#magicalspineclaws

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Most of these are just from my clip studio paint test canvases -- still intend on getting the hang of it ◑_◑

Coloured sketches of two feathertail variants, Petal(jungle) and Cliffside. Trying to show physical differences as well as colour/patterns.

Cleaned up sketch of the longboys. I find the silksnout headshot so charming still (=ᴗ=✿)

Finally, the full uncoloured version of the first image with a couple more variants drawn. And liddle Aura :3

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Freshened up design- Fox of the Silksnouts

To match another design overhaul I’m doing (his boyfriend) Fox got a shiny new reference :)

Held off on learning metal rendering and just did flat colour 👀

Rebalanced colours a bit and took some time to think about what symbolism I could include in the design.. Thought about contrast- light vs dark. His forearms/palms are light, as an inventor he builds things to better his people; His tail is dark, it holds the blade; His face is a contrast of both, his intentions are good though his reasoning isn’t exactly moral. The light blaze on his chest, because at his core he’s good.

This isn’t the first time Fox is making an appearance on this blog (and here!), and it won’t be the last.

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

There was no one else in sight, just the endless frozen pines

This canvas was created August 2025.. (☍ v ⁰) but uh it's done now.

This is my character Polecat, who isn't really relevant to the story whatsoever.

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Inktober day 6- Pierce

An art piece on day six, showcasing Fox! An antagonist in my story. That tail blade is pretty sharp.. (fun fact, this guy is a polydactyl, he has an extra toe on each foot)

Experimented with an ink brush from procreate's new set, like it a lot!

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Inktober day 1 - Mustache

And so the posting of my backlog begins!

I thought "which of my dragons could have facial hair" and the answer is .. the ones with the hairiest faces.

Pineclaws are completely covered in fur, and sometimes patches on the face grow out, tadaa! Mustache ✂️

The blonde dragon in the middle is Sunspot!

I also had @thatdarnpenny colour in a base for the design of mustachio at the bottom ^w^

Plaintext:

PINECLAWS- facial hair?

'Default' face with relatively short fur and and uniform face

Many pineclaws grow longer patches of fur on parts of their face, they can trim it or style/shape it. (or go full shaggy)

'stache?

1/10/25 - MUSTACHE

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Let's design - character refresh (•‿•☀)

Back at it with another Pineclaw character yayy, they might be my fave kin to design. This time I'm refreshing (and hopefully improving) a pre-existing design made by my friend ~a year ago.

Sunspot!

This was the first time I've attempted to blend patterns and elements together in a complicated manner like this- scary! I think I did quite well for a first try

A closer look at the original + my process for the new design is under the cut (>‿• )

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This is the original- cute! The cropped tail is unique, I've never given a character that feature before!

The sketch and lineart might be some of my best work in terms of anatomy in some time ( >ᗜ<)

Shes a tad short in the face and body for the average pineclaw probably, but I don't mind that (diversity 👍). The hard part was COLOURING

The tracked time on this canvas is actually below average, but it feels like I spent twice as long on it because of all of the experiments I did before settling on the final idea.

I drew the sun design on her back, promptly dooming myself to come up with a way to integrate it throughout the whole body. I settled for these interesting stripe patterns down the legs, tail, and on the face.

It was at this point I remembered the bead anklet and little strings. I almost changed the accessories but decided to stay true to the original.

And of course I had to include her namesake- sunspots! The old design had more subtle freckles but I always have a hard time integrating those with longer/tufty fur. Helps to tie the darker bits of the design together too.

After a dubious amount of colour overlays and slider tweaking, I had the final design!

Would this character ever make an appearance in my story? I'm not sure! But I came up with a pretty interesting personality for her while I was doing this, perhaps I'll find the perfect place to use her (◑ ‿ ◑)

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

The long abandoned ritual-tradition of the mushroom forest is to speak no louder than a whisper. On the fifth day of midwinters week, a dragon may raise their voice for one reason and one reason only.

To speak His name,

Bang

Took a jab at what the modern Pineclaw style of art would be. Bold ink lines and gentle colours.

Except for the not-so-gentle yellow, that's important.

[fireandflies-worldbuilding]

Lets Design - A new character!

Earlier this month I got inspired while drawing Artfight attacks and sketched this nice character base. I wasn't going for anything in particular but I think it would make a nice Pineclaw for my story.

