Dracopedia Read online

  DRACOPEDIA

  A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World

  William O’Connor

  CINCINNATI, OHIO

  www.impact-books.com

  Art from ♦:

  Valor’s Peak

  Oil on paper

  18" × 14" (46cm × 36cm)

  2002

  Dracopedia. Copyright © 2009 by William O’Connor. Manufactured in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by IMPACT Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. (800) 289-0963. First Edition.

  Other fine IMPACT Books are available from your

  local bookstore, art supply store or direct from the

  publisher at www.fwmedia.com.

  13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  O’Connor, William

  Dracopedia : a guide to drawing the dragons of the world / William O’Connor. -- 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-60061-315-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)

  ISBN-10: 1-60061-315-2 (hardcover)

  eISBN: 978-1-44031-712-5

  1. Dragons in art. 2. Drawing--Technique. I. Title. II. Title: Guide to drawing the dragons of the world.

  NC825.D72O26 2009

  743’.87--dc22

  2009020514

  Edited by Kelly C. Messerly

  Designed by Clare Finney

  Production coordinated by Matt Wagner

  Art on page 49 from Mythological and Fantastic Creatures CD-ROM & Book © 2002 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 18 from Gesner’s Curious and Fantastic Beasts CD-ROM & Book by Konrad Gesner © 2004 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 29 from Dragons and Wizards CD-ROM & Book by Marty Noble and Eric Gottesman © 2003 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on pages 26, 59 and 141 from Monsters and Dragons CD-ROM & Book by Ernst and Johanna Lehner © 2005 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 71 from Heraldic Designs CD-ROM & Book © 1999 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 153 from 120 Italian Renaissance Paintings CD-ROM and Book by Carol Belanger Grafton © 2007 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on pages 71 and 117 from The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer, Dr. W. Kurth (ed) © 1963 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 141 from 159 Celtic Designs by Amy Lusebrink © 1993 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on page 129 from Doré’s Illustrations for Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso” © 1980 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Art on pages 50 and 105 from Animals: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, etc., Jim Harter (ed) © 1979 Dover Publications, Inc.

  Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

  Corel® and Painter™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in Canada, the United States and/or other countries.

  METRIC CONVERSION CHART

  To convert to multiply by

  Inches Centimeters 2.54

  Centimeters Inches 0.4

  Feet Centimeters 30.5

  Centimeters Feet 0.03

  Yards Meters 0.9

  Meters Yards 1.1

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  To Sam. Thanks for the coffee and waffles.

  A special thanks goes to Jeff Menges and Dover Publications for access to their excellent archive of historical dragon art. This book would not have been possible without their invaluable assistance. For more information visit www.doverpublishing.com.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  William O’Connor began drawing and painting as a child. Monsters and myths were inspirational to driving him to study visual arts. The writings of Tolkien, the Athurian Romances, as well as Dungeons and Dragons formed a fascination with dragons and the fantasy genre that lasted all his life. William attended Alfred University for fine arts, graduating in 1992 and become a full-time freelance illustrator. William has produced over three thousand images for publication for such companies as Wizards of the Coast, Blizzard Entertainment, Lucasfilms, HarperCollins, Doubleday and many more.

  For more information about William O’Connor and to see his portfolio, visit: www.wocstudios.com.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Introduction

  Drawing Materials

  Digital Painting

  AMPHIPTERE

  Draco amphipteridae

  The most common wild member of the dragon class.

  ARCTIC DRAGON

  Draco nimibiaquidae

  The northern, flightless furred dragon family.

  ASIAN DRAGON

  Draco cathaidae

  Cousin of the drake, it is a four-legged serpentine dragon.

  BASILISK

  Draco lapisoculidae

  A flightless dragon, infamous for petrifying with its eyes.

  COATYL

  Draco quetzalcoatylidae

  The colorful winged member of the feathered order of dragon.

  DRAGON

  Draco dracorexidae

  By far the most feared and famous creature of the dragon class.

  DRAGONETTE

  Draco volucrisidae

  The dragon rider’s dragon—a bipedal dragon with small front legs and expansive, batlike wings.

  DRAKE

  Draco drakidae

  A common, flightless dragon, long domesticated by humans.

  FEYDRAGON

  Draco dracimexidae

  The smallest member of the dragon class, often mistaken for an insect.

  HYDRA

  Draco hydridae

  The most unusual of the dragon class, it possesses multiple heads and serpentine necks.

  SEA ORC

  Draco orcadraciforme

  A seafaring member of the dragon class that is numerous and fearsome.

  WYRM

  Draco ouroboridae

  A fearsome member of the dragon class, capable of spraying a poisonous mist.

  WYVERN

  Draco wyvernae

  The most ferocious member of the dragon class.

