HOW TO GET THE PERFECT FANDRAGON
UPDATE:
this is quite an old guide, and somehow it's still getting attention, wow.
Forgive me for any mistakes in the guide. I made this when I was rather new to FR. But people are still saying this is helpful, so I won't delete it just yet. Thank you.
NOTE- this guide is just for fun. You aren't required to do anything in this guide. Fandragon collecting is not an official part of FR- but it is pretty darn satisfying.
Hello. I'm Riverflight, a bit of a fandragon collector. A lot of the dragons in my lair are honestly fandragons. And today, I'm here to show you everything you need to know to make the perfect fandragon.
I've been making and collecting fandragons since the day I joined FR. Now, being a December 2016 newbie, I may not seem very experienced to you. But I do certainly know a thing or two about fandragon creating.
Just remember: you're allowed and encouraged to do anything you want. This guide is just for fun; a little guideline to show my fellow obsessed fans some tips to make their fandragons perfect. I'm aware my fandoms aren't the most popular out there, but don't worry- my tips and tricks will work for any fandragon.
I'll start with simple step-by-step instructions.
Step 1- Narrowing down your Appearance
Before you begin scouring the Auction House for an acceptable fandragon, try to picture in your mind what you want it to look like. If your character is from something on tv, watch the episode/movie they're in carefully to make sure you pick up any details you can- hair color, etc. If your character is from a book, repeatedly read any descriptions or pictures of them you can find until you have the image clear in your mind. Basically just make sure you can imagine your character as clearly as if you were looking at them right now.
Now, now. Don't go rushing to the Auction House yet. We still have to cover the most important part: species!
Think to yourself, what species is your character? Are they human? Dragon? A cat perhaps? Or something totally different?
With the image of their species clear in your mind, head to the Scrying Workshop. Try out every breed and gender of dragon, and narrow down the ones that look most like your character's species. For cats, I always use Coatls. Bogsneaks make excellent lizards. Spirals are perfect for serpents. Humans are a little trickier, however.
If your character is human, ask yourself- is the character more muscled, or thin? Broad-shouldered, or small and skinny? My rule of thumb is to use Wildclaws for everything human- their bipedal pose and humanlike arm positions are perfect. But if your character fits better with another species, by all means, use that. I like to use Skydancers for some female human characters, and
I've even used a Tundra for a more broad-shouldered male, as you can see above in my fandragon of Jenkins from The Librarians. However, I find it's usually best to stay away from Nocturnes, Faes, Guardians, Mirrors, Bogsneaks, and Snappers when dealing with human characters, but that's just me.
Now that you've got a species in mind, we can move on to colors and genes!
Colors are easy to wrap your head around. Many people use different styles for the colors of their fandragons, but I always stick to one rule, at least for my human characters: Primary Color is their skin color, Secondary is hair, and Tertiary can be ignored/left basic if necessary.
However, if your character is, for instance, a cat, you'll want a tertiary that matches well. Because wouldn't Okapi gene compliment your tabby character? Wouldn't Underbelly add a nice glow to your tuxedo cat?
As for genes, go as wild as your mind wants you to! Genes are the most flexible part of fandragon creating, in my opinion. But there are still some genes to be careful with.
Avoid anything and everything shiny if you want a human or mammal character. Metallic, Alloy, Crystal or Facet would NOT compliment your humans or felines very well. I like to avoid those genes on everything except dragon characters, such as Windshear from Dragons: Race to the Edge. In unique cases like those, the said genes will add a nice shine to it that reminds anyone looking at the dragon of the character it's based on.
Tertiary Genes I like to leave out completely. However, if used in the right way (example, a light shaded Runes gene for a Wings of Fire SeaWing fandragon), tertiary genes can make your fandragon look perfect. I like to use Scales for Wings of Fire fandragons, for example. But Underbelly or Okapi would look much better for a Warriors fandragon.
I think we've finally covered step one! Now that you have an image in your mind of what your character should look like, SCRY IT. I find using the Scrying Workshop helps me visualize my fandragons WAY easier.
