The Great Book of Dragon Patterns
Lora S. Irish
Fox Chapel
Nonfiction, Art
*****
DESCRIPTION: Dragons are one of the most popular fantastic creatures, but just how does an artist go about creating one? It isn't as easy as slapping a pair of wings on a lizard. Once you do create one, how do you accessorize such a creature without making it look ridiculous? Where do you even start, and how do you finish? This book offers answers to all of these questions, with chapters on everything from the dragon's historical origins to anatomy and preprinted patterns.
REVIEW: This is an absolutely wonderful springboard for fantasy artists! Irish offers interesting, practical solutions for such trouble-spots as wing placement, scale
patterns and embellishment. Her patterns are great, ranging from friendly to ferocious, and her text explains how to modify each one to create a nearly endless variety of
different beasts. Though marketed through a publisher known for woodcrafting books, the information in this volume works for any medium. This is ideal for artists with some
basic drawing skills, though even utter beginners and highly advanced artists will find much of value here. Irish's theories on dragon life and summarized dragon mythos are
interesting, as well, offering more ideas for the creative mind to play with. Not too technical, yet not simple-minded or condescending, this book is a must-have for dragon-
loving artists of any medium!
She re-released this book with additional information, especially on Asian dragons, and more patterns; I recommend trying for the revised, updated edition, if possible.
You might also enjoy:
Tales of Great Dragons (J. K. Anderson, YA Fiction - Dragon myths and stories from around the world)
How to Draw Your Own Story: The Dragon, The Knight, and the Princess (Don Bolognese, YA Art - Trace and draw original pictures to illustrate a story)
Make Your Own Paper Dragons (Sean Brand and Ivan Hissey, Art - A kit including paper and a booklet)
The Book of Dragons (Ciruelo, Fiction - An illustrated history of dragons)
Learn to Draw Like the Masters: Dragons (Eugene Caine, YA? Art - Painting dragons using the styles of master painters)
The Flight of Dragons (Peter Dickinson, Fiction - A speculative essay on how a biologically probable dragon animal might live
How to Draw Dragons and Other Mythical Creatures (Emmet Elvin, YA Art - Drawing fantasy animals in easy step-by-step projects)
How to Draw and Paint Dragons (Tom Kidd, Art - A course in creating dragons, from starting gesture to finishing touches)
Big Book of Dragons, Monsters, and Other Mythical Creatures (Ernst and Johanna Lehner, Art - Historical art featuring dragons and other mythical beings and beasts)
Dracopedia (William O'Connor, Art - Creating and drawing many varieties of dragon)
Dragons - Truth, Myth and Legend (David Passes, Nonfiction - Dragon legend and lore)
DragonArt (J. "NeonDragon" Peffer, YA? Art - How to draw dragons and other fantasy animals)
Dragons - A Natural History (Dr. Karl Shuker, Nonfiction - The history and folklore of dragons)
The Dragonology books (Dugald A. Steer, "editor", YA Fiction - Books about dragons from all over the world)
How to Raise and Keep a Dragon (John Topsell, Joseph Nigg, "editor", YA Fiction - Keeping dragons as pets)
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