fortune favors the brave, dude.

Hello! My name is Danielle Martin and I'm creating something grand.

[bramblesong]

Finally got some decent pictures of my dragon cloak! I made this back in October as an excuse to use a butt-ton of fleece I had kicking around but also a means to explore my thesis theme at the time: “bringing a myth to life”. The result is really a symbol of what I accomplished with Dragonsmith. As I first put it many months ago: “When you wear this cloak, you are more than a person. You are a dragon.” I just brought dragons to life on paper as opposed to with fabric.

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The plushie versions of  Lump and Yong! I made these over reading week in February. These two cuddly friends have proven to be very popular in my thesis class (especially in early morning critiques, they make excellent pillows). As you can see, Lump was a little more photogenic.

[cool-porygon]

Dragonsmith pins are here! 

Get yours at GradEx from May 3 through 6 for $10 each, or preorder one here!

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Tossed together a design for some stickers and will be giving them out as freebies during GradEx!

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The flash card packaging is nearing completion, Laser cut wood has been assembled, with ribbons to help take the cards out.

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Yong and Lump enamel pins are here! These two loveable Dragonsmiths will be available for purchase at GradEx ! Preorders for those unable to attend or wanting to get theirs early will be opening soon

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Cardboard mockup of the packaging for the flash cards! The strings allow for easy removal of the cards without damaging them.

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I spent the weekend at Furnal Equinox, and needless to say my dragon fix was very much quenched! Not only did I get to meet many beautiful and adorable dragons, I also got to draw a number of more unique ones as part of exploring (and raising funds for) my thesis. These go to show the diverse shapes dragons take in the furry fandom! I opted to make each person’s character a Dragonsmith in their own division to help build onto the world.

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Was not satisfied with the line thickness of the first version (the smaller one) but here’s a sneak preview of what is in store today! Six “legendary” dragons will be depicted for the guidebook. This one is Tiamat, based on two well-known Mesopotamian depictions of dragons as well as descriptions of her appearance.

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A fun little happy accident that occured whilest printing another slew of business cards. I misaligned the paper in the risograph, resulting in this cool Dragonsmith pattern!

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This week I finished up the lineart for the storybook. Here you can see them without the text. It’s coming together! 

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In today’s exciting news, I have just submitted the Flash cards to be printed! These are preview mockups made by the company. I always think it’s funny seeing the cards on their sides. Sometimes I forget that the diamonds are really just squares.

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A short video I took of the half-finished plush! I love how bouncy Lump is!

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I kept myself quite busy over reading week making plush versions of Lump and Yong! More process to come!

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A British WW1 recruitment poster depicting the legend of St. George and the Dragon. Tales of dragon slayers almost always depict the shining, flawless good (almost exclusively a man) triumphing over what is clearly twisted and evil (a dragon, in Western depictions). Interestingly, both sides of the Great War use the legend of St. George to help further their cause. I’m no historian, but the fact both sides latched on to this legend shows where they saw themselves in the narrative of WW1. Iconography of St. George was popular during the Crusades for the same reasons!

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This is what the cards looked like in order to print them properly. They’re all on a 45 degree angle to compensate for their lopsided positions.

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All of the part illustrations together!