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Dragonart Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon

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A dragon artist's guide to better drawing

Magnificent and powerful creatures, these dragons be, with bone-crushing jaws and razor-sharp teeth, it's difficult to tell whether you're dealing with a hotheaded nature or a wise and benevolent beast. Therein lies the trouble with drawing them from life. Make your dragon portraits more authentic (while avoiding loss of life and limbs) with the help of this guide. A follow-up to the fiercely popular DragonArt , this book features ALL NEW dragons and EVEN MORE detailed dragon anatomy instruction.

   • 60+ step-by-step demonstrations cover a variety of dragons, including medieval, fairy and sea-dwelling varieties
   • In-depth advice for drawing every part of the beast—eyes, ears, horns, wings, scale patterns, limbs and more
   • Extra tips and tricks provided by your dragon guide, Dolosusa


It's everything you need to draw a variety of dragons—from enormous, ancient beasts with broken scales and fractured horns, to sleek, sinuous creatures with leathery skin and fancy frills. So steel your heart, prepare your trusty inking pen, and venture forth, brave artist—unleash the ferocious, extraordinary, original beasts that dwell within your fiery imaginings!

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2010

34 people are currently reading
181 people want to read

About the author

Jessica Peffer

20 books26 followers
Jessica Peffer is a freelance illustrator living and working in Columbus, Ohio. She's the author of the DragonArt series of How-to-Draw books.

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5 stars
111 (65%)
4 stars
40 (23%)
3 stars
13 (7%)
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3 (1%)
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2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Brenda.
1,579 reviews51 followers
March 1, 2011
I've always liked to draw, and fantasy pictures have long been my favorites. The problem was, I could never draw a dragon. I didn't even know where to start with getting the body rightly proportioned, or making the head look right. So I was kind of excited to get this book for review. I'll be honest, I haven't actually tried drawing any of these dragons yet. I haven't actually picked up a drawing pad and pencil for years, if you want to know the truth.

I do really like the pictures, though. The illustrations are beautiful, and the instruction seems to be pretty good. My seven year old sat down with the book and tried to draw a dragon. He worked at it for quite awhile, and while you'd never know it was a dragon from looking at it, he sure had fun. I don't think he realized you're not supposed to draw and keep every line in the instructions.

If you're already a great fantasy artist, this book may not be helpful to you. But if you like to draw, and need a little help, or if you just want to look at great illustrations of dragons, check out this book.
Profile Image for Elyse Burgess.
61 reviews3 followers
July 29, 2024
Is this a corny book to put on my life changing shelf, especially compared to the others? Yea

But I stared at it for hours in Michaels as a kid and it awakened my artistic imagination. I would not be the artist I am today if it were not for this book.
Profile Image for Daniel Agee.
9 reviews
January 14, 2023
This tutorial book is so well written, I've used it for years to the point where pages are falling out. One of my favorite artists and one of my favorite subjects to draw ❤️😍♥️
Profile Image for Candace.
647 reviews191 followers
September 24, 2010
Although this isn't my typical kind of review book I accepted it in a hurry because it just sounded awesome! Well, I'm so glad I did! The pictures of the many many dragons are beautiful! Talk about some inspiring stuff!
I am a horrible artist. I liked art class because I like to do art, I'm just bad at it. This book has step by step instructions for each part of the anatomy of the dragons. You can go through and pick from hundreds (at least close to hundreds!) and pick which one you want to draw and it shows you the general shape and then how to fill it in piece by piece.
I had actually thought that my 5 year old daughter and I could draw a few and then give it to my 11 year old nephew since he's a real artist (well, he took a special art class, so he's better then us anyway!), but my daughter loves the pictures so much she wants to keep it. I may end up buying a second book to give him though because the book is perfect.
I would say the difficulty level is definitely for older kids and adults. My 5 year old just gets frustrated. So we decided that she uses it for inspiration and then can go draw her own from her imagination. But for me it's great! I can draw a dragon that at least almost looks like an actual dragon!
Another bonus is that now we have something for older kids to do when they come visit and they don't have to stare at the TV the whole time. It's also something fun for the grandparents to do with the kids because it's actually something challenging for them instead of just coloring pages in a coloring book.
Profile Image for Jason Fella.
45 reviews40 followers
August 10, 2013
I bought this book and "Drawing Dragons" by Sandra Staple at the same time, so I'll mention comparisons between the two here. First off, this book is excellent overall. They give you a ton of ideas for different types of dragon heads, and from different positions. Want ears, horns, wings, various types of scales, choices of limbs or horns/fins? It's all in here. I will say that Sandra Staples book does give more options for how to add details to your dragon. Lots of different tails, horn/fin options, markings, etc. I think that is where the other book excels just a bit more.
This book comes out on top with the gorgeous digital coloring, which I prefer. The other book has mostly drawings and I think is colored with colored pencils, so it doesn't jump off the page as much. This book also gives more distinct varieties of heads and head types. Of course there are pictures of whole dragon bodies in various positions and actions, as well as ages.
If you want to learn how to draw dragons, you need this book. Period. And if you got both this one and DragonArt, I can't imagine you would be unable to create just about any type of dragon imaginable. Get drawing!
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Profile Image for Once.
2,344 reviews81 followers
October 13, 2010
This is such a great art book. The details are great. The different pictures of the Dragons are beautiful. The detailed instruction takes you from the first line you draw all the way to a full dragon, while giving you small descriptions to help you get inspired. This book is perfect for beginners but just as great for more advance artist.

I had my 8 year old son try out the book, and lets just say everyday he goes to his room and tries drawing a new dragon. I asked him what he thought of the book, he said "The book is AWESOME!" I like to draw a bit myself when I have time and when I opened the book and started reading and seeing the wonderful illustrations, I had to immediately begin to draw one of the Dragons myself. It was so great to be able to understand the instructions and make it happen on paper.

review link: http://www.onceuponatwilight.com/2010...
Profile Image for Bridget.
574 reviews141 followers
October 8, 2010
I'm not a very good artist but I do find drawing to be very relaxing. When I picked up this book, I wasn't quite sure it would be able to help me. I had never tried to draw something as in-depth as a dragon, but I wanted to give it a try. I was surprised at how easy it was. I drew some really incredible pictures and it was all fairly simple. The instructions are geared toward beginners, so this is the perfect book for those of you who are unsure of your drawing abilities.
Profile Image for Js26jl.
27 reviews2 followers
January 31, 2015
Intermediate - Independent

Rationale: Jack indicated on his sheet he was interested in art, drawing, comics, dragons, and monsters, so I located a book - though not necessarily in the children's section, that is easy enough to follow and is sure to spark his imagination.

Hook: Interested in creating your own dragons and other creatures? Check out this art book that helps you create your own dragons and gives you great types on how to become a better artist.
1 review
November 4, 2012
I love drawing and when I first saw this book I thought to myself, " I HAVE TO GET IT!" The illustrations are well detailed but at the same time simple! I drew quite a few drawings and all look great. It is really easy for beginners and my nephews love looking at the pictures. I'm really glad i got the book.
Profile Image for Alicia Balliett.
189 reviews13 followers
February 10, 2017
Very good book for anyone wanting to learn how to draw dragons. It helped me a lot.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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