  Fire and Water

  Oil on panel

  36" × 24"

  (91cm × 61cm)

  2004

  INTRODUCTION

  DRAGONS HAVE FILLED THE IMAGINATIONS of humankind since the beginning of history. Fables, mythology and folklore are populated with the winged, scaly beasts that both frighten and delight us. Throughout history this amazing creature has captivated the minds of artists all over the world. Today the power and majesty of dragons are as fascinating as ever, and tales of dragons and their kind dominate the novels of authors, the canvases of artists and the screens of animators.

  Dracopedia is an approach to the study and understanding of these amazing creatures from an artist’s point of view. Anatomical studies, gesture sketches and painting demonstrations are all a part of the Dracopedia, as well as a natural and cultural hi
story of dragons. For years artist William O’Connor has traveled all over the world studying dragons in their natural environment. Now this work is compiled for the first time into a single encyclopedic compendium.

  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

  For thousands of years dragons have been depicted in paintings, drawings, woodcuts, sculptures and every form of art imaginable, and in every culture. The dragon is the most universal creature in history. Dragons are the most wel-known creature in the world, and yet, they only exist in the mind of the artist.

  Dracopedia is an artist’s reference guide and workbook for creating, designing and visualizing all types of dragons. By examining thirteen individual dragon families, the concepts, design drawings, stages of the painting process, and by using historical and natural references as a guide, it is my hope that artists of all experience levels, gamers, writers and dragon enthusiasts alike will find inspiration and ideas of their own in these pages.

  Each chapter in the work is divided into two parts. The first part involves the concept stage, where through a series of pencil-and-paper sketches, designs, historical reference and environmental studies, the dragon is worked out in detail. Once this is completed, a full-color painting demonstration is executed of the animal. Although these paintings are executed digitally, the concepts contained with them apply to all artists using any medium or application.

  DRAWING MATERIALS

  The most important tools are no more than a simple notebook and pen or pencil. With these you can perform anatomy studies of any of the animals contained in the Dracopedia, as well as begin drawing your own designs. I start out all my drawings using an HB lead pencil.

  SELECTING A PENCIL

  Pencil leads come in different degrees of hardness. Select pencil leads with an H designation if you want a hard lead. Select pencil leads with a B designation if you want a soft lead. The nice thing about an HB lead is that it’s right in the middle—it’s neither too hard nor too soft—and will be visible through transparent color or easily be covered with opaque colors.

  There are also a variety of pencil types. You can get mechanical pencils, which allow you to use a variety of lead thicknesses. You could also use a lead holder, which is similar to a mechanical pencil, but holds a thicker lead that can be sharpened to a fine point with sandpaper and a craft knife. Of course, there are also the traditional wooden pencils. These can also be sharpened with sandpaper and a craft knife for a very sharp point, or you can use a pencil sharpener.

  Pencil Leads

  The softer your pencil lead, the darker your mark and the easier it is to blend. If your lead is too soft, the pencil can easily smear, making your drawing look dirty. However, if the pencil lead is too hard, you will have to apply more pressure to the pencil to draw. This can mar your paper’s surface. I usually work with a range of leads to achieve different effects, but experiement with different lead hardnesses to find one that works best for you.

  USING AN ERASER

  I consider erasers as an additional drawing tool. I prefer to use a white vinyl eraser because it doesn’t mar the paper, despite repeated corrections. Eraser pens are readily available. The ends can be cut into points and used to create highlights.

  SELECTING A SURFACE

  There are a variety of surfaces you can draw on, though I prefer to draw on bristol board because it’s thicker than plain white or notebook paper, and it easily accepts the pencil lead and allows for marks to be easily erased. I work with bristol board that’s 14" × 22" (36cm × 56cm) and has a vellum surface. Bristol board comes in pads, which are well suited for doing your final drawing before adding paint or scanning into the computer, as the sheets can easily be removed.

  Practice Your Drawing Technique

  When designing dragons of your own, you will need to spend a lot time drawing. Whether you choose to work digitally or traditionally, the drawing is the most important stage because this is where you determine the dragon’s overall look and design.

  Fill Your Sketchbooks With Ideas

  The sketchbook is the place where your dragon ideas are born. Compile as many notes and ideas as you can. Try to work out the details of your designs before starting a finished drawing.

  Drawing Supplies

  Pencil on a smooth-surfaced large paper allows me to render high detail, and make changes fairly easily. The most important thing is to be patient. Take your time and don’t rush.

  It’s also very important to get a sketchbook. I believe the sketchbook is the artist’s best tool. This is where all of your ideas and observations are jotted down, and the the real creativity happens. Sketchbooks are also a good way to document and store your ideas. You never know when an old idea might spark a new concept. A simple doodle with notes might lead you to your best creation.

