Anatomy of Dragons

Tutorials

Dragon Anatomy

There is no limit to what your dragons look like. But somethimes it gets hard trying to draw a hand or a wing nicely. Let's take a look at some areas of all dragons; this will really help when building your dragon.

Next is a dragon arm, or a front limb. Regardless what the hands/paws are at the end, this is the basic frame for all of them. Notice that the arm starts with a large joint at the shoulder. The next joint is at the elbow, and the final joint is the wrist for the hand/paw.

Let's start with an observation of the jaw. All it can do is open and close. Remember that, now, because the jaw never has as much movement freedom as a hand, for example. A dragon's jaw is used for expressing emotion, but muscles and other features are used as well.

The hind legs of all dragons need to support most weight, so make sure they are muscular

The hind legs of any creature (not just dragons) have the same basic three joints, though in the leg, they are the hip, knee, and ankle. Pay close attention between the arm and leg: the placement of the second joint is different between the two. Why is this? It's so the creature can walk correctly! Remembering which way the elbows and knees of arms and legs shouldn't be too hard to remember; just take a look at the placement of your elbows and knees if you really can't figure it out.

Now that the limbs are covered, let's move on to observing a hand, whether it's for a dragon or not. There are three joints, from the knuckle to the tip of the finger. Regardless if your dragon's hand/paw is human or alien, you'll find that they all share the same trait of three joints.

This foot is drawn a little odd, but nonetheless still works for the example

You'll find this with the foot as well. Again, regardless what your dragon's foot looks like, they all share the same joint traits. Take note that this time, instead of the first joint being a little ways into the foot, it merges with the heel.

This is a simple, healthy dragon tooth. Usually dragons have these sharp teeth because they are carnivores.

When drawing these pointy teeth, all it really requires are simple triangles (they may be slightly curved to help when it eats/bites). When they bare their teeth and show the gums, pay attention to how you draw the teeth going into the gums. If you take a look at your own teeth, you'll notice that the impression they make on the gums is rounded, not flat. Be sure to draw this simple detail to prove that the teeth of your dragon are firmly rooted.

This wing is called a leather wing. It is most commonly used for dragon wings

You may find information about wings in many of my upcoming tutorials, but I'll state them again anyway to save some time. This wing is the generic and commonly used wing for all dragons. You can of course use a feathery wing, or any other kind, but like I said, this is the generic one, so I will talk about it. As you can see in the picture (when you see it full size), the wing has a shoulder, elbow, and wrist, just like the arm. Leather wings also have five to six "fingers" with three turning points on each finger (but the thumb). You can easily identify which finger is the the thumb: the stubbiest one. Three of the other four fingers extend from the wrist, and one from the elbow. Stay with 5- or 6-fingered-wing dragons, otherwise the wing looks sloppy.

Compare these two dragons' wings and see which looks more natural

Another minor detail to pay attention to with the wing is that the skin of the base of the wing must come down to meet down along the back of the dragon. This allows the slightest breeze help get the dragon off the ground. If you don't pay attention to this, the wing looks rather odd.

All that's really left to look at is the tail. The tail is rather simple to draw. It's basically a really long triangle, right? Yes! The base of the tail is large and becomes more skinny the longer it gets. Take note that the tail is in perfect line with the spine, as is the neck; simply remember that the tail is part of the spine. And yes, the tail sits on the dragon's butt (just to make it clear to those who really can't be sure of it).

Next tip I'll be giving you is adding muscle to your dragons!