Dragon Thoughts

For the last several days my thoughts have been geared towards dragons, this is probably due to the fact that I saw Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon which in my opinion was an absolutely fantastic film.

The film gets high marks for story, action and above all incredible character design. The dragons as well as the human characters are original and beautifully executed, existing in a fantastic 3D environment that made me want to drop everything and become a Viking.

My fascination with dragons goes back to 1981’s Dragonslayer, a film which featured Go Motion, a technique where rods moved the puppet during the frame exposure, sort of the opposite of Stop Motion Animation.

Since Dragonslayer I have made an effort to see most films containing the mythological beasts.

Jump to spring of 2008 when I was assigned the task of designing papier mache dragons for some workshops held at a local art studio.

This evening I browsed the photos taken during that period and was struck by the difference in my work then and now.

My style is the same but my technique and execution has improved greatly, my intent here is not to brag but rather share my observation.

The 2008 dragons are still special to me because they represent the first time I was asked to create something for someone else, but looking back I see crudeness in the technique.

I see all the little things I have learned over the two years since their creation.

My thoughts have turned to dragons, specifically creating some new winged beasts that take advantage of all that I have learned over the last couple of years.

Big dragons.