  USE REFERENCE MATERIAL

  Going to your library or bookstore and searching online will allow you to see the wide variety of dragons that other artists have created. In combination with natural history books, these can be a helpful inspiration for getting started.

  RESPECT COPYRIGHTS

  It’s OK use other people’s photos as a reference to get ideas, to see the pattern of a snake, for instance, but unless you have permission from the owner of that image, it is not acceptable to copy that image directly.

  DIGITAL PAINTING

  For the dragon demonstrations in this book, I scanned my pencil drawings into the computer, then painted them using Adobe® Photoshop®. The digital painting instructions in this book are based on Adobe Photoshop, but you can use any painting program that has layers capability, such as Corel® Painter™ X, Corel© Painter™ Essentials, and Adobe® Photoshop® Elements. If price is a factor, check out the powerful freeware package GIMP, available at www.gimp.org. You can also paint with traditional mediums such as oil, acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil.

  Whether you paint digitally or traditionally, the painting process is as follows:

  1. Start with one or more thumbnail sketches. Thumbnails help you work out your ideas as well as the dragon’s form and how it relates to the setting.

  2. Do a final drawing. Do the final pencil drawing with an HB pencil on bristol board. If you’re going to paint digitally, scan your final drawing into the computer. Scan in RGB color mode at 100 percent of the original size and 300ppi so that your painting can be used in print at a later date should the opportunity arise.

  3. Establish the underpainting. Using transparent colors and large brushes, do a monochromatic underpainting that sets the stage for later colors and details. (In Photoshop, do the underpainting on a new layer that is set to Multiply mode.)

  4. Refine the forms and begin adding details. Begin modeling the forms of the dragon and its setting, using semiopaque colors and smaller brushes.

  5. Add details and finishing touches. With opaque colors and your smallest brushes, apply remaining details.

  Photoshop Brushes

  Photoshop provides myriad brush shapes, and there are numerous brush parameters you can alter. Shown here are some of my favorite custom brushes that I made by modifying default brush shapes. Brushes like these can simulate the texture of grass, stone, or hair on a dragon’s hide.

  BRUSHES

  Whether they’re traditional or digital, the brushes you use dictate the types of marks you will make. The digital brush shapes on this page are among my favorites; all are adaptations of default Photoshop brush shapes that I created by modifying brush parameters such as Shape Dynamics, Scattering and Wet Edges. Take time to experiment with brush parameters and come up with your own favorite brushes (see for more on customizing brushes).

  LAYER MODES

  With the layering feature, you can paint each stage of a painting on its own layer (like an acetate overlay sheet), then control each layer independently.

  In Photoshop, create a new layer by choosing Layer menu > New to set each layer to any of several blending modes that govern how its colors blend with those on other layers. You can also hide a la
yer temporarily by clicking its “eye” icon. The layer modes I use in this book are:

  • Normal layer mode. This is the default and simplest mode. On a layer in Normal mode, painting with a 100% opaque brush covers up whatever is on the base layer; painting with a lower-opacity brush allows the new color to blend with the base color the way you would expect traditional paint colors to blend.

  • Multiply layer mode. On a layer in Multiply mode, the color of the base layer gets multiplied by the new color, resulting in a color that is always darker than the base color. Brushing repeatedly on the same area produces a progressively darker color, rather like repeated strokes of a marker.

  Brush Opacity vs. Layer Opacity

  Each layer in a Photoshop document has an opacity setting, which is separate from brush opacity. All four of the gray brushstrokes shown here were painted with a brush set to 100% opacity. The brushstrokes are on a new layer atop the background layer which contains the pencil drawing. By changing the mode and opacity of the top layer, I can control how much of the base layer shows through. These settings simulate the effect of transparent or opaque paints.

  SPECIFYINGCOLOR IN PHOTOSHOP

  Photoshop comes with a default set of swatches (Window menu > Swatches); you simply click a swatch to use it. An artist’s color palette is subject to a great deal of personal taste, but you will almost certainly want some hues that aren’t included in the default swatch set, and you’ll probably need multiple tonal variations of your hues. Two ways to choose your own colors are:

  • The Eyedropper tool. Click the Eyedropper on an image to sample a color straight from a specific spot on a painting or photo.

  • The Color Picker tool. To open the Color Picker, choose Window menu > Tools, then click one of the color squares on the Tools palette. The upper square is the foreground color; the lower square sets the background color.) In the Color Picker, you can click the desired spot on a spectrum of colors, or you can specify numeric values for R, G and B (red, green and blue). The numeric values are useful if you want to know exactly what a color is so that you can use it again later or communicate it to someone else.