Intro

Picture this: you're creating your webcomic and you really want to create a dark demonic dragon who will scar the landscape and breathe fire across the world!

 

But, first you have to design the dragon. And then draw it from all different angles! That sounds stressful.

 

Fear no longer, here are some handy tips and tricks to help you conquer this mighty beast and allow him to roam the landscape as much as you wish! An intermediate understanding of Clip Studio Paint is recommended to follow this tutorial.

 

Cheers,

@AerowKnight

 

Creator of "Swords and Roses" webcomic on webtoons!

• SwordsAndRoses.net

 

-thegentlemanpanda.com

#ClipStudioTips2021 #webcomics #howtodraw #FantasticCreatures

(https://tips.clip-studio.com/)

Youtube Video

Reference for your Dragon

First you'll want to design your demonic monster of the underworld!

 

But how do you find reference for a creature that doesn't exist in real life?

 

You use real life to help structure your creation. I like to use this website:

To use the website:

 

• Look at the skull on the left side of the screen

• You can click and drag inside that image window to re-orient the skull into an angle

• Use the drop down above the skull to change what type of animal skull you would like to view

• Above the direction section, you see another drop down labeled Species

• Choose a species from the list

• Then click Search

• It will list out photos of that species with their heads in the orientation that you have the skull in!

-Re-orient the skull and click Search again

• Now it will populate with different photos

**Please note that the skull type does not affect the search.

Designing the Dragon

Once you have your reference, it's time to sketch out your design.

 

When designing, I like to use a flat side angle, so I can focus on the designs at first, and less on the perspective. (refer to the drawing below for example)

 

I also like to keep some important landmarks of the head in mind when designing such as:

• jawbone/jawline

• eye sockets

• nose

• ears (if you chose to have them)

Rotating the Head

Now that you have the basic design done, it's time for the JUICY part of the tutorial.

 

How to rotate the head into more complex positions.

 

Obviously, use the reference website I listed first of all. BUT there's a way you can assist yourself in drawing inside clip studio.

First: break down your dragon's head into basic angles of a rectangular shape.

 

Think of each side of the dragon's head as a plane or a side of a box. Such as the top of the head as one, the right side of the head as another, the bottom as a different plane, etc.

 

Refer to the image below to see each color of the box designating a plane. (video explains it in a different way if you need)

Now let's get a rectangle to use as reference for our dragon's boxy head perspective!

 

The best way to do this is to download a free asset from Clip Studio's Asset Library. It's very easy to do if you have an account!

 

• click the link below or google search Clip Studio Asset Library

• search for CUBE

• I like to use this one: 3D basic Shape (3D基本形状) by cli_pose

but you are free to choose one you want. We are looking for a 3D cube, preferably with a rectangle option.

• click the download button in the top right corner

• inside clip studio, open the downloads panel on the right bar of the screen

• click and drag your cube into the drawing area

Positioning the Cube

When the cube appears in your scene, you'll notice there are a bunch of icons in the top left corner of the cube.

 

• First 3 Icons are camera controls. They control how we as the audience look at the box.

• Next set of Icons control how the box moves in the scene.

 

• The first button (going from left to right) rotates the camera

• Second button moves the camera around

• Third button moves the camera closer and further away from the object

• Fourth button moves the object around the scene

• Fifth button rotates the object in the scene

• Sixth button tilts the object in the scene

• Seventh button orbits the object in the scene

• Eighth button moves the object FURTHER or CLOSER to the camera (think like throwing a ball)

 

The best way to understand these buttons are to try them each yourself! Give it a try, you can always click the undo button (CNTRL + Z) to go back if you need.

Changing Cube into a Rectangle

As stated earlier, we want the rectangular option, not the cube.

 

To change this:

• Click the wrench at the bottom of the screen

• From this pop up, click the drop down arrow next to "box"

• Turn the eyeball off on 'box' by clicking the eye icon

• Turn the eyeball on next to 'box3' by clicking the eye icon

• You'll notice the cube is now a rectangle and you can close this popup window

Using the Rectangle

Now that we have a 3D rectangle as reference, you can draw your demonic beast's head at any angle!

 

• Rotate the rectangle into the position you want to draw and make a new layer to begin sketching over.

• Use the landmarks of your monster's face to lay out on the different sides of the cube such as the examples below.

Wrap Up

Hopefully this method helps you conquer some harder angles for your demonic dragon and make it easier to draw.

 

I like creating a full turn around of my dragon's head as I finish the design, it helps me decide new aspects of the head as I rotate around it, such as how far the horns are from each other and what angle I want the ears at.

 

This method can be used for any creature honestly, it doesn't have to be dragons. It works well for gryphons, unicorns, demons, drakes, chimera, etc!

 

Hopefully you enjoyed this tutorial and it upped your art game <3 comment on the youtube video if you have questions, or have a specific topic you'd like me to cover in the future.

 

If you want to check out my webcomic you can go to SwordsandRoses.net to get a sneak peek. Comic will go live in July!

 

Feel free to tag me in the art you make on twitter or instagram: @Aerowknight

 

Cheers and until next time,

Aerow