XenoJax Studios

Finding a species

My first step when creating a pre-made is always the species (wow, who would've thought, right?) I wanted to make something that would be more likely to be purchased, but also have a semblance of uniqueness. From my understanding, dragons are quite popular, and one can be very versatile with their design. But Western dragons in particular are very popular, and may not stand out. I looked to Eastern dragons, which were alot less common. But I didn't want to jump straight to a Chinese or Japanese dragon. I wanted to find a culture that's less represented. That's when I looked up Vietnamese dragons, and it all clicked.

Research

However, as a costume artist (and an American) I have an innate responsibility to respect the history and culture surrounding this creature, as I would with any foreign mythology.

(I also have an Amaterasu cosplay in the works, who I have done the same thing for. Feel free to let me know if youd like to learn my research process on that too!)

I went sifting through different articles, learning the lore of the dragon. I read up on a few myths, such as The Children of the Dragon and the Fairy, to further understand the importance of dragons in Vietnamese culture. I also learned that there were different dragons associated with different dynasties. I decided on the Ngyuen, which came from the dynasty of the same name, and is the most modern depiction of the Vietnamese dragon.

The second step with to pick the colors. However, I'm not one to NOT look deeper into the symbolism of everything, so I looked into the meaning of colors within a Vietnamese context. They really aren't that different from the general consensus: white meaning purity, blue meaning calmness and trust, gold meaning wealth, etc. Even though it wasn't the most design altering research, I still found it helpful. I especially found it helpful to learn that the reason these dragons have a crocodile/gator-like appearance, was because ancient Vietnamese villages were often established next rivers, thus water is viewed as very powerful.

(Its also helpful to note that half of Vietnam is beached next to the Pacific and the Gulf of Tonkin but that's neither here nor there.)

So now I have a species and a core design element, that being water (which is great considering blue is the most popular color). I took a lot of inspiration from these statues in particular, since the art I saw was so varied and some may not be genuine.

One thing that stood out to me the most is the flowing shape of their scales. These wiggly patterns, along with the pudgy snout, were going to be the most important element of my design.

First draft

Normally, for pre-mades, I do make a very quick reference as to what I want to do. Looking back on this design, I'm a bit disappointed I didn't get the wiggly-ness of the scales correct. But we will circle back to that in a bit.

I did want to include a watery pattern to the design to hammer home that it was a *water* dragon, because I knew the blue wasn't going to cut it for me. That's why you can see it has wave patterns on its cheeks.

In the process

I started to construct it like normal, but as I got close to finishing the head, it felt like something was missing. I went back to the statues I referenced, and came to the conclusion that the large scales were necessary. I made them white since it wasn't a very prominent color on the original, and changed the chin scales to gold for symmetry. After that, I sort of ran with the idea to make this suit have more detail. That's why in the final design, you can see that the tail has that same wave pattern present on the face, as well as the proper scale shape.

(Another reason why I changed the light blue on the tail was because I didn't want to buy another fur, since the light blue on the face is minky. I wanted to use what I had on hand. I'm glad it worked out better that way, though!)

Conclusion

Throughout making this pre-made, I learned a lot of valuable lessons, both as a maker and as a designer. While I understand I'm not quite at the skill level to match the real complexities of the original Vietnamese dragon design, and I had to simplify a lot due to the limitations caused my costume making, I learned that it is not a full excuse to cut corners. My main goal was to be respectful of Vietnamese mythology and reflect that in my design, and I made a good handful of changes as a result. I also learned that making the extra effort furthers my passion as a maker, and I should not shy away from it because it *might* be too hard.

I put a lot of love into this design, and I hope whoever gets the suit and character loves it just as much.

To end this yap session, I want to remind everyone that this pre-made is still up for auction in The Dealer's Den! It comes with a ref sheet, and a badge as well as feetpaws after purchase. The auction ends July 2nd!