A dragon and a turkey combined to create the magnificent beast before you!Had a lot of fun sketching this out and practicing with shading and lighting as I did. Definitely a great experience. This was part of my self-imposed challenge to draw _something_ every day for until the end of the year in order to keep myself dedicated to my art, and work it into habit rather than a time commitment. Working so far, but I admit I'm slacking a bit! Started feeling a bit sick again as the season turns and with schoolwork coming to finals now, its a bit overwhelming. Still that hasn't stopped me yet!And here's a another short story to go with it! A good friend really liked the last one and said I should continue the trend with every dragon I draw, so why not?~~~~~~~~~~~

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"This odd species of dragon is a bit unlike its commonly more elemental themed counterparts, sporting an array of distinctly colored scales, with a body engulfed by its large - quite nearly oversized - wings and a feathery down to compliment. Underneath those feathers however, is a body as rigid and tempered as its gaze. The horns and spikes that adorn its head are for more than just show, they're used for hunting and exercise, strangely enough. At first glance such a dragon may seem a bit hefty, however the weight of its abnormally large wings act as natural training weights for these dragons, who prefer running to flying. All this combined allows these dragons to better grow the muscles they need to propel themselves at prey. If the indication from the horns wasn't enough, the sharp spikes protruding from its forehead are used when charging at prey at high speeds. Rather than the more traditional means of fighting with tooth and claw, and often fire breath, this dragon prefers to throw its weight around to knockout or skewer its prey, and its more slender, sharper beak to pick at its food. That's not saying they are without the things many fear from dragons though. A row of spaced pointed teeth line the inside of its beak to help with tearing apart meat, and it boasts a fire breath that's meant for roasting entire forests in a single breath.



Interestingly enough, much of this is not easily observed, as these dragons are rarely seen during most of the year. On just one day of the year, one of these dragons will stuff itself with food, eating as though the world is its buffet, before promptly returning to its cave to hibernate for another year. During this one day, their presence is well known as the sound of them ramming through trees and the heavy thuds of their claws on the ground signal their awakening. Its unlikely you will hear their roar however, as these beasts are the silent strong. Its best advised to keep your ears open to ensure you don't become its meal! Some speculate that they are awake for about a week or a month at a time annually, and sport a more normal behaviour and diet, however credible sources and recent careful observation of the dragon show that at most the dragon is only active for 72 hours at a time, once a year. The time it emerges exactly from hibernation, tends to remain consistent, with perhaps an extra day of sleeping if it so chooses.



A truly remarkable creature. Its silence only adds to its stalwart and intimidating aura. Currently it is unknown the exact age of the very few known, and the strange behaviour they will often exhibit makes it difficult to trace back. Its hard enough to get one to talk when its fast asleep, and harder yet to get close enough to observe one without being gobbled up!



Comments from the artist:

Drawing this dragon was a real pleasure! I managed to have him hold this pose a bit late in the afternoon, heading into the evening time. He was bit of a difficult one to work with, but nonetheless a very docile and cooperative in posing for me during sketching (after outrunning his appetite for an hour or so!) Once more understanding of my desire to draw his image (and finding him other sources of food) I managed to get him to sit down for a bit.



Unfortunately, he was not very inclined to conversation, rather choosing to respond in simple gestures such as a nod, shake of the head, or running his head through a tree in excitement. Nevertheless I was assured of his friendship in the end through a very kind gesture of offering his feathers as a means to keep warm as the night turned chilly. After being given a few feathers to use as a makeshift blanket and memorabilia of sorts, he brought me home and we said our farewells until next time. In return I deftly made a copy of the sketch for him to keep in exchange for his kindness! With a slight smile, something I hadn't expected from someone as stoic as he, the dragon bid his farewell and trotted off back to his home as well to hibernate.



I do hope to visit him again sometime again! Unfortunately due to his size and time constraints, as well as my own personal endeavor to try my hand at a more sketch oriented piece of art, I was unable to get a full body rendition of him. Perhaps next year~



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~~~~~~~~~~~As you may notice now, downloading the full resolution file is now available. Its something I now am doing with all my art moving forward. You can alternatively get the full resolution image from my Patreon page free of charge.If you like my art, consider supporting me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/Xeirla Character, Art, and Story © 2016 Xeirla