My Biggest Creative Passion In Life Is ‘the Project I’m Not Supposed To Be Working On Right Now’

sometimes words are not enough

[Phosgore- 20 ways to kill someone]

Whew!

An animation I've been working on for a while now. Fully colored!

Don't like these wings yet. Need to redesign them for flight.

Oh yeah, this is a Darkstalker design I've been working on. Still needs some details added before it's done but thought I'd share my progress.

Okay I JUST realized I never posted these on here—- BUT BASICALLY, about a year and a half ago I started doing these experimental black hairstyle posts that were threads long on Twitter, to give artists a source of inspo for their black ocs whose hair they wanted to try something new with! There’s more to black hair than just the selected styles portrayed in media, and I thought it would be fun to show people how much texture, shape, fades, length, and style can be combined when drawing black hair—-cause it’s a kind of manipulation our hair can do irl! The OG thread from when I made these a year ago were lost with the hacking of my original Twitter account (@/bagels_donuts) but I’ve since reuploaded the whole thread to my new Twitter (@/ItsDonutsFR)! I hope artists on tumblr find these useful, sorry it took me so long to post them here😭🙏🏾 I’ll upload them all in parts!

Part 1: Long masc hairstyles + playing with fades

Tumblr

Post by @donutsbagels · 7 images

💬 2  🔁 715  ❤️ 1008 · Part 2: shape, style, and length with femme styles!

I saw you do comms? Would you be willing to draw my silly genderfluid lesbian bean?

The rainforest is very gay imo

He's a sea/rain hybrid

I hope it’s good! Very fun to draw, love the colors and iridescence.

and yes, comms (but no payment pls) and requests are always open

and yes. Rainforest is very gay. That’s why all the colors :)

Working on a seawing animation loop. Here is the sketch.

Lil guy so silly. He swim. Still not super confident with the tail but I'm not fixing it soooooo ....

Scorching Era Dragon Species

(Headcanon, until canon confirms or disputes)

🔴 Mountain Dragons

Based on dragons described in The Flames of Hope, pages 186-187.

The Mountain Dragons were the most common species of dragon on Pyrrhia. They inhabited the entirety of the central mountain range. Their scales tended towards warm colors like red and orange, but it was common to see other colors on them. Dragons at this time were far more likely to hybridize with other species as a result of their overlapping ranges and lack of formal society. They were one of only two species that possessed firebreath. Their diets consisted primarily of large ungulates, but they were opportunistic and would eat anything.

Mountain Dragons could be classified into two populations. The Northern Mountain Dragons were distinguished by their brighter colors and diurnal lifestyle. The Southern Mountain Dragons by contrast were darker, with more black scales as an adaptation for a more nocturnal or crepuscular lifestyle.

The Scorching was led by one large Northern Mountain Dragon (The Flames of Hope, page 186, see above image) who would become the first queen of the first dragon tribe, which would be known as the Skywings. Mountain Dragons made up the majority of the early Skywing tribe, but Forest Dragons were also common within their ranks.

The Southern Mountain Dragons, however, would not stay in the Skywing tribe for long, instead forming their own tribe, the Nightwings, and keeping their nocturnal lifestyles and building their own society around it.

Hundreds of years after The Scorching, the Skywings, under the rule on an ambitious queen, would start a conflict with neighboring tribes over territory. This would be known as the War of Skywing Expansion. The war would see the Nightwings pushed out of their mountain territory and the tribe would find a new territory on the southwest peninsula.

🟡 Stone Dragons

Based on an obvious Sandwing ancestor in The Flames of Hope, page 183.

Stone Dragons lived around rocky areas and caves at the base of cliffs and mountains. They were an offshoot of the Mountain Dragons, distinct only in their much paler coloration, back sail, and venomous tail barb. They usually possessed flecks of black scales. Their venom evolved independently of other species. Diets consisted of anything they could catch.

After The Scorching they were the first to colonize the newly formed desert that once housed a large human civilization. Other species would try to colonize the area, but as temperatures got more extreme, only the Stone Dragons would be able to adapt. Their descendants became known as the Sandwings. This species has remained virtually unchanged since The Scorching.

🔵 Sea Dragons

Sea Dragons are mentioned in The Flames of Hope page 181. Page 185 states they couldn't breathe fire.

Sea Dragons were semiaquatic, coming mostly in shades of blue and green. They lived on the eastern coast, on islands and beneath the ocean. They had specialized gills and kidneys that allowed them to tolerate a wide range of salinity levels. They had bioluminescent spots along their body used for communication. This species did not possess firebreath. Their diet consisted of fish and pinnipeds.

