It is time for you to learn how to make a dragon from head to toe, and better yet, from your imagination!

We will see all the parts of his body and the important characteristics of dragons. So do not give it more laps and prepare your sheet in Clip Studio Paint, because we started!

First of all ... WHAT SHAPE DOES A DRAGON HAVE?

Although its origin is vague, very old vessels records of its mythological existence have been found. From there, in various writings, poems, stories and engravings it has been present, giving us a well-formed idea of what they are like. Now, thanks to technology, both in video games and in movies, we have the dragon as we know it.

We can classify this into two types. The Eastern dragon and the Western dragon.

 

Although they have subtle differences such as the absence of the wings in the oriental, the colors and the body (one looks like a snake and the other has a trunk more similar to a mammal) The most recognized characteristics, without a doubt, share them. Like skin that is full of scales, horns on the head, fangs, fire and so on. But don't worry, we'll see all of them later.

BODY PARTS

Normally, the western dragon has a body very similar to that of mammals. Although you may have a bigger belly or be slimmer, the structure is the same. Three cylinders.

The first has one end thicker than the other. Then a cylinder with the two equal thicknesses of the same size of the two figures with which it connects. and then another similar to the first but the other way around and smaller. It is important to know the structure of each thing to be able to manipulate it later. Thus, when we add lumps and make it more organic, we can do it in the position we want.

The eastern dragon, as we had said before: Its body is like a snake, it can be simple but if you want it to look good, you also have to add twists that give it more movement and look more natural. You can start with a cylinder, then modify its shape and add a belly to it.

The front legs are very similar to any mammal or reptile. It consists of shoulder, arm, elbow back, forearm and hands. They are normally toned and strong in both the eastern and western dragon. A curiosity in the western dragon is that sometimes the front legs are attached to the wings. We will see that later.

the hind legs, like most animals, have a knee instead of an elbow. This is that the fold is the opposite of the front ones. Although the part of the heel is very high, which is what allows the animals to have more push with the back legs. This simulates a "Z". Do not forget it every time you make the sketch.

Now the legs. In itself, both the rear and the front are relatively the same. The only thing that changes is where they connect with the previous part. They usually have 3 or 4 fingers and thick, pointed nails. Although there are variants where they put a rear finger in the style of birds. and on the front legs some put a thumb. But it is already your choice.

 

Remember, on the hind legs the heel is where the last part of the "Z" begins, in the diagram below it would be part A, then the palm B, and then the three phalanges and the nail.

The wings, which cannot be lacking in the western dragon, whether separated from the main legs or together, the structure is the same. An arm with a palm. Exactly the same as bats.

 

Remember to study the structure so that you can arrange them in any way you want.

 

POINTS TO REMEMBER IN THE WINGS:

• The elbows are always pulled back.

• thumb up and short.

• The phalanges always bend inwards.

• the membrane connects to the body.

 

When you fold them, imagine three triangles. From there it will be easier for you to trace the folds of the wings and how they would close or open. Remember also that the membrane is elastic and can shrink (A) or stretch (B) a lot.

We continue with the queue. This part is what gives balance, therefore it has to be very flexible and help the dragon to remain stable both on earth and in the sky.

 

It is a simple part since it is a long cylinder (A) that becomes narrower at the end (B) Then we modify it to a kind of triangle with rounded ends where the narrow part will be the top (C) and the part below, adding a flat belly will give us its characteristic shape (D).

 

The tip can be of any shape, from leaving it like that without anything or adding details that it would also have on the body to make it look homogeneous.

The neck is important because in addition to supporting the head, it gives us an idea of the type of dragon it is. It can be short and stick the head directly to the body, or it can be long to give it more personality.

 

We start with a normal cylinder, since the neck by its vertebrae is completely flexible.

Then add modifications to the shape, never leave simple shapes because it gets boring, and organic shapes are always more interesting.

This will already give you a guideline to do the upper part, the lower part and where the details will go that we will see later.

And finally the most important part of the dragon. His head.

• We start with a lying rectangular pyramid (1).

• Then you add another equal but smaller below this (it will be the base for its mouth) (2).

• We add a half sphere at the rear junction of the two triangles and at the top another smaller triangle without a point (3).

• At the end you add two spheres (which will be the eyes) and remove the tip from the large triangles to give the base to its snout.

 

With this base, with slight variations; You can make the head of any type of dragon in any position. So start practicing it.

IMPORTANT ELEMENTS

Now that we know how the body and all its limbs are made, let's go to those details that make dragons intimidating and powerful.

 

Let's start with an important characteristic: His horns.

 

(A) Remember that we start everything from a cylinder that we make a pyramid, having the base we can give it twist, and without forgetting the concentric rings that make it up, we are manipulating its cylindrical shape to give it more life, in the end it will be easier for us rotate it as well to make it look more natural.

(B) Do not forget that all external bone structure comes out of the skin, so give it its respective exit with its natural thicknesses. Then you can add more elements.

(C) Concentric rings are important in the base to be able to apply any texture in series. Do not forget them.

(D) Don't forget the twists to other parts, and how they would look foreshortened. That will give it more naturalness.

(E) In the end, with these bases you can create any type of horn with an impressive structure, this will make your dragon look impressive.

 

The scales are undoubtedly a very important characteristic of the dragon, since it is its armor, which gives it strength and what gives it its peculiar texture.

 

(A) Start with a square grid where you will make inverted triangles next to each other, occupying 2x2 squares. Then, in the next line you will start in the center of the upper grids and do the same. Erase the intersecting lines of the lower rhombuses. With this base you can change its shape to whatever you want, although they are usually curved rhombuses, raised in the center.

(B) Remember that each scale is an independent shape, therefore it has its own volume and creates a shadow on the lower scales.

(C) One very important thing is that the reticle is at the mercy of the way it covers. Imagine the fold and how it fits over the concentric rings. And on this is traced what we learned earlier.

(D) When you know how to make scales, you can vary sizes and shapes between them.

We will work on the smallest details in the video. But now it's time to start creating our beast on stage. Remember that you are something of the photographer of the imagination, so your shot is great and reflects what you want the world to see. Therefore it is important to make several sketches.

Now comes the good, the sketch. From here you will be able to see the entire process explained on video.

 

With the gesture that we made, we are going to leave a base with the important elements, this will be the guide to be able to make the lineart (if you do) or make a second better sketch. In this first sketch, you establish the structure and manipulate the shapes to make it look more organic.

Then it is the same, but now you will put all the small elements that will give it the best characteristics of the dragon. As we already have a good base, it will be easier to accommodate everything in its rightful place. Here I leave you the PNG (with the transparent background) so you can use it and practice.

Well, nothing, it is time for you to watch the video so that you can put into practice everything you have learned. I highly recommend you practice and do preliminary studies of the things you are going to draw. In addition to polishing the knowledge that I mention in the video.

This is the final result, I hope you like it, you can download it without problem.

I also hope that you have learned a lot and that if you want me to do more tutorials like this, do not forget to give love.

See you soon Artist!