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My Shyvana Dragon Rework

Çhåryzård··28 votes·5,749 views

https://40.media.tumblr.com/935e8d7d244df7f6784f7fd5af71db1a/tumblr_o2oahog3cu1us9822o1_540.jpg

As my own little project, I’m going to be working on a Shyvana dragon rework. Why? Because I think her dragon looks like a derp.

Shyvana was the first champion I ever played. Before even downloading the game, I knew I wanted to play her. I LOVE dragons. I think they are the coolest thing and I love drawing them. What isn't to like about a giant flying lizard that lights things on fire? :D

I've always thought her dragon model was a bit...derpy though. So, I decided I'm gonna have some fun, get creative, and do my own little model rework. Now, my art probably isn't Rito worthy but I will do my best.

I will be updating this thread when I add something new and it will be continuously updated with pictures and new parts, so if this actually interests you and you want to follow along, keep checking the forum

Also, I will be posting this on my tumblr in case you want to follow there (but my tumblr is shit I'm sorry). My tumblr name is dragonbuttcupcakes.

Part 1: Just Some Basic Dragon Info Before We Get This Show on the Road

https://40.media.tumblr.com/b04dd93a53665802555957f4f2f53bdf/tumblr_o2obaeZjWS1us9822o1_540.jpg

There are many different types of dragons and since dragons aren’t real (although there is no proof of that ;) ) you can pretty much do whatever you want with them. Most dragons you’ll see are either feathered, furry, scaley, or heavily armored. Sometimes you’ll see mixes of these different types. Shyvana as she is currently is more of a heavy armor dragon but to me her model seems very unrealistic.

There are lots of ‘species’ of dragons, and depending on its characteristics it may not actually have “dragon” in its name. The two we will be working with are just the basic dragon and the wyvern. Shyvana currently is a wyvern. A wyvern only has a single pair of legs and a pair of wings, no forelegs. They use their wings to balance when standing and are better in the air than they are on the ground, however if one were to chase you, you’d still lose. They can be big or small. Their necks are longer and they look more serpentine.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/b14ff478dd22e80da6de1313af52b9b5/tumblr_o2obaeZjWS1us9822o2_540.jpg

To walk they use their wings as arms and stand on their knuckles.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0f/Knuckles_the_echinda.png ....no, not that Knuckles..

ahem, to run they will pick up their wings and use their hind legs. Since they have to carry the weight of their wings, they aren't able to run for long and will probably just take flight and snatch you up.

https://41.media.tumblr.com/a50fe27ddb28e7705a62b25210cf5f4a/tumblr_o2obaeZjWS1us9822o3_540.jpg

The dragon generally has 2 pairs of legs, one in the front and one in the back, and a pair of wings. Their necks are shorter and they are more bulky than the wyvern. While not as fast as the wyvern in the air, they are able to walk and run on the ground. If one of these were to chase you, you’d lose faster. Depending on how heavily armored they are, they may not be able to fly for long due to the increased weight.

For Shyv because I love her dearly, I will be creating a wyvern model and a dragon model for her. Sadly I am only able to draw and I am absolute trash on the computer so I will not be making any digital art or 3D models. When this is all done I may even work on changing her skin models too but we gonna get the basics down first.

Part 2: Those Wings Scare Me

Ok so, Shyv's wings are a mess. Take a look at her model.

https://56.media.tumblr.com/c5faf7716a8bffccd4abb2de57339b64/tumblr_inline_o2obdg7UVg1trigi0_540.png

A dragon's wings would function similar to a bat's wing.

https://38.media.tumblr.com/1ac887d891beeeaacb4edbc752005827/tumblr_inline_o2obkluW2S1trigi0_500.gif

The "hand" on the wing is actually similar to a human hand. The thumb sticks out and this allows for them to grab onto things like ledges, branches, the ground, dogs, etc. The fingers are elongated and webbing inbetween connects them. The webbing SHOULD connect from the last finger to the body. You want as much surface area possible in order to generate enough lift, or else you ain't flyin'. Shyvana's wing does not connect to her body, and if you look the claws on her wing and her fingers just don't look right. I doodled her current wing here, and what it should look like under it.

https://41.media.tumblr.com/de861c496aca544ab148c07848a55169/tumblr_o2obssSBNG1us9822o1_540.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/d9bdc0ebcc537f9e2fd1e17cab3d85cd/tumblr_o2obssSBNG1us9822o2_540.jpg

Now the fingers would probably be a bit longer but I made them shorter in order to fit everything in the picture. The second wing would allow her to fly a whole lot better.

