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RenDragonClaw — Hellkite

Published: 2008-01-01 01:59:38 +0000 UTC; Views: 2174; Favourites: 47; Downloads: 0
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Description The dragon rose from its bed of pumice and gold and sniffed the air. The night was crisp and dry, the usual odor of molten rock and smoldering ash flowed about like incense in the hot wind; rising from cracks in the ground. Inhaling a second time the dragon noticed a peculiar scent, a strange mixture of steel and flesh. It snarled, the scent belonged to only one creature and that creature was man. The foolish mammals living on the lower plains apparently thought that the dragon’s lack of activity meant weakness and opportunity. Fools- they sought riches and glory only to run blindly to their deaths. It didn’t matter; the dragon was the oldest and most powerful of its kind in the area. It had been the dominant male in these mountains for centuries and it feared nothing. Hundreds of so called heroes had tried to slay it; hundreds more littered the surrounding area of its territory. There was one good aspect in having these petty creatures scale his mountain; it provided an easy and unlimited food source…as well as entertainment. Climbing to the summit of the volcano which held its lair, the dragon could see the large group of humans making their way to the edge of the caldera. Rearing on its back legs, the dragon issued its challenge. A roar, as loud as thunder and ten times as long, shook the ground with its force. The dragon saw the pitiful men before him shake as their bones resonated with the sound of his anger. These ‘vermin’ would regret ever setting foot on his mountain…~

So this was an idea that gave me. Its pretty much what it looks like, a big red dragon sitting on the edge of a volcano looking awesome. I haven't done a uniform dragon in awhile, it was nice to do one again and compare to all my previous dragons I've done.

-RenDragonClaw
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Comments: 45

Mecha-GREGOLE [2010-08-01 05:28:30 +0000 UTC]

Hey, awesome! I found this piece posted on the Devious Dragons blog!









WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ME GO THERE?!!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Mecha-GREGOLE [2010-08-01 05:32:47 +0000 UTC]

I DON'T KNOW HERP DERP THEY ASKED AND I SAID YES DERP.

Though honestly I was surprised they offered.

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Mecha-GREGOLE In reply to RenDragonClaw [2010-08-01 05:38:26 +0000 UTC]

I........ haven't even commented on this one have I? I mean it feels like I have, but apparently I haven't...


Yeah...

I like it. Has that slinky lizardy quality that brings out the reptilian nature. The gaping mouth and somewhat stoned eyes make it feel a lot like those woodcuts you see. Feels very quintessential Medieval dragon, like the kind you see in action cartoons, before the CGI wyvern fad.

I dig the background too. It's busy, but in a dramatic, high fantasy sort of way, like the kind you'd see on 80's and 90's D&D books.

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Mecha-GREGOLE [2010-08-01 06:35:48 +0000 UTC]

I perfer the classic dragon approach oh so very much. This was one of those times when I just 'did a dragon'. Most people seem to try 'reinventing the dragon' rather than just doing one. The creature comes out right if you just do what comes naturally.

I have one of those books. 3rd edition monster manual I think. It had really retro black and white pictures and red dragons had dreadlocks...it was weird but awesome. Gold dragons also still looked like Asian Lungs too.

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Mecha-GREGOLE In reply to RenDragonClaw [2010-08-01 16:07:08 +0000 UTC]

Dragons are sort of the prototypical kaijin/daikaiju when you think about it. They're nasty, cause more collateral damage than a rogue bear, tend to cause panics and require a specialized hero to stop them. Sounds like the original sentai premise to me.

The use of the word to symbolize an obstacle for a hero gives them a real duality with the hero that I think should receive more attention.

One thing I'd be interested in seeing would be, instead of the dragon painted as an innocent animal or minority, as a rival to the protagonist, possibly leading to an Enemy Mine situation against a bigger, nastier enemy...... and I just reconstructed the plot to How to Train your dragon didn't I?

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Mecha-GREGOLE [2010-08-01 21:10:01 +0000 UTC]

Sorta, but Toothless genuinely bonded with Hiccup and it had elements of a 'a boy and his dog' alongside other growing up type tropes.

A story where the dragon is still a bit of a jerkass but still works together with the hero to smite the evil overlord is a swell idea that's probably been done but I've never read it. It would be like Bilbo and Smaug taking it Sauron.

