Please note:

- I do not use 3D materials

- I am relatively new to using a drawing pad, but have done art for 4-5 years

- I cannot cover everything, only what I know. If you have suggestions, put them in the comments

Dragon Types

There are several types of dragons. There is the common western dragon, lung dragon, drake, etc. In the image below I have outlined some of the main breeds that may be important in designing your dragon.

Once you’ve chosen a dragon, you can follow my steps, but altering them for your chosen type. I will outline a standard dragon in this tutorial to help with basic proportions.

Sketching

Sketching is very important, as it helps to keep everything in proportion. It can help hard drawings turn out better because you took the time to outline the drawing.

Starting Out

Start with a basic sketch using circles and lines. I typically start with the head and continue from there.

I will be using one of my dragon OCs, Hunter, and I typically use a 1600px by 1200 px canvas.

You should have something like this:

Then, sketch the limbs. I sometimes will reference cats to help make the dragon legs more realistic, but you can use whatever reference you’d like! You can use an iguana reference to make them more lizard-like or a polar bear reference to make the legs thicker for a stronger dragon. The choice is up to you!

Here is my sketch so far:

Don’t worry if your sketch looks nothing like a dragon! It’ll come with time. You just have to keep practicing and eventually, you’ll get it!

Refining your Sketch

Start to add claw shapes for the claws, basic face features, and finish outlining the neck and tail. If you have to use a different layer for the legs and wings, that is OK. I do it sometimes as drawing the legs directly on a four-legged character can be hard.

Refine your sketch for basic facial features, too. I will make a tip to help with this sometime.

Here’s what you should have so far:

Now go in and start sketching the finer details on the legs and claws. Claws can be pretty hard, so I’ll include a basic tutorial below.

Legs & Claws

Start out by drawing two lowercase Ms at the bottom of the leg.

Your drawing should look somewhat like this:

Now add some Vs to the bottom for the claws.

Make sure you adjust the direction the claws are facing. If you don’t, they’ll all face towards the camera, and may not give the desired look!

Add some lines to the lower leg near the claws. I also started to define the leg a bit more, and added a claw for a thumb-like structure.

Now for the leg shape:

Heavily use your animal reference photo to get the proper shape, or follow along with what I have. Like I said previously, I use a basic feline shape for an idea of how I want the dragon to look. You can also adjust the leg size and thickness depending on the character.

Here’s what I have for the front leg:

Since the back leg is a slightly different shape, I’ll include my sketch for that one, too.

Start erasing some of the original sketch (I used different layers) and adding some more details. You will eventually use this as your base for your finished product.

Finalizing Details

After refining more details, you should be left with something like this:

Do not use or trace any of my drawings! If you need to reference them to learn a specific feature, don’t worry. I’ll outline more features in later tips.

Final Thoughts

If you struggle with drawing, practice more! I’ve been drawing dragons for over four years, and my first few drawings were terrible.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, If you have to branch out and try a different style of drawing, don’t be afraid to do so! That’s the main way I’ve improved so far.

I’m planning on outlining facial features next, so keep an eye out!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Happy drawing!

- AsteroidShoe70