Michael Dobrzycki - The Art of Drawing Dragons: Mythological Beasts and Fantasy Creatures

In this book, youll find a wealth of different types of dragons, mythological beasts, and fantasy creatures, which Ive categorized using the more common terms and definitions from role-playing games, fantasy books, video games, and mythological tales. The exercises in this book are designed to be accessible to allno matter how ambitious the final drawings may seem, they all are broken down into simple, step-by-step instructions. Over the next few pages, youll discover a little about my methods for drawing these fanciful creatures, including how to build on basic shapes and apply different shading techniques. And youll learn how to get the most out of a variety of mediafrom charcoal pencil to India inkso you can make your dragon drawings the best they can be.

T OOLS AND M ATERIALS

One of the great joys of drawing is that you can do it just about anywhere. There is a wide array of time-tested materials available for the amateur and professional artist alike, from pencils and papers to erasers and sharpeners. You get what you pay for, so purchase the best you can afford at the time, and upgrade your supplies whenever possible. Although anything that will make a mark can be used for some type of drawing, youll want to make certain your magnificent efforts will last and not fade over time. And, if you want to give your dragon drawings a bit more pizazz, there are materials such as ink, charcoal, and watercolor paint that can be used to do just that. Here are some of the materials that will get you off to a good start.

Work Station You dont need a studio to draw, but it is a good idea to set up a work area with good, natural lighting and enough room to spread out your tools and materials. When drawing at night, you can use a soft white light bulb and a cool white fluorescent light to provide both warm (yellowish) and cool (bluish) light. Youll also need a comfortable chair and a table (preferably near a window). You may want to purchase a drawing board that can be adjusted to different heights and angles, as shown abovebut it isnt necessary.

Sketch Pads Conveniently bound drawing pads come in a wide variety of sizes, textures, weights, and bindings. They are particularly handy for making quick sketches. Medium-grain paper texture (which is called the tooth) often is an ideal choice for practice sketches.

Drawing Papers For finished works of art, its best to use single sheets of drawing paper, which are available in a range of surface textures: smooth grain (plate finish and hot pressed), medium grain (cold pressed), and rough to very rough. Depending on the media you use, you may want to experiment with different textures; rough paper is ideal when using charcoal, whereas smooth paper is best for ink.

Artists Erasers Different erasers serve different functions; youll want a few different kinds on hand. You can form a kneaded eraser into small points to remove marks in tight areas. A vinyl eraser removes pencil marks thoroughly, and it serves as a workhorse for me. An art gum eraser crumbles easily, so it is less likely to mar the papers surfaceuse this when doing a lot of erasing!

Ink To add dynamism to my artwork, I sometimes incorporate India ink, which is available in bottles. For dark, permanent lines, apply pure (undiluted) India ink with a paintbrush. I also sometimes dilute the ink with water to apply a thin, light gray tone (called a wash). These washes also help add depth to a drawing.

Watercolor Paint I can achieve the same wash effect (see Ink above) using watercolor paint. Watercolor paint comes in tubes or cakes; I prefer tubes.

Tortillons These paper tools (also called blending stumps) can be used to blend and soften pencil strokes in small areas where your finger or a cloth is too large. You also can use the sides to quickly blend large areas. After use, gently rub dirty stumps on a cloth to remove excess graphite.

Color Blender A color blender is a soft, rubber-tipped tool that is designed to manipulate paint on canvas. In pencil drawing, it comes in handy for making deliberate, controlled smudges.

D RAWING P ENCILS

Drawing pencils are classified by the hardness of the lead (graphite), indicated by a letter. The soft leads (labeled B for blackor perhaps also breaks a lot!) make dense, black marks, and the hard leads (labeled H for hard) produce very fine, light gray lines. An HB pencil is somewhere between soft and hard, making it an excellent tool for beginners. A number accompanies the letter to indicate the intensity of the leadthe higher the number, the harder or blacker the pencil. To start, purchase a minimum of three pencils: 2B, HB, and H. Any of the leads can be sharpened into the points illustrated at right, but youll get a different quality of line depending on the hardness of the lead and the texture of your paper. Make some practice strokes with various tips and leads to see the differences among them. Aside from graphite pencil, you also can use a charcoal pencil for very dark black marks or a colored pencil for softer black marks.

I NK P ENS