Now that you're sure what you want, head to the Auction House. It may take a long time for you to get exactly what you want. My suggestions is either 1: buy a basic dragon with the right colors and gene it yourself, or 2: buy a dragon just a few shades off (example, you wanted Crimson but bought Garnet instead). And always make sure you have the right gender. That's a mistake I don't plan to make twice. Heh heh.
Step 2- Apparel
Now that you have your fandragon in your lair, it's time to start with apparel! Pay very close attention to the clothing or accessories your character wears for real. Example, if your character is Tigerstar from Warriors, note the recognizable scar across his nose- a Veteran's Eye Scar would make a nice replacement on FR!
My best piece of advice for apparel? MAKE A LIST. No matter what happens, write down a list of the apparel you need. Whether it's on a piece of paper irl, in a Notes app on your phone, or in the bio of the dragon itself.
Make sure you've memorized any items your character is seen wearing ALL the time. Example, (this is a bad example since you've likely never even heard of this series, but whatever) in the tv series The Librarians, Charlene(my fandragon of her is seen above) was never seen without glasses, and was mentioned to always be wearing a pendant Flynn had given her. That pendant is very similar in appearance to FR's Darksteel Amulet of Necromancy. She was also mentioned to own three cats, hence the cat apparel I impulse bought.
Everything make sense?
Step 3- Implementing Skins and Accents
I find skins and accents tremendously hard to incorporate into a fandragon. However, the right accents used in the right ways can go a long way. For example, the Tangled Trickery accent looks just like the star scales on the underside of Wings of Fire NightWing dragons' wings. If you know little tricks like that, you can go a long way with accents.
I personally don't use skins for fandragons. It feels like cheating to me, because you only see the skin, not the actual dragon beneath it. Accents I don't mind though, because they only cover part of your dragon, and can tremendously help their appearance. Just remember to keep an image of your character in your mind throughout the whole process.
Step 4- Finishing Touches
Your fandragon is pretty much complete! When you think you're finished, compare your fandragon with a picture of your character. If you think you could pass it off as a fandragon, you probably can!
Now if you'll excuse me, that was horrible to code on mobile. But thank you for reading my guide, and go get yourselves some fandragons!
UPDATE:
this is quite an old guide, and somehow it's still getting attention, wow.
Forgive me for any mistakes in the guide. I made this when I was rather new to FR. But people are still saying this is helpful, so I won't delete it just yet. Thank you.
NOTE- this guide is just for fun. You aren't required to do anything in this guide. Fandragon collecting is not an official part of FR- but it is pretty darn satisfying.
Hello. I'm Riverflight, a bit of a fandragon collector. A lot of the dragons in my lair are honestly fandragons. And today, I'm here to show you everything you need to know to make the perfect fandragon.
I've been making and collecting fandragons since the day I joined FR. Now, being a December 2016 newbie, I may not seem very experienced to you. But I do certainly know a thing or two about fandragon creating.
Just remember: you're allowed and encouraged to do anything you want. This guide is just for fun; a little guideline to show my fellow obsessed fans some tips to make their fandragons perfect. I'm aware my fandoms aren't the most popular out there, but don't worry- my tips and tricks will work for any fandragon.
I'll start with simple step-by-step instructions.
Step 1- Narrowing down your Appearance
Before you begin scouring the Auction House for an acceptable fandragon, try to picture in your mind what you want it to look like. If your character is from something on tv, watch the episode/movie they're in carefully to make sure you pick up any details you can- hair color, etc. If your character is from a book, repeatedly read any descriptions or pictures of them you can find until you have the image clear in your mind. Basically just make sure you can imagine your character as clearly as if you were looking at them right now.
Now, now. Don't go rushing to the Auction House yet. We still have to cover the most important part: species!
Think to yourself, what species is your character? Are they human? Dragon? A cat perhaps? Or something totally different?
With the image of their species clear in your mind, head to the Scrying Workshop. Try out every breed and gender of dragon, and narrow down the ones that look most like your character's species. For cats, I always use Coatls. Bogsneaks make excellent lizards. Spirals are perfect for serpents. Humans are a little trickier, however.