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DarkEmoDragon [2009-06-02 23:29:46 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow, this is awesome

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RenDragonClaw In reply to DarkEmoDragon [2009-06-03 02:20:27 +0000 UTC]

Thanks .

-RenDragonClaw

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KaijuX [2009-05-17 16:05:07 +0000 UTC]

That's just flipping sweet! Love the detail!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to KaijuX [2009-05-17 19:00:05 +0000 UTC]

Thanks, the scars and skin textures are fun relaxing thing to do after you break your brain trying to figure a pose for him.

-RenDragonClaw

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KaijuX In reply to RenDragonClaw [2009-05-17 22:22:51 +0000 UTC]

Yeah.

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Elziler [2009-05-16 23:04:59 +0000 UTC]

wow! your even great at writing stories. i am actualy waiting to see what happens next! although i think i have a pretty good idea.......GOOD BYE PEOPLE!!!! i hate dragon slayers expesialy if they have never harmed a single human they are still hunted!!grrrr!!!

anyway this is an AMAZING drawing. i definatly wouldnt want to fight any dragon let olone him!! great job!!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Elziler [2009-05-17 02:54:57 +0000 UTC]

If you want the 'complete series' I have all of these monster entries in a section in my gallery. It pretty much has every type of monster in FFTA illustrated and explained from a scholar's point of view. They are given in the form of entries so I wouldn't say there's an actual plot, more like a journal on Ivalice's various wildlife that has been documented.

And yeah lol, clans facing dragons have a hard time with the timely use of the right magic or weapon. If you think the Fire Wyrm's impressive, I'd reccomend the Ice Drake and Thundrake entries as well for a full experience.

-RenDragonClaw

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Elziler In reply to RenDragonClaw [2009-05-17 02:59:53 +0000 UTC]

ok! do you have them scattered throughout your gallery or do you have a section set out for them? if so what is it? i cant wait to see them!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Elziler [2009-05-17 03:45:00 +0000 UTC]

Weeelll, if you go into my gallery and look to the side your probably see something along the lines of 'FFTA'. All of monster biography kind of stuff for that particular series is in there. I have my stuff pretty organized on here.

...wait a minute lol. I thought this was the Fire Wyrm pic. My bad . The story is an stand alone intro that works just for this piece. I just figured I'd spice it up a little since I put so much effort into it.

-RenDragonClaw

-RenDragonClaw

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Elziler In reply to RenDragonClaw [2009-05-17 04:06:34 +0000 UTC]

wll thank you very much! i will go right away!

lol. its fine

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tyshadragon [2009-02-27 11:39:05 +0000 UTC]

Hello
Just a little note to let you know this piece of work has been featured in Devious Dragons issue 64 [link] The blog for showcasing dragon artwork

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RenDragonClaw In reply to tyshadragon [2009-02-27 15:58:02 +0000 UTC]

Well this is a nice surprise . Thank you for including my Hellkite pic. Its nice to see so many interesting dragons all in one spot. By the way, your beanies are very cute .

-RenDragonClaw

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tyshadragon In reply to RenDragonClaw [2009-03-06 18:13:43 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, and you're welcome

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dark1992 [2008-12-24 17:23:54 +0000 UTC]

hey dude, nice dragon you made it!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to dark1992 [2008-12-24 18:28:07 +0000 UTC]

Thanks man .

-RenDragonClaw

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Risa-chan22 [2008-11-26 21:37:28 +0000 UTC]

cool this one is very sweet RenDragonClaw

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Risa-chan22 [2008-11-27 02:17:53 +0000 UTC]

Thank you .

-RenDragonClaw

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Risa-chan22 In reply to RenDragonClaw [2008-11-27 05:22:12 +0000 UTC]

no problem

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TrevorPatricelli [2008-09-26 20:04:24 +0000 UTC]

Ren! Holy shit! You've come such a long way. I remember being amazed by your random sketches of great fearsome dragons while sitting next to you in class annoying/entertaining the crap out of you.

But now, holy crap, NOW you are like ten times better than that. You have improved so much in just a little over two years, i am very impressed.

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RenDragonClaw In reply to TrevorPatricelli [2008-09-26 23:10:32 +0000 UTC]

Hey Trevor, been awhile. I've been busy with this SD Kaiju series and I've gotten a lot of practice because of it.

