So here are 4 different poses that I was considering when drawing Ridley. Obviously I chose to do the second one, but was really close to drawing the first instead. I find doing this helps get to know the ins and outs of the character you are choosing to depict and makes it easier to draw them later on in like college when you are trying to get a date…

STEP 2.

So start off with just some simple objects to depict where the subject will be, and how their limbs and other appendages will be positioned.

STEP 3.

Then do the head. He has a massive forehead that basically takes up all the space for the rest of his head and has a long beak-like mouth with spikes on the corner of his jaw to give a more menacing appearance.

STEP 4.

Here, add some thickness to the arms and put circles at the end to kinda plan out the hands. Also notice what a strange neck he has. It is actually has a joint in it and is super skinny. Finally put a line going down the length of his back to plan out where his spine will be. In these early steps there is a lot of planning, and while it may seem like a pain now, later on all those pesky guide lines really come in handy.

STEP 5.

Now add thickness to the legs and put some flesh on the wings as well. The wings are almost like arms where they come to meet the bulk of the body, so there should be some similarity in the wings and the arms.

STEP 6.

Now put hands on him and erase some of the guide lines since the picture is getting messy. Make sure you erase the RIGHT lines and not the ones you want to keep! Add feet to him since he needs to walk and define the tail.

STEP 7.

So I wanted to give him an exoskeleton, basically a skeleton on the outside of his body, and here you see where that curvy line going down the back comes in handy. His vertebrae are a lot like plates overlapping each other and just go the length down his body to the end of the tail. Don’t go all the way to the end of his tail as there is still more to there later on. I also depicted some shoulder blades underneath the first few vertebrae. And don’t forget go give him eyes too.

STEP 8.

Now make the wings look more skeletal and put some vein-like things on his arms to make him look even more alien.

STEP 9.

Now put some spikes on his head and add some small contour lines to the curved portion of his head to add some texture. Give him a nostril and add another contour line on his snout to make that look hard and skeletal too. Teeth are also important since a dragon really can’t eat people without teeth. I guess he could gum them to death, but that’s really inconvenient so teeth are a necessity not only for lively hood, but also for that extra scare factor.

STEP 10.

Now give him some ribs and a sternum. Also add a pelvis to the mix to make this guy even more like a flying skeleton.

STEP 11.

Now add some muscle to his legs and outline a knee and shin bone going down both. At the end of his tail, add a scythe-like bone blade to show this guy means business. Add some more contour lines also to the muscle on his legs to show how fit he is and to give the picture some more action.

STEP 12.

Ink it and congratulations, you are done!