Designing Dragons (the end...for now)
For my rendition of The Reluctant Dragon, I wanted to create a comfy, cozy world reminiscent of Wind in the Willows. My motto for it was “a warm cup of tea”. In other words, I wanted the mood of the book to evoke the comfortable feeling you get when you curl up with a warm cup of tea on a lazy afternoon. Jim Henson’s adaptation of Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band-Christmas is very similar in tone to what I was aiming for, so the dragon needed to feel like he was from that world.
That said, I replaced all of the human characters in the story with animals. Once I started designing the main characters (which I will showcase in a later post), I was able to push the dragon design to where I wanted it.
I referenced cats and goats for the main inspiration and worked from there. I tried various images showing the friendship forged between the hero, a rabbit named Kenny, and the dragon. Some were too epic, like this one:
…and others didn’t feel quite right mood-wise. In fact, this one felt a little Neverending Story-ish to me. So I kept exploring…
This one above, an early color comp for the jacket, was getting closer. You certainly get that they are friends, and the dragon face has a lot of personality. But I wanted a little movement, a little action to create some real interaction between the dragon and the hero. At last I arrived at this:
Its worth noting that the color of the scales, I think, sets it apart from other depictions. The original text mentions the dragon being blue in tone and I really liked that unexpected element a lot (it seems like so many dragons are red, brown or black). Angela had me push it into this greenish-blue to put my own spin on it, and I like the way it feels…plus Saphira (in Eragon) is blue.
So what did i gain from this design journey? I learned that a dragon – like a human – has been rendered countless times for centuries by many talented artists. To find an exciting and unique design, I need to understand the creature and what sort of character it represents. Though I still think these beasties are tough to render, I have even more appreciation to those who offer up something new and exciting to such a classic denizen of fantasy.
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Your final creature is very cool looking. I loved the mammal and reptile mixture in its face. Its color was also interesting.
I’m going to miss your notes about dragons but theres always something cool on your blog!
Your fan, Luke
I’m a little sad too to see the end of the Dragon sequence. . .
This illustrates (hah!) that dragons are indeed the perfect subject to draw because they can be anything.
Fantastic design! I hope that my kids like it as much as I do (I’m sure they will)
your other fan,
Ian
Kenny and the Dragon looks great. I’m working on a dragon painting right now and the whole time I keep thinking about your dragon posts. You’re messin’ with my head, man.
Hey Tony!
Just saw a link on James Gurney’s website (he just visited Dreamworks today and gave a great inspiring lecture!!)
Wanted to drop a line. Congrats again on Spiderwick…I saw the trailer. Looks top notch!! Can’t wait for it to come out.
Happy Holidays if I don’t hear from ya.
-Eric
(ps–in case you don’t remember me by name, I was Donato’s assistant for awhile)
So fun to see your drawings before the cool lines are covered up with all the paint. Not that the paint isn’t cool but you know what I mean, I really love seeing the sketchy lines and the way artists think.
Love your work.
Ciao!! you’re very good at draw! Sorry for my english, I’m italian.
Love them Dragons.
-cgy
The fourth drawing really reminds me of Bill Peet.
Wow- I didn’t know you had a blog, so I am catching up. I’ll be sure to pick this book up for my son. Very interesting to see your thought process into the character. Very inspirational to other artists to see how much care you put into your work. Thank you for that. Cheers-s*a
I absolutely love the final version. I was just browsing the internet and stumbled across your fantastic blog. I’ve added it to my favorites. I’ve recently done a dragon digital art piece. http://galefra.deviantart.com/art/Danielle-s-Dragon-86682925 but an entirely different flavour. Your work is brilliant !!
Cheers !
Hi,
I’ve just seen Kenny and the Dragon at the bookstore, and I knew I had to find out more about this author who also draws (I realize now it is probably the other way round!) I’m so glad to have found your blog. I love the drawings in the book (I couldn’t stop looking at it!) and I’m stoked to find some of the rough sketches here.
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful thoughts and insights. I shall be back for more
Thanks for the kind words, Chan,
Kenny was a fun book to do. I am glad that came through in the artwork.