edit: im not gonna change the painting but i forgot that nightmares have two sets of spines got damn it. i got all those refs for what lmao
"This behemoth of the stoker class is a native to the Isle of Berk, and an apex predator at that. Only trained by the most dedicated of vikings, these beasts are as much of a boon on the battlefield as they are a hazard; be wary of where it's kerosene fire lands, as it may just ignite an ally—or itself."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
okay so first of all this looks REALLY yellow and satured on my phone but fine on my laptop and tablet so if anyone wants to let me know how this looks for them so i can adjust going forwards thatd be swell! i dont know which device to believe haha
now for my dragon specie headcanon/rambles
monstrous nightmares, as said above, are a specie native to berk and the land around it, though they are hardy enough to survive most environments
despite their large size and ability to ignite themselves at the drop of a hat, they usually dwell in forested, mountainous areas, where they attract mates by scorching their territory and letting the smoke rise. the more smoke, the better their odds at a female coming to check out the show.
their striped hide means they blend in shockingly well to the trees, especially on warmer days. they are, however, not quiet dragons and cannot easily sneak up on prey, not that they would try to.
they are covered in a thin gel-like substance that can create a "flame jacket" very quickly and easily—a nightmare must spit some of its own fire onto it's body to ignite this jacket, or catch a flame from another dragon. they cannot ignite themselves without some sort of external fire.
all dragons are flame-resistant to some degree but nightmares more so than others, for obvious reasons. the flame jacket also serves to deter more flammable dragons for trying to enter close quarters. however this strategy is not effective for all as plenty of species, often other stoker class dragons, are willing to brave the heat. for these situations, nightmare's are equipped with one of the strongest bite forces in the dragon kingdom, and claws that could gut even a thick-hided dweller class. of course, that's assuming their fire breath didn't do the trick.
their eyes are slitted as they primarily hunt close to the ground, foregoing flight to run on their wings like bats. each wing has 7 digits, two of which are thumbs that they use to get a better grip as they walk. monstrous nightmares are pamprodactyls, able to move their hind toes to hook onto nearby trees or rocks.
despite possessing large, uniquely shaped wings, monstrous nightmares are poor fliers. their forward-facing eyes make them exceptional ground hunters to focus on prey, but limits their scope when in the air, where attackers can come from any direction. the best way to defeat a nightmare is by getting it airborne and disorientating it, then disengaging while it reorients and lands. be aware of the claws on it's wings as it flies—they are just as sharp as it's talons.
the spines on it's back are not actual spines; they're sails. though much softer than the spikes they look like at a distance, they are still not comfortable to sit on. why nightmare's developed false spines when all other aspects of them are real and deadly isn't yet known.
Fishmeat is adorable. I love this baby. He's so small compared to his mom❤️
I kindly ask you not to steal my art and not to put them on other sites without my knowledge. Do not use them as dummies, do not assign them to yourself.
"Though this hunter of the Aerial class prefers smaller prey like Terrible Terrors, they are known to hunt larger dragons for sport; thankfully, they have long since died out. Until a rambunctious group of young vikings brought them back into the ecosystem, at least."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
not much to say here tbh—i like how this came out a lot consideirng how short of a time i spent on it! pose was ambitious & the head feels a bit small (not on the body, compared to the canvas. it is So Fucking Blurry but a bigger canvas makes my tablet vomit and die)
skrill, as said above, are one of the few dragons that hunt and kill for sport, going out of their way to chase down prey as large as timberjacks by frying their nervous systems with a well-timed shock of raw electricity. they typically do not eat this prey. its been theorised this is a form of "play" or "practise", but skrill aresifficult to study due to their small sample size.
they are mostly extinct with few specimens remaining in the wild; a recent skrill that was deiced in Berk runs rampant and seems to have brought a few others out of hising, but they are still an exceptionally rare specie. they are solo animals and only meet with members of their specie to breed
they hunt exclusively in the air, racing through storm clouds and using their metallic scales tk draw lightning to strike them, which they then redirect onto fleeing prey. they primarily hunt small flying dragons, electrifying them to slow or stop their flight, then yanking them from mid-air with their long sticky tongue
though they fly spectacularly and swiftly, they are poor on the ground and struggle to keep up with most species. if a skrill is needed to be neutralised, they must be grounded in some form
a skrill will not want to draw lightning outside of a chase; holding onto the electricity for too long will hurt itself so it must be expelled quickly. if there is no storm, or a skrill is otherwise unable to be charged, it is much less of a threat.
