Week 6 of 365 Days of Art Challenge

I was able to get some sketching done this week, in spite of taking classes at the AQS Quilt Show this past week. I had planned to post photos of the show and the classes I took prior to this, but have not had a chance get everything done yet, especially since I did want to get some sketching in.

I continued with the dragon anatomy exercises from J. "Neon Dragon" Peffer's DragonArt Evolution book.  This week I worked on the ears. I never really thought about dragons having ears, as I think of them as in the reptile family. I can't think of any reptile right now where you can really see the ears. My husband has snakes -no ears there. Lizards can have a small indentation or a hole where the ears are located, but you don't really see ears. Turtles and tortoises don't have ears that you can readily see. Hmmm... do dragons really have ears???  Guess it really doesn't matter, since dragons are mythological and/or fantasy creatures, and hence, can look anyway they can be imagined.  At any rate, I drew the sketches from the exercises in the book. Peffer lists 5 different types of ears.

Pencil sketch on drawing paper. From top to bottom - feathered

ear, long ear, and webbed ear.  

I didn't think the cartilage in the ears looked right until I uploaded the photo onto my computer. I can see it now, especially in the webbed ear. I am happy with the sketches now that I can see them on the computer. Getting some distance from the drawing always helps to give me better perspective on what I'm drawing or designing. I tend not to look at sketches from a distance - just up close and that's rarely the best way to see if I'm achieving the effect I'm want. 

Pencil sketch on drawing paper.  Left - droopy ear. Right - upright

tufted ear.

I didn't try to draw complete dragon heads for each type of ear, as I wanted to be able to get these sketches done for this week's challenge. If I had drawn an entire head, I'd have only gotten one  type of ear completed. As I continue working my way through Peffer's book, hopefully, I'll be able to incorporate all the different body parts into complete dragons.

I'm enjoying the lessons. I hope you are enjoying the sketches.