If your character is human, ask yourself- is the character more muscled, or thin? Broad-shouldered, or small and skinny? My rule of thumb is to use Wildclaws for everything human- their bipedal pose and humanlike arm positions are perfect. But if your character fits better with another species, by all means, use that. I like to use Skydancers for some female human characters, and
I've even used a Tundra for a more broad-shouldered male, as you can see above in my fandragon of Jenkins from The Librarians. However, I find it's usually best to stay away from Nocturnes, Faes, Guardians, Mirrors, Bogsneaks, and Snappers when dealing with human characters, but that's just me.
Now that you've got a species in mind, we can move on to colors and genes!
Colors are easy to wrap your head around. Many people use different styles for the colors of their fandragons, but I always stick to one rule, at least for my human characters: Primary Color is their skin color, Secondary is hair, and Tertiary can be ignored/left basic if necessary.
However, if your character is, for instance, a cat, you'll want a tertiary that matches well. Because wouldn't Okapi gene compliment your tabby character? Wouldn't Underbelly add a nice glow to your tuxedo cat?
As for genes, go as wild as your mind wants you to! Genes are the most flexible part of fandragon creating, in my opinion. But there are still some genes to be careful with.
Avoid anything and everything shiny if you want a human or mammal character. Metallic, Alloy, Crystal or Facet would NOT compliment your humans or felines very well. I like to avoid those genes on everything except dragon characters, such as Windshear from Dragons: Race to the Edge. In unique cases like those, the said genes will add a nice shine to it that reminds anyone looking at the dragon of the character it's based on.
Tertiary Genes I like to leave out completely. However, if used in the right way (example, a light shaded Runes gene for a Wings of Fire SeaWing fandragon), tertiary genes can make your fandragon look perfect. I like to use Scales for Wings of Fire fandragons, for example. But Underbelly or Okapi would look much better for a Warriors fandragon.
I think we've finally covered step one! Now that you have an image in your mind of what your character should look like, SCRY IT. I find using the Scrying Workshop helps me visualize my fandragons WAY easier.
Now that you're sure what you want, head to the Auction House. It may take a long time for you to get exactly what you want. My suggestions is either 1: buy a basic dragon with the right colors and gene it yourself, or 2: buy a dragon just a few shades off (example, you wanted Crimson but bought Garnet instead). And always make sure you have the right gender. That's a mistake I don't plan to make twice. Heh heh.
Step 2- Apparel
Now that you have your fandragon in your lair, it's time to start with apparel! Pay very close attention to the clothing or accessories your character wears for real. Example, if your character is Tigerstar from Warriors, note the recognizable scar across his nose- a Veteran's Eye Scar would make a nice replacement on FR!
My best piece of advice for apparel? MAKE A LIST. No matter what happens, write down a list of the apparel you need. Whether it's on a piece of paper irl, in a Notes app on your phone, or in the bio of the dragon itself.
Make sure you've memorized any items your character is seen wearing ALL the time. Example, (this is a bad example since you've likely never even heard of this series, but whatever) in the tv series The Librarians, Charlene(my fandragon of her is seen above) was never seen without glasses, and was mentioned to always be wearing a pendant Flynn had given her. That pendant is very similar in appearance to FR's Darksteel Amulet of Necromancy. She was also mentioned to own three cats, hence the cat apparel I impulse bought.
Everything make sense?
Step 3- Implementing Skins and Accents
I find skins and accents tremendously hard to incorporate into a fandragon. However, the right accents used in the right ways can go a long way. For example, the Tangled Trickery accent looks just like the star scales on the underside of Wings of Fire NightWing dragons' wings. If you know little tricks like that, you can go a long way with accents.
I personally don't use skins for fandragons. It feels like cheating to me, because you only see the skin, not the actual dragon beneath it. Accents I don't mind though, because they only cover part of your dragon, and can tremendously help their appearance. Just remember to keep an image of your character in your mind throughout the whole process.
Step 4- Finishing Touches
Your fandragon is pretty much complete! When you think you're finished, compare your fandragon with a picture of your character. If you think you could pass it off as a fandragon, you probably can!
Now if you'll excuse me, that was horrible to code on mobile. But thank you for reading my guide, and go get yourselves some fandragons!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa