#dragon fantasy

Landing

Creatures of Sonaria - Meorlark and Asilvestrela

Meorlarks are large predators that dwell on both sea and land. They use their hammerhead-like heads to tank attacks and their heavy fur coating helps them avoid wounds in battles. Meorlarks are very curious creatures that love to play in water rather than hunt.

Fanart one of my favourite characters in WoF~

Bizarre Dragons:

Less or more realistic

As always, this is a difficult topic to explain. What I'm referring to is something I don't mean, but unlike the previous ones, this time I'm not going for a kind of design process like with dinosaurs or cavemen, but more than anything, a vibe, a feeling that you'll get from these kinds of creatures.

So...

I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS

Explaining why I dislike these specific depictions is a bit difficult for me, but I'll try. First, the bottom right image is of Eragorn's adoption, if I remember correctly. What I dislike in this case is a dragon with a rather humanized face. I understand that technically a dragon has to be a hybrid of several animals, but giving it human characteristics makes it lose all its impact. I mean, Smaug from The Hobbit films also has some mammalian features in his face, and he still looks reptilian, like some kind of gigantic Komodo dragon. This is simply a person.

There's the type of dragon you find in fantasy postcards, very common from around 2009 to 2015, and honestly, I'm quite fed up with them. At least, I feel like they all have too similar vibes, and I don't even feel like they're real creatures, but simply Photoshopped for some reason I can't explain. But when we try to depict a dragon more realistically, like in Game of Thrones, for example, something frustrates me. I don't know, I feel like every time they try to portray a realistic dragon, they try to eliminate any fantastical aspect the creature has, and it bothers me a bit, especially because if the world is already fantasy, why restrict yourself?

The same goes for the dragons in the movie Reign of Fire, which are indeed based on a specific dragon that we'll talk about later because it's an example of what I do like, but on the other hand, in everything else they are all exactly the same, absolutely nothing changes. And yes, they are very good designs, but after a while I got tired of them.

I think what I dislike most about these designs is the fact that most of them stick to a specific dragon archetype, and that's what I'm going to talk about today. We're so ingrained in the idea of ​​what a dragon looks like these days—whether it has four legs or two, I don't care if people call it a Wyvern or not—that at the end of the day it all becomes standardized to the point where dragons start to get a little boring to look at, and that's worrying, don't you get it? How on earth can you make a dragon boring?

The thing is, dragons have been more of a catch-all word to encompass various types of animals, usually with a reptilian base, because at the end of the day the word dragon comes from the root Draco, which means snake. Therefore, even if it's a kind of giant snake, it will end up being classified as a dragon, in the same way that the Chinese dragon is technically known as Long, which literally translates as dragon, even though it doesn't have the same characteristics, it remains a primarily reptilian creature.

One can say how many combinations you can have with a basic retirement creature at this point and the truth is that there are several. Even in the Middle Ages a dragon did not necessarily have to look like what we see today.

There were dragons that only had two legs, but not even from behind, but from the front; there were dragons that had six legs and two wings; there were dragons with two legs and two wings; there were dragons without any kind of legs and two wings; there were dragons that didn't even have wings, and the curious thing about this is that in most of them it wasn't even described that they had fiery breath, but on the contrary that they had poisonous breath, that is to say, that being near them would poison you and kill you.

But also check out some of the physical characteristics of dragons. We can see that they have ears, that they have fur, some have wings shaped like feathers instead of bats, some have lion claws, and so on. This, as I said once again, emphasizes the fact that dragons are not simply reptiles, but rather a mixture of various animals. At the end of the day, they are fantastic creatures, so restricting the dragon to a single form simply makes it generic. Not even the unicorn or the mermaid, other creatures of fantasy that are reinvented plenty of times, doesn't have this problem of becoming boring over time.

Amd this should not be confussed with "realistic", because realistic isn't boring, is just playing with the limitations of real life on a creative way. Speculative evolution. And there is a work that understands this well...

The DragonSlayer Codex.

This spec evo work it's set on another planet, where humans evolved from giants and a small flaming reptile evolved into multiple types of dragons. The interesting thing here is that the dragons here are limited to some reality laws (with the exception of this alter earth being smaller than our own) that made them incredibly diverse. Hundreds of species of dragons, giants and humans living on an extreme megafauna ecosystem that preys on those who aren't carefull enough. And please, look at the designs here, they are WONDERFUL. You can find the images on Deviantart or buying the actual book, although I met the series thanks to a video analysis that was structured as a safari guide.

An interesting detail about this world is that people adapted to live with dragons because most of the time the dragons disrupt and destroy any civilization we recognize as human. Therefore, humanity adapted to dragons before the dragons adapted to humanity, as is usually seen in fantasy worlds. However, there is one in particular that I quite like because of the way it handles these dragons, although it would be more accurate to call them wyberns...

Monster Hunter's dragons aren't technically dragons. Those are reserved for special ocations. The main enemy here are the wyverns (For those who don't know, the word literally translates to dragon; however, it is used in another language where the word dragon is used, and therefore it was syncretized to describe a specific type of dragon, although this classification has always been informal and doesn't really reflect anything. Look at this video for more information). But since they're technically the same thing, we'll continue to refer to these designs as dragons, especially because they're quite unique. Perhaps it's due to the new graphics in the more recent video games, but I can't help but be impressed by how imaginative the monsters in Monster Hunter are. So, I've started getting more into the franchise since then, despite having already played previous games in the past, like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, for example.

What I like most here is that most of the dragons are based on a basic form, that is, a tetrapod with two wings and two legs, a tail and a head. However, the interesting thing behind all this lies in the fact that most of the time they are based on different animals, whether mammals, chameleons, geckos and even real-life dinosaurs, and most don't even breathe fire, but have unique abilities like producing scales, which then explode from spewing mud that keeps you stuck to the ground, and so on.

Dragons are reserved for special moments, not only for the Elder Dragons that are constantly referenced in the video game Monster Hunter World, but also for the final bosses. Most will remember that the final boss of Monster Hunter is almost always a typical European dragon with six limbs, something that would seem to be quite disappointing were it not for the fact that for the inhabitants of that world, a six-limbed dragon is simply something that should not exist. Fatalis I belive is what is called.

Speaking of which, you remember I mentioned that I had a problem with 100% scaled dragons because it made them look a bit boring? Well, this is the opposite case. In fact, most of the designs in this game, despite having gigantic scales, aren't limited to just that. They have scales of different types, different sizes, different functionalities, and most are even adapted to different environments, very similar to how it is in the Dragon Slayer Codex. Therefore, despite technically being a recognizable form of dragon, it is not limited to simply the typical dragon one would expect. That said, there is a franchise that I especially like because of the way it imagines dragons. Yes, most have typical forms that one could say clearly indicate a European dragon, but this one works in a rather special way, portraying them almost as living fossils...

Dark Souls. Who else?

I want you to notice that the dragons here are explicitly fantasy; there's no speculative evolution involved. Here we have a dragon that, due to its gluttony, ended up splitting in half. Some have four limbs, and others have six; some have one pair of wings, and others have four. I love it. In fact, I also love how the dragons here are made of stone and the fact that stone was portrayed as indestructible in the world before, of course, the scaleless Seath appeared.

I adore the design of this wretch, not only because, unlike other dragons, he seems to have no legs at all, but also because of his wings. I find it very curious how most dragons have wings that look like stone feathers or are simply membranous, while Seath has very fragile, dragonfly-like wings. It's a rather unique design that still looks like a kind of dragon when viewed from afar, and this also extends to other Front Software games, such as Elden Ring or Sekiro, which also have their respective dragons inspired by a specific culture, be it medieval European or Chinese. But in any case, despite how imaginative and quite striking their designs are, you can't help but think that they are dragons, something that for me is a mastery since they evoke the feeling of power that a dragon should give while at the same time making it unique to look at.

There is a certain degree of majesty when you see them, but more because in the video game universe we are in a decadent world that is dying, and therefore the dragons are what little remains of that past which was not only very alien and that you are living in, but shows how ancient and dying the world has been since the first signs, that is, since the dragons began to be wiped out. Now, one might wonder what a majestic dragon would look like in its natural habitat. Of course, that also depends on your interpretation of one of these beasts. But there is one man who does it quite well: the illustrator Ciruelo Cabral.

This guy was very prevalent during the era of high dark fantasy, when dragons were depicted with these kinds of protrusions, like needle-like spines or membranes, around their bodies, very similar to what early D&D images were at the time. While this isn't often portrayed today, it remains a rather distinctive characteristic of dragons from that time, and I can't stress enough how much I love these kinds of illustrations: the elongated head, like that of a raptor or crocodile; the majestic bearing of a great cat or a horse; the enormous claws; and the tail, shaped like a spike or a lance. It's truly impressive to behold, and if you encountered it in real life, you'd immediately assume it was celestial, whether because of its imposing presence or what it would be capable of compared to other creatures.

And look at this: Ciruelo Cabral wasn't limited to the already dried-up dragon shape either; if you can see in the lower right image, we see one with what appear to be butterfly wings adapted to its size, something unique.

In fact, there's a movie that captures this type of dragon very well, or at least superficially. It's a rather forgotten film since not many people went to see it because it came out at the same time as Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it was already a couple of years old, and the truth is I loved it and it was the main source of inspiration for my Dragon Slayer game. I'm talking, of course, about... wel... Disney's Dragon Slayer. More specifically... Vermithrax Pejorative.

Guillermo del Toro once hailed this dragon, alongside Sleeping Beauty's, as one of the most important dragons in cinema, and I can see why. When its design was created, it was decided to base it not only on fantasy creatures but also on real animals—in this case, a small pterosaur called the Rhamphorhynchus. What's interesting is that its body structure looks quite natural, enough so that several films in the future began to copy this design, such as Reign of Fire and The Hobbit films.

From my point of view, perhaps with the exception of Smaug from The Hobbit, she is a dragon that impresses me more. She's not only portrayed as a highly intelligent animal but also as a full-blown threat, depicted literally facing off against a wizard, the the only one capable of possessing power enoguh to defeat her, while also being caring enough to worry about her young. Furthermore, she's portrayed in a tragic way, since the larger dragons grow, the smaller their scales become and the more irritable they get. Or at least that's what the film said.

I like how it works with the classic elements of what we associate with a dragon story while also giving it its own twist that, while it feels cliché today, felt unique at the time.

But if we're looking for something that moves away from the typical dragon silhouette and appeals more to newer generations, then I think we can all agree that the How to Train Your Dragon franchise is the most influential in recent years. Also, I think most people associate dragons more with Toothless than anything else, and yes, they are good designs, don't get me wrong, but I prefer conceptual ones.

There have been many different designs for the dragons in the first film, when it was simply a direct adaptation of the book. Then they suddenly decided to create their own and went wild with the dragon designs until they finally settled on something a bit more sensible and suited to the story they needed to tell. But what I like most about the concept art is the aura the dragons maintain. Yes, they are cartoonish, with gigantic scales aligned in different ways, which I like, but at the same time, they maintain a kind of intelligent look while becoming increasingly simplistic. That is, they are still animals, of course, but they are also governed by their own instincts. Not to mention the fact that in the 3D modeling process, many of the details that were drawn are lost because they cannot be transferred well.

For example, the drawing we have there of Toothless is quite recognizable at first glance. However, before that, it must have gone through several changes in which some details had to be removed. Of course, the original Night Fury was quite terrifying. But I like that in the concept art, he really did look more like a dragon than just a cat with wings. The people who complained about him in the third movie will surely be quite willing to accept these changes to the character's design. At least that would make him look less like a big cat. Although, well, I know several people who don't mind this, so I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

It could be said then that the dragons here have a distinctive personality in each design, as if you saw them and immediately knew how they were going to behave. This is something that, although I haven't finished the original book saga, from what I could see on the internet, is also maintained with some illustrations of the dragons there, which also break the mold to develop their own.

Now, one of the main reasons I'm quite annoyed with this topic is simply because I grew up with a franchise that, while not that popular at the time, was enough to have left a huge impact on me. I'm talking, of course, about Enrique, which at one point was the biggest competitor to the Lego brand: MegaBloks, especially with its line: Dragons Metal Ages.

Yes, it's true, these weren't the first dragons to be a single line, and in fact, I detest how the first Ice line dragons look. However, I can't deny the fact that I have a special fondness and affection for that type of dark fantasy dragon design. More than anything, because while it was previously mentioned that dragons were partially intelligent, just by looking at them, these truly demonstrate their intelligence. They have masks that allow them to speak with humans, and also armor that adorns their bodies, gems that give them their magical power, and a multitude of varied designs, especially coming from the evil dragons, which range from the selectively bred ones that are dubbed vampire dragons made of different metals like gold, iron, and bronze. Yes, I know there's an inaccuracy there, but forget it, that's just how it is, as explained in the miniseries. Or there are the main dragons: the great Thoron with his humanoid form on two legs, and the evil dragons with their different forms, one a manta ray, another a Chinese dragon, and another like the perfect counterpart to Thoron.