Next update I'll have will include starting ideas on how I want her wyvern model to look. I hope you enjoyed my little lesson on a creature that does not actually exist. Stay tuned for more. It's 11:30 pm now. I'm gonna sleep.

Part 3: Getting This Show on the Road (will be posted soon)

https://56.media.tumblr.com/128bdc7480a5d913f29af2fb8ebf36f0/tumblr_o2ryflCHso1us9822o1_540.jpg

https://56.media.tumblr.com/923ba2c0c43757e0fdef55ea9cd73ace/tumblr_o2ttpyUz591us9822o1_540.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/3bdd4cc3af414d0d5e246d08c4227784/tumblr_o2ttpyUz591us9822o2_540.jpg

https://41.media.tumblr.com/d1972c45174c46a715ea8c33ba5a880f/tumblr_o30ny9k9qj1us9822o2_540.jpg

https://41.media.tumblr.com/94335788bd9626a1ec787c6cdf4a93d7/tumblr_o30ny9k9qj1us9822o1_r1_540.jpg

Another two concepts up now. I plan to probably add armor to whatever dragon I choose so if y'all are looking at them and thinking "none of them really have Shyv-like armor" don't worry I gotchu fam.

49 Comments

Çhåryzård2 votes

Currently working on part 3, I plan to have 6 starting concepts and I just finished the second today, I'll probably add a couple pictures tomorrow just so you can see what I got so far

Xephariah2 votes

(Bumpity bump bump.)

Never realized how cool dragons were until basically just now. XD

Burrito881 votes

bump

nightpack1 votes

will this skin make her an actual dragon? or will she continue to be a fire drake?

Fjiordor1 votes

VU

Çhåryzård1 votes

I'm going to be doing both. One is going to be like the way she is now (so fire drake/wyvern) and the other will be a dragon

PapaGreg211 votes

RIOT, hire this man

Çhåryzård2 votes

if that were to ever happen it'd be the most magical thing ever

Captain Aishi1 votes

i see that last set of pictures as riot's design being right somewhat XD

because she's a half-dragon, she is anatomically incorrectly built and thus incapable of flight

Çhåryzård1 votes

Maybe the webbing part, but she'd still have 6 fingers which wouldn't make sense.

I'm assuming that they meant to draw her as a dragon and just kinda derped the anatomy of it but if they did intend to make her anatomy off because she's a half dragon the faulty webbing would make sense XD

Captain Aishi1 votes

what if her dragon of a father actually had 6 fingers? then there'd be nothing wrong with it :)

Çhåryzård1 votes

true but im pretty sure her model in game has 5 fingers, but its hard to tell when shes holding her thingies (not sure what you call them lol)

In her splash art she has 5 but its possible it couldve been changed in game. Kindred (more specifically Lamb) has 5 fingers in the splash but 3 in game.

Theres also the possibility we are both wrong and she actually had 7 the whole time

Captain Aishi1 votes

indeed, I was just saying that as a cautionary warning, because a lot of artists I know tend to humanize their art too much (humans have 5 fingers therefore shyvana's dragon form MUST have 5 fingers would be a dangerous attitude to have towards design in my opinion)

especially since I feel like dragons usually have inspirations from real world animals, sometimes dogs, sharks, snakes, or crocodiles... and crocodiles do indeed have 6 fingers on their fore limbs

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Crocodilelyd5.png

so if the dragon she is modeled after falls into the crocodilian category, it would make perfect sense for her to have 6 :)