however, they are rarely seen outside storms. a skrill will have a temporary "territory" of a given storm and follow it until it dissipates, so it always has a lgihtning source.
if unable to use its electricity, it will resort to using it's tongue to pull prey close, then goring them with it's horns and crest. if unable to do that, it's clawed wings, espeocally the large one on its thumb, can gut even the toughest the vikings.
they are hard to train and harder to keep on your side, but not impossible; respect it's need to be alone and allow it hunt storms, and you can form a mutually beneficial relationship.
skrill seem to hate night furies; as two of the few "old world" dragons left alive, the reasons for this is unknown due to dwindled numbers. it's theorised that night furies would hunt skrill from above, being one of their few natural predators, but this cannot be tested.
"An ancient specie that has evolved to withstand the waters of time, these Tidal class beasts are not much to look at, but the magic happens within, where they can superheat and expel off a jet of water so hot it rivals dragonfire within seconds."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
really enjoyed this one despite how daunting it was—the pose took ages to sus out but i sacrificed the wings to make the head and neck a greater focus point.
a very old and well documented species of dragon; it seems even the fishers of old had trouble keeping scauldrons from stealing out of their nets.
scauldrons are commonly used to mark aquatic danger on maps when the true source of danger (eg a diff specie, storms, pirates) was unknown. theyve gained a fearsome reputation and though not wholly undeserving—their familiarity with humans has become fearlessness—they are generally docile unless provoked or hungry.
a very dull-looking species. their hide usually matches the water they reside in, so theyre oft desaturated and murky, with dark backs and light bellies. however, the underside of their wings are brightly patterned and even glow slightly to mimic the sun filtering through the ocean top in hopes of luring deep prey up higher.
they have large sacs on their throats that they can fill with the water stored in a specialised "bladder", so they do not need to be around water to fire it. they heat this water up in mere sevonds through a complex ignition system, and then jet it out at foes by expelling all the air in their lungs. it can shatter bone and even cut skin on impact with a healthy enough scauldron.
their jets are weakened underwater; as scauldron lack gills, they do not want to risk expelling all of their air.
though they are of the tidal class and live aquatic lives, they are not graceful nor fast swimmers, relying on trickery and ambushing prey above water to get by.
also her; a lil peek into my process. i go straight from this to painting so most of the detail is done on the fly. the painting on this took about ~3 hours?
"Is that thunder, or is it the crack of a Stormcutter's wings slamming together, it's audible camoflauge as it swings down for the kill? These aces of the aerial class are among the most agile of dragons, their acrobatics rivalled only in majesty by their sheer size."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
this one took it outta me. lots of body. lots of wing. i do like how the face came out though so i cant complain too much. but this is the last of the dragons that im gonna be trying not to stray too far from their og designs (bar the furies)
stormcutters will slam their wings together to mimic the crack of lightning for avariety of reasons; herding prey, attracting mates, scaring off foes, and just for fun.
they have a large display on their head and neck; large ox-like horns with frills at the back. these are likely also for the purpose of attracting mates. males tend to have much large frills than females, but horn size is dependant soley on the stormcutter's ability to fight, regardless of sex. stormcutter's fight by clashing their horns together until something gives
they are primarily piscivores due to living in clouds anove the ocean, but will easily steal livestock, wild animals, or even the eggs of other dragons depending on how big it is.
like timberjacks, they spend moat of their lives aloft, though they are much more capable of landing where necessary
they are noticeably fatty dragons, both to withstand the cold ocean air and to give their bodies more energy to burn though, as powering two sets of wings even passively gliding is a lot.
the appendages by their beaks are feelers to detect changes in the air, like temperature and wind speed
"These fast and furious frenzy feeders of the Swarm class are one of the most common traps naïve vikings will fall into. One small raptor is easy pickings for a beginner; ten is a death sentence, and thats not even starting on the other 40-60 back at home."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
sorry this took so long only to be shite, turns out day ten seems to be my fully detailed limit. the rest wont be *this* bad but ill probably lessen the detail a bit to save myself.
