Like most fantasy writers, I was, and, to a certain extent, still am, enamored by dragons. I also think that there are one too many commas in the last sentence. Anyways.
Dragons are such amazing creatures with a rich collection of mythology and history associated with them. There is such a variety of different types of dragons from so many different cultures that its almost impossible to believe that they aren't real (search Wikipedia, my recent adventure wasted 3 hours of my life and made me save like forty Wikipedia pages which I guarantee I won't read anytime soon..)
Of course, with such a huge variety of different archetypes of dragons, there are bound to be some that I like and I dislike, and that's what I wanna talk about today ^o^
The first of the major types of dragons (that I know of) are the godlike ones. Off the top of my head, these are like the primeval dragons of the Magic the Gathering universe or the primevals of the Warcraft universe. These dragons are.. well, ya la, godlike. They are all powerful, omnipresent, maybe they created our forefathers. They might still be there, or perhaps they traveled to some other dimension because they got bored with us :( or someone *gasp* killed them. Blasphemy.
While I agree that dragons should be really powerful and all, making them gods kinda overpowers the fact that they are dragons. Primeval dragon gods (or Elder dragons) are really just gods, putting the dragon suffix is kind of limits the use of dragons in that setting, doesn't it?
Which brings me to the second major type of dragons - the lesser dragons. These are your typical run of the mill dragons that are more beasts than sentient creatures. They're practically alligators or dinosaurs with wings :( and their linguistic prowess is practically limited to GRAA and *sound of breathing fire >o<*. I don't like it. To me, dragons are too special to be just another species of animal T_T And don't get me started with humanoid species of 'dragons'[1] >_>
Getting back to my recent stroll through Wikipedia, I've realized that there are two distinct types of dragon anatomies that are widely accepted in human cultures. The western dragon and the eastern dragon. The occidental and the oriental dragon. The Kentucky Fried Chicken dragon and the Kong-Fu-Chou dragon. Okay, that last one sounded funnier in my head than on the screen. Anyways.
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| Western dragon. Running human shown for comparison. Comes in a variety of colors. (Batteries and human sold separately) |
The western dragon is the more famous dragon anatomy that is often used in fantasy settings. Their characteristic sauropod build of having four legs, long neck and supplemented by large, bat-like wings are well recognized. They are mainly considered sentient and wise, though some consider them mischievous or downright evil - likening them to the devil etc. like all reptilian depictions are cursed to be associated with.
While I like this model of dragon anatomy quite a lot, the physicist in me always finds problem with the location of its wings. Not to mention the disturbing fact that when you take the wings into account, a dragon actually has six limbs.. which.. relates it to insects :( ew. Some depictions substitute the forelimbs with wings, giving it the basic four-limb structure but making it more similar with that of a bat. With their wing flaps coming out of their armpits. Er. And even with that out of the way, there is the nagging question of how does it lie down?! Looking at it, the only conceivable position that's comfortable would be to lie on its stomach. This then begs the question of does a dragon sleep? Yes, I'm a tough customer to please.
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| Eastern dragon. Looks like chinese noodles. (WARNING: Choking hazard! Keep out of reach of children!) |
On the other hand, we have the almost equally famous eastern dragon that graces the walls of many a temple. Unlike its western cousin, it has a much more slender body line, mimicking that of a snake. Many experts have attributed this peculiar anatomy to the fondness of noodles in the eastern hemisphere. [2] Most eastern dragons are wise and regarded as forces of nature - unpredictable, unexplainable, and powerful when scorned - a lot like women, as an expert from the west pointed out [3].
Eastern dragons are a lot more masculine, despite their slender figures. Unlike their western counterparts, eastern dragons boast a handsome amount of facial hair (or fur), not to mention most of them have unbelievably long mustaches that put Mexican men to shame. There is also an alarming lack of wings on eastern dragons. This isn't such a big problem considering most eastern dragons are said to dwell underwater, though most of them are also able to fly in the air.. which.. suggest some kind of anti gravity propulsion system.. somewhere.. in their kidneys? :D I personally dislike the anatomy of the eastern dragons. I never liked the idea of having such a long ass body. Imagine being stretched out leagues and leagues.. your backside being in other timezone lol. And what happens when they sleep? Do they curl up? What if they get tangled up? @_@ How inconvenient. Not very cool for a dragon, no.
All you've read up till now is me complaining about what I don't like about our everyday dragons. So what about the types of dragons that I like?
I.. actually don't have a preferred anatomy for dragons XD; But I can explain why. It's because the version of dragons that I believe are very much like the idea of eastern dragons - they are forces of nature. I really favor the concept of elemental dragons, where there is a fire dragon, water dragon, earth dragon, etc etc etc ^o^ But these dragons aren't just animated forces of nature, no, these are sentient beings that are able to interact and plot and scheme or have honor and justice and protect and *o* sorry I'm getting ahead of myself.
The dragons I make almost sound godlike, and indeed, they have almost-godlike powers. Add in the fact that they live practically forever and their existence may or may not alter the balance and forces of nature in the world, I might as well call my dragons gods, right? Not really. I don't know how to explain this, which is mainly why I haven't written a story about them, but I'm trying my best to make my dragons special enough to not be ordinary beings, but not cross the line and make them godlike. Difficult :/
And because of their elemental nature, two dragons I design rarely look alike. I like the variation, and it makes each dragon feel special. I also really enjoy the ability of artists to incorporate elements of what elements the dragons represent into their anatomy. Amazing *o* Beautiful *o* Though sometimes they stray too far from the basic design of a dragon and becomes.. an elemental @_@ [4]
I guess the main problem is to actually define what a 'dragon' means. Its not a god, its not an animal, so.. what is it? What's the significance of being a dragon? @_@
Like all good questions, the answer is "it depends" (on the storyline).
Which is something I haven't properly decided on XD I have one or two stories waiting in the wings featuring dragons, but because they were written long long ago in a galaxy far far away, they are very unrefined and are filled with many of the dragon archetypes that I just mentioned I don't like :P Maybe one day I'll post them on another blog that will be created specifically for stories ^o^ That might take quite sometime though, as life is starting to pile its burdens onto me T_T Sorry for the lack of updates recently by the way.
And so, to end this really poorly planned out post, here's a picture of a dragon I drew very long ago ^o^ I wish I can have the drive draw like this again ;w;
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| "Water Dragon" ..because that's the only way I can explain its... tentacles :P |
Like this blogpost, there wasn't any real planning when drawing this. It just came out spontaneously from me trying to add different elements and drawing techniques like shading, tentacle-y stuff, and dot-dot-dot (sorry I forgot the technical name for this technique :P)
And yes, that is my totally awesome artist signature at the bottom. Which is an ambigram (turn it upside down and it magically look the same ^o^!). Yes, I admit I made this long-ass post just as an excuse to post up an old-ass artwork of mine on my blog, and to show off my ambigram. *grins* :B
[1] Viashino from the Magic: The Gathering multiverse. Basically crocodile-men that are reportedly distant decedents of dragons. Bullshit.
[2] Modern dragon purists however, have refuted this claim and instead counter-claimed that it was the dragon's anatomy that triggered the noodle craze in the east. The issue has thus assumed chicken-and-egg conundrum status.
[3] 'Guy got kicked in the nuts for sexist comment at dragonology conference yesterday' - Reuters.
[4] Refer to Hyrens from the Magi-Nation series. Elementals on the other hand are personifications of the elements of nature, I hope you understand what I'm talking about because I'm honestly too lazy to search for an example for you :P
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