Well if I'm free to bombard your inbox with Night Fury drawing questions, I guess I'll go ahead :)))
Tailfins. Just tailfins. I will admit, of the one drawing of a Night Fury I've posted in here, thus was the most immediately frustrating thing. I probably erased 20 different tailfins before finding one that looked simply 'acceptable'. I've figured out a bit about them from study, like how each strut in the tailfin is longer than the one before it, but each attempt still looks wrong even with that knowledge! I filled a whole page with fins, of which 4 or so looked good, the rest seemed a bit too even. At the top of the fin where it comes back and connects to the tail is (the angle at which it comes back) is quite an issue.
Along with the this, the side fins. I honestly nearly blanked those out whilst drawing (and its a favorite feature on Night Furies for me. Couldn't belive I missed it till the drawing was 99% finished).
Heyy! Sorry this one took me a little longer to get to, my memory does not serve at all🙏
The position we most often see Toothless’ fins to be in is at a diagonal angle. Verticle angles are possible, as that would be when he is diving and what not, but fully horizontal, and even extended diagonal just doesn’t work, and ends up looking broken and disjointed.
The angle at which the fin joins back at the tail can vary due to the fins’ mobility, but what I tend to keep in mind is having a general, standard v-shape between the two fins, which helps keep the silhouette.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the bones in the tail fin always follow the same/very similar angles to each other, so bone 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 will all be extended at the same time, or they will all be folded at the same time.
Another thing to keep in mind is how far apart you place each bone on the tail. They are quite close together! I have no real way to describe the appropriate distance between each bone, but it’s a useful thing to keep in mind if you’re struggling to figure out why a tail fin just doesn’t look right.
The bones are also dipped inwards in placement on the tail. They’re close together at the base but are far apart at the ends of the membrane. Think how you can flare your finger out as far as possible, at the base of your fingers where they attach to the hand, they are close together, but at your fingernails they are far apart. That’s where the subtle v-shape in toothless’s tail fin segments comes from.
AND! The order you draw the bones in can play a part. Personally, I always start with bone 2. Then bone 1, then 3, 4 and 5. By starting with the second bone you can control the general flow of the tail, as you have a guide to go by for each consecutive segment you draw.
Think of the hip wings like an extension of the primary wings. They’re meant to fill in the blank space left by the primary wings, and make the body’s transition from membrane to no-membrane smoother.
For example, this is what the wings would look like if there was no separation between primary wings and hip wings.
But do remember that they are separateand move on their own!