speed stingers are the face of the swarm class, and for good reason. though they typically live in packs of 50-70, there have been colonies observed of up to 150+ if a territory is large enough. a short gestation period, large broods and small stomachs mean they repopulate quickly at the cost of the shortest known lifespan in the dragon world.
stingers have a complex hierarchy & gender/sex system, somewhat akin to bees, with far more diversity in sex than the male/female dichotomy observed in many species. the most prominent role is the alpha—a female-adjacent gender that dictates the pack like a queen bee. she can only have alpha offspring if she births them herself, however she does possess a penis-like genital that is able to impregnate non-alphas and have non-alpha hatchlings.
alphas will always have much more vibrant stripes than other stingers, usually ina bright red or purple, and will be the only stinger to have these markings.
young alphas will fight and often kill each other from a young age in a bid to be the next leader and ergo the singular one that survives. if an alpha is not ready to give up her role, she will kill the challengers until she is. if an offspring is a survivor but unworthy, she will kill them.
this harsh style of parenting have led to alpha speed stingers being viewed as the chieftesses of the dragon world, to mimic the "tough love" style of parenting many high profile vikings use.
their titular stingers contain a paralytic venom that works in seconds, but a single dose isn't strong enough to take down a large dragin. they rely on overwhelming prey with many stings to keep them down, then either killing them or eating them alive. they use large packs to herd prey into a favourable position before they go in for the kill.
also as the name suggests, they are the epitome of speed, and are by far the fastest groundlocked creature in the land.
thankfully, due to their social nature, stingers are relatively easy to train provided they are able to socialise with other stingers. with the exceptions of alphas with are more rebellious to human interaction, stingers are often used to introduce new vikings to dragon riding; no wings means no falling, no fire means no misfire, small size prevent crushing, their need to hunt in groups means they are less likely to be a threat one to one, their poison alone cant paralyse for more than a few seconds, and the short lifespan means a trainee can see a stingers whole life and be considered ready for a winged dragon at the end.
"By no small margin, Tide Gliders are the predator to watch out for in the open ocean; they have a reputation of attempting to capsize fishing vessels and attacking dragons taking emergency landings. They are large, relentless predators, highly adapted to hunting any poor creature that slips too deep under the waves."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
despite how eh this one is i kinda like it? i feel like the anatomy of the face is good.
i dont have anything to add about this dragon, i just wanna apologise for my absense—finding out my limit when it comes to these, some issues in my wrists and hands making drawing uncomfortable at times and just like. Life. getting in the way has led to this REALLY bleeding over. im frustrated and annoyed, especially since i started so well, but we all need to begin somewhere right?
i will be keeping on this throughout september and i will jsut be labelling it "late smaugust". in future these things will be every other day or every three days, that seems to work best. love everyone who has supported me thus far ♡
"Death comes in many forms in this world but none so swiftly as the assassin of the Ambush class. Built with tusks, pincers and poison, these leather-hide dragons are equipped to dispatch near any foe that treads their path."
smaugust prompt list | class info | rambles below
not happy w this one tbh, i had a fun concept with the crests but i fucked the execution BUT. i cna recycle for my own dragon specie. anyway i made deathgrippers rlly buggy esp in the back legs.
they arent just bite—their necks and spine are very heavily guarded to defend against most counterattacks, fire fang or poison. the rest of their tails are covered in leathery scales, leaving only their blubbery underbelly soft
they are very quiet when they move sliwly, but speed causes their crests to clatter against each other and alerts prey. they will silently stalk larger prey in duos or trios before announcing their presence. they seem to wnjoy the chase but do not kill for sport
males are a brighter red and have patterns on their crests where females are duller and lack noteable patterning. males also tend to have larger, more curved tusks. the exmaple in the image is a female.
their pincers are not "true" pincers, instead heavily evolved hands with a single large claw. they walk on their knuckles.
i dont have much 2 say here im afraid </3 was never huge on deathgrippers
