How to Animate your Dragon

Tackling flight in animation for the first time, I took on the task of animating a dragon, an endeavour that brought unexpected challenges but ultimately offered a profound sense of accomplishment.

Animating the fantastical

While animating this fantastical creature, I quickly realised that crafting believable movement for a fictional animal is no easy task. To bring the dragon to life, I combined a variety of references: from the flight of eagles and the movements of lizards to the dragons depicted in Game of Thrones and How to Train Your Dragon.

A dragon combines many different elements, making it a particularly complex creature to animate. Creating a convincing pattern of flapping and gliding required careful attention to weight, balance, overlap (especially in the tail) and secondary motion in the wing membranes.

Although the process was demanding and required numerous iterations, I am pleased with the final result and feel that it took my understanding of how to craft a hyperreal creature to a whole new level.