Nice to hear from you man .

-RenDragonClaw

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TrevorPatricelli In reply to RenDragonClaw [2008-09-28 07:22:42 +0000 UTC]

Where are you living now? We need to hang out sometime. PM me

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RenDragonClaw In reply to TrevorPatricelli [2008-09-28 17:40:57 +0000 UTC]

Same place I've always been living. My class schedule at the college has just changed to really early in the morning, all in a row. I'm free between 11AM and 1PM at building 16.

Or is it my house your interested in visiting ?

-RenDragonClaw

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Dragonhid60 [2008-09-15 13:39:59 +0000 UTC]

Great!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Dragonhid60 [2008-09-15 21:12:31 +0000 UTC]

Thanks .

-RenDragonClaw

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smartboy811 [2008-01-03 19:52:47 +0000 UTC]

sorry i've been gone. went to florida for a week.

Let me say that this is amazing. you representation is perfect and thanks again i really appreciate you using my idea. this is truly a beautiful peace of art.

I really like the lava in the crater. active volcanoes always make a great scene and its appearance looks just that way. the night time in the background is also brilliant. the full moon is really great and the clouds too. Not to mention the dragon himself is really cool. His scales, coloring, and general design are really great. His pose definitely makes him look agressive

finally id like to say that the background story is a great final touch.

thanks again.

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RenDragonClaw In reply to smartboy811 [2008-01-04 01:12:18 +0000 UTC]

Sure thing, thanks for giving me an artistic kickstart .

-RenDragonClaw

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smartboy811 In reply to RenDragonClaw [2008-01-05 01:53:22 +0000 UTC]

Hey no problem.

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TyrantisTerror [2008-01-01 06:45:48 +0000 UTC]

Your shading just made my skin turn a jealous jade. The pose is also awesome.

...

Seriously, that shading is beautiful. I'm slathering at it.

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RenDragonClaw In reply to TyrantisTerror [2008-01-01 07:32:18 +0000 UTC]

The pose gave me hell, let me tell you. I still think that left arm is a tad wonky compared to the other. As for the shading I'll gladly tell you how I went about it, its a bit intimidating with all those scales but there's a trick to it.

I take the burn tool at about 20 to 30 Opacity and I trace around the outline of the scales, like a zig-zag pattern except with circles instead of lines. I do this with a gradient brush and go over each stroke twice or until desired shading is met. I then take a slightly bigger brush for the burn tool and cover the heavily shaded areas like under the arms and such. Then I take the dodge tool and at 50 opacity run stripes of lighting down the rows of scales and over the lit areas of the limbs. I could dot each scale but that would take forever. For glowing stuff like the mouth and the rocks, blending options is a must. Outer and inner glow are just awesome when properly applied to beams and such. Hope that helps .

-RenDragonClaw

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TyrantisTerror In reply to RenDragonClaw [2008-01-01 20:34:20 +0000 UTC]

It does, it does.

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razielapprentice [2008-01-01 03:38:00 +0000 UTC]

Very impressive. Dig the wings and the color in this.

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RenDragonClaw In reply to razielapprentice [2008-01-01 05:54:12 +0000 UTC]

I considered making his wings fade to a darker color like navy blue or something but he's fine with classic red. Still not sure on the background though...

-RenDragonClaw

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WolfRaven76 [2008-01-01 02:27:48 +0000 UTC]

Sweet Drawing the best one so far!!!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to WolfRaven76 [2008-01-01 05:52:30 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Ed, I'm rather pleased with the scales myself .

-RenDragonClaw

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Duzzarner [2008-01-01 02:03:25 +0000 UTC]

Very nice, I like the back round story also

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RenDragonClaw In reply to Duzzarner [2008-01-01 05:50:51 +0000 UTC]

I thought I'd tack that on there to flesh it out a bit. Every picture needs a story eh?

-RenDragonClaw

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TheOracleDragon [2008-01-01 02:01:11 +0000 UTC]

very well done! awesome work!

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RenDragonClaw In reply to TheOracleDragon [2008-01-01 05:49:27 +0000 UTC]

Thank you .

-RenDragonClaw

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TheOracleDragon In reply to RenDragonClaw [2008-01-01 06:07:43 +0000 UTC]

np! ^_^

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