I may have gotten rather carried away with the worldbuilding rambles in this post, prepare for a good few paragraphs! Text and process pictures below the cut (人◕ω◕)

First I lined the sketch and thought about what kind of character this was going to be.

I added a head accessory at this stage because... I felt like it.. It lead to me deciding on a feminine character that has more primitive accessories. I tend to focus on the developed inner city aspect of the Pineclaws, but most of them dont have access to any special technology or materials. They'd live simple like everyone else.

At this stage I also gathered some references of oxidised copper. A while back I was enlightened at 2 AM with an idea: since I like to theme pineclaws with copper (See their capital: Copper Heights) a dragon with the colour scheme of copper (with the colourful oxidation, aka patina) would just about fit into the restraints of their natural colouring. And theoretically it sounds awesome (✦ ‿ ✦)

The whimsy-nature vibes of the headscarf got me thinking and I began to develop the character. For a while I've been musing over the religious aspects of Pineclaw society. They are probably the least connected with the magic and gods of the world, and have very few religious buildings or organisations. But does that mean that none of them practice? Of course not!

I kept thinking on religion - perhaps Pineclaws as a people have a more detatched relationship with magic. Viewing it as a force of nature that works in mysterious ways (because it does), but then in turn cannot be controlled and should not be trifled with.

This does poke a bit of a hole in my worldbuilding. Dragons themselves have magic that they can train and use. So why would these guys in particular be so cut off from it? One explanation could be that pineclaws are simply just less attuned to magic than the other kin- the same way that feywings are naturally more attuned. I'll think more on it

So, in a culture where religion is generally dismissed- who sticks out? Dragons that connect with magic, and by extension the gods and nature. I think its time to introduce...

Pineclaw Hippies !! (⚈∇⚈ )

A subculture devoted to maintaining connection with their magical roots and the spiritual forces within the Frosted Taiga (and further!)

These dragons oppose the modern technological advancements being made in the redwoods cities, and believe that they should preserve certain traditions or adapt their lifestyles to something that is more harmonious with the land they live on.

That means no heavy processing of the ground to obtain metal, or unethical practices to obtain animal products. (These are things that may happen in the extremely densely populated regions of the redwoods- though they may be overexaggerating the impact on the land a little bit)

And moving onto colour! I brought in a reference of a wolfdog (not a wolf, Pinterest) to inspire the brown portion.

The placement of the green/blue sections was deceivingly difficult to get to appear natural. If the colour itself was too green or vibrant it would be way too far out of the generally accepted colour range. Technically pineclaws dont come in blue at all, more like a slate (their pigmentation works similarly to cats) but I allow exceptions for cool factor (≖⌣≖)

As an extra note, it could be very possible that this dragon has purposefully enhanced the colour of her fur.

Why? To greater resemble Bang, god of the taiga, who shares appearance similarities with the pineclaws, being considered their kin patron. (Whats a kin patron? Explanation coming in the future _(xOx)_) Bang's colouring is inspired by malachite, velvety shimmer included.

Perhaps our pineclaw rubs colourful powder dye into her fur routinely to give it stronger colour, or maybe she was born with naturally lighter patches that could be dyed? Who knows!

If I really wanted to push this hippie group into cult territory, perhaps she was born into it with a colourful mutation, and since she resembles their prime diety so much got funneled into a leader position within the group as she got older. Nice potential for some cult brainwashing vibes there.

I did a bit of fiddling with the colourful patches and overall colour harmony. Its one of those combos that can clash with itself if not done right (Im still not 100% with the final result. Her accessories arent too gaudish but nicely ornamental, with natural fabric, wooden beads, some very spiritual and natureish owl feathers, and some sweet pouches and utility knife for herbalist work. The metal is reserved for those with higher standing within the community, like organisers or discussion leaders.

(A little hipocritical of them to be wearing processed metal, they solemnly swear it was all ethically collected from local native deposits!)

Final colour grading touches. and here she is- Patina of the Pineclaws! Leader of her local community branch of Pineclaw Hippies, which is NOT the official name lmao. Its definitely a subculture that I want to organise and write until its nicely developed.

Whoever has been as enraptured as I am with this worldbuilding stuff- reading all the way to the end- thank you! As I make these posts, I realise that a lot of it might not make sense. There are keywords and terms that simply dont have an explanation written down for me to hyperlink to. If I remember, I'll come back to add them as I go. Hopefully one day the entirety of my lore and complete worldbuilding will be on this blog!