted already.
that goes for Muttonhead, since you said you posted the design already
that also goes for you ATAHUALPA - I dont want people posting old work. This is for new work created after seeing this thread- specifically for this thread.

MY REASONS: i dont want this thread to be a dumping ground for anyone who comes acrossed it. I dont want someone who has 10 dragons pieces to just drop thier work here, or to see 50 drawings and dragons that I have seen before.

[ATAHUALPA]

Sorry Mike....new dragons will come tomorrow

Martin

[Muttonhead]

Arghh... sorry.... reading is fun-damental. OK I got some new ones coming.

-Sean

Originally Posted by MIKECORRIERO

OK- people PLEASE READ THE RULES

I appreciate the enthusiasm, but i stated that I would like to see NEW work not work from your golden ages- meaning work you did a while ago, or work that you have posted already.
that goes for Muttonhead, since you said you posted the design already
that also goes for you ATAHUALPA - I dont want people posting old work. This is for new work created after seeing this thread- specifically for this thread.

MY REASONS: i dont want this thread to be a dumping ground for anyone who comes acrossed it. I dont want someone who has 10 dragons pieces to just drop thier work here, or to see 50 drawings and dragons that I have seen before.

[S.C. Watson]

homer simpson moment: "mmmmm.....dragons....."

Ahem, okay. Here's a quickie at the "almost done" stage. Couple hours after I saw the thread today. Thanks Mike!

[Banned_User]

Very cool Shane - Unique look to him, I like the colors. His texture and horn set give him a distinctive look and the teal colored eye is a nice touch.

[Ian Mack]

Originally Posted by max-cant

OMEGON from flight of dragons - best voice

I had forgotten about Flight of Dragons! I used to watch that movie all the time. I like how Sammy put the picture of the referenced skull. I should have thought of something like that!

I am definitely inspired to do some work. I have tomorrow off and I've been itching to do some watercolour painting so I'll see if I can't hit two drawings with one page, if you take my meaning.

[AmishCommy]

Sammy + Mike = Lethal Combination!!!!

[Gilead]

[Icey]

wow... wonderful ideea!
i'll give it a shot if i'll find the time....
f**k school!!!!

[Banned_User]

Some things to keep in Mind- start saying to yourself

What makes up a dragon? The horns? The long neck? The teeth? wings, scales, etc..
Well, what can be changed and what can you leave, how far can you stretch the rules but still get the idea across that its in the family of dragons? I mean for example

CATS- the family of felines is over like 40 wild cats

Leopard, Cheetah, Bob Cat, Linx, Tiger, Panther, House cats, Lions, Ocelot. All Animals have a large range of characteristics within thier own species family. Look toward animals for references in the differences.

Being as Dragons are fictional, You can break the rules even more so, but still keep in mind what makes a dragon a dragon- certain distinct features. You could have like 4,000 species of dragons and each one could be unique and distinctly original. I mean, Water dragons alone there are soooo many possibilties..Although Muttonhead posted a piece that was posted once before, he has the right idea- The dragon is unique and very original but I still look at it as being related to the dragon family.

Try to out do the next guy - with Originality.

[/ev]

maybe not such an original looking dragon but i was inspired to do an ancient dragon weathered and mystical.

[S.C. Watson]

ecsdesign Love the look and the colors - great job!

Mike, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear someone taking the Naturalist approach to designing creatures. I know you do a lot of zoological studies, and it *really* shows in your work.

If you don't mind, I'd like to ad to your notes on designing dragons with a few thoughts of my own:

In designing a dragon, or any critter, really, I first try to get as good an understanding of the animal as possible. If I'm doing real a creature, this means a lot of studies before I draw the animal. In the case of a fictional creature, I spend considerable time understanding it's physiology, how it moves, what sits where inside it, what sits where outside, and why it may have something seemingly useless.

Predaters tend to be pretty well streamlined as a whole, without much in the line of vestigal appendeges or plumage. A male lion immediately comes to mind to contradict this statement because of their mane, but they don't do the hunting. The females of the pride do.

Omnivores are a little more versitile. Here I'm thinking of certain bird species that do go in for the plumage and decoration, but are also predominately insectivores.

Herbavores are all kinds of decked out with body piercings, tattoos and -- oh, damn. sorry. Anyway, Hebavores, because they don't have to worry about *not* being seen, or being stealthy, tend to have more things like horns, bright plumage, or vestigle appendages (think of, say a Turkey, with that funky head flesh action (the waddle)). If something *is* present, it's there for a reason. It may not have a function *now*, but it did at some time in the species past.

How does this apply to designing dragons? I'll let y'all ponder that for a while

Cheers,
~Shane

[Sammy]

/\ /\ /\

*bingo*

Scavangers are also fun to toy arround with --- usually their weight is shifted more towards their front, to allow for much more power/size to their jaws (for chrushing bone) --- they can have such large and functional jaws, that the bones are often scarred from how large their muscles can get (this scarring is the first thing paleontoligist look for when settling on a creature being a scavenger)

The Tyranosaurus is a great example too --- he's given up all weight and size in his forarms, just so his jaws could be more massive --- one of the most succesful scavengers ever.

*more biology rants from everyone please!*