Emerson's Dragons

Motion Comic about a world with dragons and scifi technology.

[vermatt]

012/100 Day Project

Woosh. Flying Emerson animation test. Working out the saddle and flight basics. Will continue working on this one in the next coming days. I want to work on her swinging and how her flight partner, Von interacts.

[vermatt]

011/100 Days Project

Reworked the design of Emerson into something I could replicate more easily. Still got a few things to work on, but this old exercise from Deviant Art helped immensely. I’m working on another one for her dragon and will hopefully have that up soon. In the meantime, it’s interesting figuring out my style. I’ve been trying to render the character details which takes a lot longer than working this cartoon style. Since I want to evolve these designs into a comic with some animation it’s important for me to figure out the fastest ways to draw. Excited to make more drawings!

Sorry for post delays lately. I’ve been prioritizing some other projects. Additionally, I want to post more quality pieces here rather than rushing something at midnight just for the sake of posting. I’ll have more up soon!

[vermatt]

010/100 Days Challenge

I decided I should do a little dragon practice tonight. Some quick painting to test out a snout design.

[vermatt]

Day 008/100 Days Project

Concept art of a fireplant. 

It’s a root planting type of fruit. It gets its name from the yellow, orange, and brown designs which resemble flames. It’s thought that it evolved these stripes to attract specific animals that can see the red-yellow colors. Without the color tones it blends in with tall grass. Some rodent and bird animals seem attracted to this plant from afar and even make homes out of the thick outer skin. 

Despite its name, the fruit is poisonous to dragons and the leaves will give your dragon a nasty rash. If burned near reptile type animals it can kill them. The plant thrives on the large island of Caith. Where it grows wild there are no reptile creatures within the radius. Researchers think this is why there are no wild dragon populations on Caith. Because of this Vermatt has strict laws against bringing any seeds or parts of the plant into their ports and it’s never to be burned.

The indigenous people of Caith sometimes use fireplant to create soups and in ritual celebrations. The plant creates beautiful red smoke while burning and has an aroma that is similar to nutmeg.

View Map for Locations

[vermatt]

007/100 Days Project

Maoni of Caith sketch (map). She’s the current ruler/empress of Caith. Still figuring out her character and the role she will play in the eventual story but here are a few things I know about her personality. She’s wicked smart and cunning with a deadly tongue. She hates brown-nosers and respects those that tell her off. Her favorite colors are red and gold with shimmering greens for makeup. Growing up royalty makes her sometimes a little cold but she does her best to rule a country with an open mind. She loves her people and is always watching out for them. She travels a lot but when she is home relaxing she likes to fly falcons and read.

[vermatt]

006/100 Day Project

Quick little dragon swoop gif.

[vermatt]

005/100 Days Project

A turn around of Emerson my main protagonist. She wears her hair in a braid most of the time. Trying to keep it simple for the sake of drawing her face quickly. I haven't been the best at redrawing the same face. Gonna be a fun challenge for this 100 Day Challenge. I'll try to have a more refined version up Thursday. Might write a short story to go with too.

[vermatt]

4/100 Days

Quick sketching of what some Dragon Aerial Hoop dance might look like in Vermatt sport. I might add another silk string to the hoop in later sketches that will drop from the back part of the dragon to stabilize the hoop better while flying in windy and slightly faster conditions. Dragon Aerial Dances have at least two people involved for the safety of both the dragon and the dancers. While the dancer drops down on their silk or hoop the rider guides the dragon. They are also responsible for pulling the dancers up at the end of the performances, usually incorporated into the routines, for an elegant dismount. It’s important that the hoop and silk are pulled up before landing so that the dragons do not get tangled. There have been quite a few accidents on record that led to deaths for both the dragon and rider.

Some riders and dancers wear decorative helmets and clothing with parachutes if they are going to be flying higher than usual. In these dances, the dancers have an extra option to fly down with parachutes. This type of dismount is usually used for ostentatious entrances like presenting to royalty or in large concerts. Some companies have manufactured special clothing with technology within the suits that allow for temporary flight, or gliding, based on watching flying squirrels and small lizard creatures related to dragons. If one or more dragons and dancers are in a routine they will sometimes use these outfits if they want to have trapeze tricks between the two. It helps add a little safety for the jumps.

More information on Dragon Aerial Dance to come as well as some gifs of the dances in action. 

It should be noted that the dragon in this sketch is in no way to scale. There no way something that small could carry two humans AND fly.

[vermatt]

3/100 Days Project

These are a few sketch dumps of my OC Emerson Schrill. She does the dangerous sport of aerial dance in the sky. They do circus things but the hoop and silk are attached to a special saddle and well-trained dragons. I spent awhile researching if it’d be possible to do this sport while moving. One of the concerns I have are the dancers being swung too much and being unable to perform without tangling the string with their dragons. I looked at trapeze artists and how they can move fairly fast through the air while still doing tricks. Additionally watching videos of circus performers there is someone that maneuvers the hoops up and down for them while they move. I concluded that if the dragons are trained well and the dancers know their movements and sport well enough that it’d be plausible. Then again, this world has dragons... I think this would be a beautifully choreographed sport like dressage is for horses and allows for fine-tuned interaction between dragon and their riders.

I plan to have a proper concept art design of Emerson soon. Drawing faces is an ongoing process for me. Gotta start somewhere! I struggle with repeating the same face. I’m aiming to get a character sheet out either this Thursday or next Tuesday. Also working on some fun backstory.

~Kendall

[vermatt]

Mapping out those cities. It’s nice to have a digital copy.

Day 2/100 Days Project.

[vermatt]

Dragon Barns

This is the Schrill’s dragon barn. It sits on the coast of Grapnel, Vermatt. Most dragon barns are near giant cliffs or a ledge of some sort to allow for easy flight take off and landing. Dragon barns are massive to accommodate the largest dragon breeds. Owners typically run businesses of dragon rides and lessons as well as boarding for those without the land to put their dragons. Owners are required to own not just the land the barn sits on but a minimum range 6400 acres (10 sq miles/ 21 sq km ) of land per two dragons. This allows for 1-2 dragons to hunt without destroying the habitat.

Starting the 100 Days Project. I’m aiming to do a motion comic/graphic novel over the course of this year. Posts every Tuesday & Thursday. This has been a growing story in my head for a long time and I want to share it with you. Hope you’ll stick around to see how stories develop and see the process of my illustrations and animations.

This is my first illustration of the world of Vermatt and introduction to the world. I’ll be elaborating on it soon with a map of the relevant land. I get really sucked into world building so I have all these informational facts about the structure of my world like the government, history, and character back stories. I’ve tried multiple times to write it in the form of a novel and haven’t succeeded quite yet. I thought I’d give it another try in a different medium. Excited to take on this challenge and really work on my story!