While a majority of Sea Dragons lived in the ocean, there was a small population living in freshwater rivers and lakes on the southeast coast, sometimes referred to as Swamp Dragons by local humans. They were more on the greener side than their marine cousins. They ate fish and whatever animals they could ambush from the water.

During the War of Skywing Expansion, some Skywing defectors would flee their kingdom and find refuge in the southeast with the Swamp Dragons. After the war they would eventually form a new tribe together, calling themselves the Mudwings.

The Seawings would be one of the earliest tribes to form. They’ve remained virtually unchanged since The Scorching.

🟣 Ice Dragons

Ice dragons were the most isolated species of dragon. They were fully adapted to Pyrrhia’s northern tundra and possessed frostbreath in place of firebreath. Their diets consisted primarily of fish and pinnipeds, but would hunt anything if the opportunity presented itself.

After The Scorching the Icewings would be one of the earliest tribes to form. They’ve remained unchanged since The Scorching. This is, of course, a point of pride for the Icewings. It is unknown if Animus Magic had appeared yet.

🟢 Forest Dragons

Based on Freedom, with the caveat that Freedom is a Mountain/Forest hybrid. The dragon described in The Flames of Hope, page 186 is heavily implied to be her mother.

Forest Dragons were a species adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. They were brightly colored and came in all color combinations, and had rounded wings. They possessed venomous fangs in place of firebreath. They made their nests in the trees. Those living in the southern rainforests were primarily frugivores and were much more colorful, while those in more temperate forests were more omnivorous, eating anything they could find, and had greener scales. They would often take naps in the middle of the day to gain energy from the sun. Leafspeak was a rare ability possessed by some individuals.

The Forest Dragons would give rise to three tribes after The Scorching. Those already adapted to the rainforest would form their own tribe, the Rainwings. The Rainwings would independently evolve their color changing ability over time.

Those best adapted to temperate forests formed their own tribe, the Leafwings. The Leafwing tribe happened to have the most Leafspeakers within their population, which they enthusiastically integrated into their agricultural practices.

During the War of Skywing Expansion, the Leafwing tribe would be forced out of their territory and would eventually make their way across the ocean to a new continent, Pantala.

One isolated population of Forest Dragons had already been evolving some odd traits by the time of The Scorching, such as a second set of wings and silk glands. This population evolved on the southwest peninsula, and would form their own tribe, the Beetlewings.

During the War of Skywing Expansion, the Beetlewings would be forced out of their territory by the Nightwings, who would then take over the peninsula as the Beetlewings joined the Leafwings in their exodus from Pyrrhia into Pantala.

Pre-Scorching Range Map

Original Bases Free to Use

What's your opinion on Chameleon? (I'm still confused how he learned to read and write when rainwings don't have literature from what I remember, but apparently his handwriting is also horrible.)

Rainwings do indeed not have literature, or a concept of currency or wealth for that matter. But keep in mind that Chameleon was banished from his tribe and spent a significant portion of his life outside the rain forest. Presumably he picked up a rudimentary understanding of how to read while having to live within these new environments.

We don't really know where he went, if I recall correctly--outside of the fact that he eventually wound up in the Sky Kingdom, presumably after Scarlet found him and made him her newest toy.

While thinking about this question, I settled on a personal headcanon that, after he was exiled from the Rain Kingdom, he ended up in the desert at first. Either at the Scorpion Den, or some outlier Sandwing town that went unmentioned in the books (I like to imagine the continent bigger, with a lot of smaller dragon settlements dotted around in every territory in addition to the big ones).

In the desert, unsure of how to subsist in this unfamiliar climate, Chameleon temporarily got roped into the service of some Sandwing merchant who owned the dragon equivalent of a pawn shop/curiosity store. There he was taught enough to be able to read labels and sort merchandise correctly, and figured out the very basics of literacy from that.

As a bonus, this kind of background would also put him into proximity of antique items which might explain how he eventually came into possession of Darkstalker's scroll. It also introduces him to the concept of personal wealth (Sandwings being a particularly mercantile and materialistic tribe) and informs his later obsession with acquiring it. And lastly it tells us how he turned villainous, as being forced to work in retail for long enough will turn even the most patient and virtuous of souls to the brink.

I love the idea of a roomba topography map being the jumping on point for a liminal horror story. House of Leaves II: Roomba.

yes or "remind me later" NO LET ME SAY NO I WANT TO SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Icewings could utilise reverse countershading by having their top/back scales paler to mimic snow or ice ffrom a bird's eye view while their bottom/belly scales are darker to absorb reflected light and thus heat from the snow and heat themselvess up if needed