HOW TO CHINESE DRAGON

Taken from

http://www.how-to-draw-cartoons-online.com/chinese-dragon-drawing.html

By Jeff Scarterfield

First Step - Dragon Drawing "S" Framework

Because the chinese dragon is long, skinny and snake-like, it curves around to form a number of different patterns as it flies through the sky.

If you take the letter "S" as I've done on the left, you can use it to come up with a guideline from which to make your Chinese dragon drawing.

In my case, I decided to cut the lines short before each end of the S. The top line curves up, and away in the other direction. It become the tail of the dragon. The bottom line - later to become the head and neck of the dragon, curves up and to the left just before the end of the S. Go ahead and do the same with yours.

Got your Chinese dragon drawing guideline all complete? Good stuff! Let's continue...

Second Step - Chinese Dragon Drawing Framework

The S in the last step helped you to come up with a unique guideline from which to draw your Chinese dragon.

Begin by mapping out the head, limb meeting points, and the end of the tail. Three circles and an oval will achieve this no problem.

Once the four shapes are in place, connect them to form the shape of the body of your Chinese dragon. Use your original guideline to steer you along.

With the core framework of your Chinese dragon in place, it's time to move on to the limbs as well as a few other details. Map out the limbs of the dragon just like I've done using lines and circles. Don't forget a few more details for the key head details of your dragon.

All finished? Very nice... now it's on to the actual dragon drawing!...

Third Step - Begin Your Chinese Dragon Drawing

Third Step - Begin Your Chinese Dragon Drawing

Well, now you've got a great framework to develop your Chinese dragon drawing. So... time to draw!

Now, as you follow along keep in mind that there are a number of different ways you could go about drawing your dragon. There's no specific order - but the order in which I draw mine is definitely worth trying! :-)

First thing then, draw the head of your Chinese dragon. Start by drawing the eyes and the nose. Use your framework to guide you.

For example...

A Chinese dragon often has a mustache and a beard A Chinese dragon has two long whiskers - one on each

side of the nose A Chinese dragon usually has long thick hair on its head A Chinese dragon has two horns... antlers!?

Anyway, do complete the head of your Chinese dragon before you move on. And when you're ready, keep in mind that there are more than one way to tackle this dragon drawing. But even still, I recommend you stick to drawing your dragon like mine for the first time through.

Ready? Let's continue with the drawing...

When you've finished drawing the head of your Chinese dragon, move on down to the second circle of your framework. Then, beginning with a tuft of hair on your dragon's left elbow... continue by drawing the left arm of your dragon. After, connect the head with the arm by two wavy lines just as I've done.

Continue drawing the body. Add spikes to the back if you want to. Continue drawing the back legs just like you did the front ones.

Add fingers and claws. Interestingly, it was

thought that the level of power or importance of a Chinese dragon was measured by the number of toes it had. Five toes - very important. Three toes... not so important.

Final Step - Chinese Dragon Drawing Details!

There are still a few more things to do before your chinese dragon drawing is complete.

To give off the appearance of scales (in a cartoon sort of way), "cross-hatching" is very effective. To achieve this effect, start behind the head of dragon and draw crisscrossing lines all the way to the the end of its tail.

And that's pretty much it for drawing a Chinese dragon. Again, there's no single certain way to tackle this creature - but this way certainly proves effective. Next time around you may want to unravel your dragon, drawing it in a completely different position.