The complete picture of this dragon drawing may look quite complex
but do not get repelled by that. I am going to show you how easy it is
to draw a dragon.
As you know there are many kinds of dragons and they differ according to the culture.
Imagine
the dragon as a huge serpent with legs or wings and fire all-around…or
to say it more simplistically, as a huge decorated snake.
The following picture I made is a Chinese Dragon.
It
is a very simple drawing, although it may not look like that at the
first sight…but…if you follow the steps, starting from one simple
winding line you will eventually end up with a perfect dragon drawing.
Your drawing may be slightly different from this one, which is perfectly OK.
You
are here to draw your own dragon, not to copy like a scanner. The hair
on the dragon, its face, etc will be slightly different on your picture
and, that is good.
click the image to enlarge
Drawing
a Chinese Dragon is not just some dragon drawing. It is actually a
connection with the Chinese culture. Make it nice, make it fun and make
it better than mine ;-)
OK, go ahead, click on the thumbnails to
enlarge each one, if necessary print them out as you wish. You can draw
it directly or use a tracing paper.
click the image to enlarge
Observe
well the above ready picture first. See how the body of the dragon is
winding. See the shape of the curves and imagine a central line (a kind
of axis) going through the entire length along of the body. Now draw
that line.
I draw that central line by several pencil strokes.
Make as many strokes as necessary, you can always erase them later. The
more you practice the fewer strokes you need.
At this stage you should have a “S”
shaped winding curve. Now add a bit of volume to that S-shaped-line.
Notice how the body of the dragon is winding, tilting or bending.
click the image to enlarge
As
the position of the dragon on this picture suggests it is much
convenient to start to draw and work out the body parts from the tail.
Dragon has a lot of thick hair on its head and it continues till the
tail.
This drawing is rather a symbolical drawing so the back of
the dragon may appear like spiked or as if there are flames or simply
furry.
The fur on the back top continues from one side of the body to another, as the dragon bends.
click the image to enlarge
click the image to enlarge
Head
of the dragon is easy. Click on the image and see how simply I sketched
the very approximate outlines of the head. Yes, there are many strokes
on this dragon drawing…as many as I initially needed.
click the image to enlarge
You only need to mark out 3 basic parts on the head. These are: the eyes, the nose, and the mouth. Make them all visible by weak pencil lines.
click the image to enlarge
Now you can go deeper into detail. Outline the shapes of each 3 parts. If possible start with eyes, then go to nose and finally draw mouth.
You are still drawing by very gentle weak pencil strokes; so do not push the tip of your pencil too strong.
click the image to enlarge
Chinese
dragon has mustache, beard, thick hair and a pair of long whiskers on
each side. On its head is a pair of antlers. At this stage I just forgot
them to draw but I added them later (see the fourth picture from
below).
click the image to enlarge
When
the head is roughly ready you can start to draw the hind legs. Use an
extra sheet of paper under your drawing hand not to blur your dragon
drawing. The legs slightly resemble to a bird’s legs so try to make
their shape like that.
click the image to enlarge
Draw the front legs. Chinese dragon has 5 talons on each leg, but here they are hidden so we cannot see them all.
click the image to enlarge
Good.
Your dragon drawing starts to emerge in its full scale. Now you can
start to gradually emphasize by thicker and darker lines the body of the
serpent. Begin from the tail.
click the image to enlarge
Chinese
dragon has scales throughout its entire body. Open the thumbnail and
see in detail how I drew the scales. I made 2 lines on each scale on
purpose so that it looks more sharp and crisp.
When you draw the
scales always work out towards the tail, it will be easier. I would
suggest doing a little sketch/study on a separate paper to see how it
comes out.
click the image to enlarge
So,
here is the place where I actually corrected the head of the dragon,
namely I added a pair of very simple antlers. Can you see them? They are
hidden in thick hair so they may be hardly visible but antlers should
be there.
If you do the dragon drawing only by pencil you can
start to shade the dragon’s body as it is outlined here. Simple strokes
will do the job perfectly.
click the image to enlarge
Since
all this drawing is by graphite HB pencil, most of the body parts
appear blackish. Parts that look as if they were piled up on each other
may be difficult to distinguish one shape from another.
I suggest
leaving a tiny (very slim) borderline around those parts, especially on
the hair of the dragon’s head. Hair and antlers would be otherwise
impossible to distinguish. Enlarge the picture and notice this important
step.
click the image to enlarge
Make
sure you have the thin borderline, especially on the head. Too much
hair and other elements are just bundling in that area.
Use a sharp pencil and pencil-shaped-eraser to draw the borderlines. Using these two simple tools will help you tremendously, you’ll see.
click the image to enlarge
OK,
your dragon drawing is ready. Erase the last grey dust from around the
body so that the white parts on the paper remain as white as possible.
You can do the same drawing by using color pencils or pastel.
