Creative Corner

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If youre cool with it, dragons that are based heavily on bugs like mantis's or other arthropods like spiders and centipides, possibly crabs. Or perhaps dragons that are tiny and seem to be made of plants(snapdragons? Worst pun I've got)

@MorningSkye

Not sure if you're looking for descriptive words, but here are a few (they can be for all the same dragon if you're looking for a challenge)

Toes
Petal pincher
Guide lines

I agree with Hiblins! And to add to that I gotta say-- Sometimes just taking a break from creating everything with your own spin can help you as a whole. I think working with picture refs and kinda copying the art is a fantastic way to practice as long as credit is paid where credit is due. This can be done with irl pictures or from an artist with a style you like.

As for some themes, there are many popular ones you can chose from such as feelings (say feeling based dragons-- how would you draw a dragon that represents sadness, anger, happiness, etc), steampunk, goth, pretty much any particular elemental thing, holidays, etc.

I personally love nature themes and chibis cause they're often cute and not stressful. I'm also sure you could find whole pre-made lists of themes you could set for each week/month or whenever just for yourself to practice and grow.

@MorningSkye

Personally, I’d look at animals with a real-life build that might be similar to what you’re wanting to draw. This would ensure that your anatomy is correct, as though drawings may look accurate, they often aren’t. Here are some real-life species that could help you adapt some original species. Obviously, you wouldn’t use all aspects of a species, then they wouldn’t really be dragons. Drawing them accurately may benefit helpful for anatomy and realism purposes, though, if that’s what you’re going for.

Species:

Lizards: Quadruped, have scales, more low to the ground, flatter and broader faces, shorter limbs, long tails. Potentially ‘fins’ or frills, especially at the neck area. May have webbed feet if they’re amphibious; this includes newts, water-runners, and other lizard-like species. These are generally smaller. Axolotls are visually similar, but a bit larger, and have much softer skin and feathery frills. (No scales)

Dogs: Taller faces, a more defined snout, definitely more muscular, generally longer limbs. May or may not be fluffy/sleek, may or may not have claws, potentially more rounded appendages. Bigger eyes. Different features in different species (ex. Pitbull vs pomeranian)

Bats: Bipeds, very visually similar wings, sleek/slightly furry, Round-ish faces, with prominent noses that tilt upwards and outwards, tend to be darker colors, also have large eyes. ‘Arms’ merge into wings.

Birds: Biped, have no ‘arms’, only wings. Rounded/ovular faces with a beak. Fluffier wings, may have visible feathers/remain sleek. Thin legs. Eyes are on either side of the beak, may have ‘crowns’ or front feathers, similarly to lizards. Their color-schemes widely vary, and each species of bird is very different as well. (Ex. Vulture vs hummingbird)

These are just some ideas! You could go for a more realistic/semi-realistic/ or even cartoony/chibi approach, I thought that this might be helpful simply for anatomy and original artwork. :)

I think we need more spiral art here on fr but as for non fr chibi's, gijinka art, classic art is cool too. I think if you want to someone animals studying them in the way to go! Make sure you check out different angles and side views.

As for getting frustrated... I understand! I have always wanted to be an artist and people’s tell me I’m good enough to do it but I Just nevertheless looks right! So what I do is if I’m drawing for a friend Andy I think it’s trash, I’ll ask them and they tell me what they would like to see better! If it’s what the costumers want draw it the way they like it! Of course your your unhappy with it then you should also try to improve it in any way possible!

@roadworthy @LunaNebulae @Ecci @Hiblins @Gwynivere @Holi @Babs3 Sorry guys for not getting back to ya'll; yesterday was a tiring and stressful day and I just didn't feel like drawing. There are too many of you to do separate replies, so I'll just say: Thank you! These tips and advice are extremely helpful and I've been trying to use them as I draw. I have two quick sketches here that are up for any critique. The ones I tagged don't need to do anything if they don't want. The first one I didn't use any reference photo, I just wanted to draw a kind of blocky, thick dragon lol. The second I used a leopard gecko for a reference. It was a super quick sketch, barely five minutes probably? So it isn't perfect, especially since I didn't add any shading. [img]https://imgur.com/lZECkZR.png[/img] [img]https://imgur.com/hynM1ct.png[/img]

@MorningSkye

They look great! Honestly, this is rather interesting, so feel free to ping me as you draw new things if you're willing. :)