When I was little, I had several of these toys and enjoyed them quite a bit. It's a shame I can't have the whole set since I only managed to get five because they discontinued the line before I could buy any more. But the truth is, to this day I still consider it an excellent example of character design, especially creature design, and it's all because of this darn brand. I get pretty picky about dragon designs.

But there's one name that made me realize that at the end of the day, this doesn't matter; it's simply a matter of taste, and it's the way I like to see dragons because, when it comes to representations, I think one of the simplest and one of my favorites is that of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Let's set aside the fact that this guy came up with the concept of different types of dragons with different breath attacks long before other fantasy writers, but simply didn't include it in his works because he wasn't interested, and take a look at his illustrated work. Here he's captured some of the best, in my opinion.

When Tolkien began writing The Hobbit and subsequently the entire universe that would result from The Lord of the Rings, he had a rather strong opinion about the representation of dragons in Victorian society. In this case, the idea was that they had been quite ridiculed, since every time a dragon appeared it was always in a rather silly or foolish way. It is there that Smaug, the last and first Great Fire Dragon, was born.

For his performances, the writer decided to revisit some of his favorite sources, ancient mythology, especially some works for which he was already quite well known, since he even produced translated versions of the Beowolf stories and Fafnir story, which also served as inspiration for his works.

His dragons, then, are Machiavellian forces. I am almost 100% certain that they are all inherently psychopathic forces that should not exist naturally, but that nevertheless came into being through dark deeds. They are greedy, manipulative, cruel, mean, ambitious, and also quite gluttonous, but one thing I like most is that from this description, one might assume that dragons are calamities, impossible to defeat. But the truth is, when you see the illustrations of how and who drew the dragons, you can see that they actually look quite calm, or at least more relaxed than one might expect when imagining a dragon born directly from the chaos of darkness. You might imagine it as something that would come from a World of Warcraft illustration, but seeing this, the truth is that they seem quite detached from it, I could even say independent of themselves. There were several types, and the truth is that when Tolkien and others discovered that the word "dragon" comes directly from "to crawl" or as a synonym for "serpent," they embraced it wholeheartedly. There are no dragons in their stories that don't live in a cave. As far as I know.

It's curious, and on several occasions Tolkien mentioned that his drawings don't exactly represent how the scene looked in his imagination because he was also quite limited by his skill, but he wasn't a bad at drawing by any means. He simply wasn't that specialized in the subject, and thanks to that, we can see some unique characteristics. I especially like how most of his dragons still maintain this hybrid form of different animal types. Look how some have talons like eagles, a pig's nose, long, pointed ears, and a tail shaped like a halberd, bat wings, and crocodile teeth with snake bodies. But all the same, they feel quite calm. It's curious considering how we usually see dragons in modern popular culture, but when we look at them, there's an hour of tranquility and peace, something that doesn't often happen to me when I see dragons.

Going there alone gives me a feeling of peace even greater than that of the medieval illustrations I showed at the beginning, and I find it amusing to imagine that nowadays the image of the cruel dragon is fading again, becoming just another creature. I've seen several comics and stories on the internet that portray the dragon as a creature quite alien to the human world and generally annoyed by humans, but one that doesn't abandon its roots, and there are several different kinds of images that explain this on their own...

When I first saw this series of images, I instantly fell in love. It's a kind of modernization of the classic dragon myth, without losing its more fantastical qualities. The designs are very varied and original. It also flawlessly captures each dragon's personality. Seriously, these images encompass everything I was trying to say in this post, and I think you can see them for yourselves to get a really good idea. I quite enjoy looking at this kind of thing, and sometimes I even imagine, "If I were a dragon, what kind of treasure would I hoard within my body?"

In the end, as Terry Pratchett said at the time, humanity needs fantasy to continue living, even in the Middle Ages they relied on the ancient years in which King Arthur ruled, years that never existed because historically there was no King Arthur, but oh well. This only shows that we are in need of this way of beautifying the modern world, and within this, I am also grateful for the fact that we are able to bring things from classic fantasy into modern culture, especially without diminishing what came before, but also including elements of our contemporary cultures, whether from dungeons and dragons, offering different types of species for players, to different cultures encompassed in medieval worlds that are not simply generic European medieval culture.

Although it is also curious how at the end of the day people will always choose a knight in shining armor. But that's a conversation for the next post: KnightCore!