Çhåryzård1 votes

I didn't give her 5 fingers because humans have 5 though, I actually gave her 5 because I used a bat's wing as reference to her wings, since a dragon's wings would function very similar to a bats. Bat wings have 5 fingers on them like a human's and if you look up bat wing anatomy you'll find lots of pictures comparing the bones to a human's arm since the structure is similar. That's why I mentioned human hands, just to make the comparison, but I didn't give her 5 fingers BECAUSE humans have 5. I don't really use humans at all when designing creatures unless that creature is humanoid, or well, a human (but I'm still practicing drawing people, its a work in progress XD)

I'm not saying they can't have more fingers and seeing as dragons arent real (but yet again still no proof of that) you can pretty much do whatever you want with them. I'm use inspirations from other animals as well as my own made up stuff to design her but whenever I make my dragons I usually draw their wing's similar to a bats. Dragons can actually have feathered wings too and if I were to draw her with feathered wings, I'd look at the structure of a bird's wing instead. Plus you have dragons with no wings at all or 2 wings or 3 etc.

I don't generally use crocodiles just because the way their body is structured it'd be very hard for them to fly and get themselves off the ground, but if I were to draw a dragon without wings crocodile may be something I get inspiration from (I've actually tried to sorta use how their scales look in some of my drawings but their scales are weird to draw and idk why) and I'd probably add 6 toes/fingers depending on how I use the crocodile in the drawing.

Captain Aishi1 votes

alright I understand your reasoning pretty well on this one it's all good :)

(p.s. bats and humans are both mammals which would probably explain the similarities in bone structure in some parts of their bodies ^^)

I guess I do have some bias since I tend to portray my dragons as crocodilian or snake-like in nature (when I think of a dragon my starting point is often a Spinosaurus or Baryonyx's head shape)

Çhåryzård1 votes

2 of the coolest dinos imo ^U^

The fun part about drawing things that arent possibly real (cuz there aint no proof yet) is that you can do whatever you want with them and you can get really creative with it. I've used dinos before to try and design some heads and then sometimes I try to get really weird with it lol.

Plus theres really no wrong way to draw them and I always enjoy seeing the different ways people like to design them

Captain Aishi1 votes

i was just listening to some old metroid music and realised, ridley from that game is one of the first dragon-like creatures i was exposed to and he does have a mix of crocodilian and avian features to him so I guess it's part of the origin of my bias XD (that and the snake-like alien dragon from Contra 3)

and one of the most appealing dragon designs I've come across so far is the black dragon from heroes of might and magic 5 (which is very snake-like in it's features)

M0b1us1 votes

One issue with your theory.

You are assuming all draconic creatures with only 2 legs are wyverns. Yet if you look at heraldry there are plenty of cases in which two legged dragons are depicted. Only a few European countries make such a distinction between a dragon and a wyvern. The term "wyvern" was introduced in the 17th century yet there were depictions of 2 legged dragons dating far before that. So it is very possible that Shyvana's dragon side is simply a 2 legged dragon and not a wyvern.

A better way to think about a dragon vs a wyvern is a wolf vs a dog.

Çhåryzård1 votes

The way I see it is this.

For a while people though the creatures that flew and swam during the dinosaur age were dinosaurs. All of those creatures were described as dinosaurs. However, after a while they developed their own names and became separate categories from dinosaurs. They were all giant killer reptiles, however they were different enough to be in their own categories and not get lumped into one big one even though they were before.

Not everyone chooses to call them wyverns, I actually have a lot of books about monsters and dragons that I liked reading when I was younger that described all the different types of dragons. You have the Eastern dragons which are noodles and dont generally sport any wings, arctic dragons are furry, cockatrice is described as a psuedo dragon and isn't actually a dragon, however sorta resembles one, fae dragons are the smallest and can fit in your palm, the snakelike lindwyrms that live in the desert, and the wyvern. The term wyvern is generally used to describe a dragon with a pair of wings and 2 legs. Wyverns ARE dragons, I'm not saying they aren't, but that name is commonly used to describe dragons with that structure.

I've seen species of dragons get depicted completely different. An example of this is the basilisk. I've seen it portrayed as a snake-like creature, a dragon that can shapeshift, and a 6 legged wingless dragon that buries under the sand in deserts and ambushes prey.

The dragon can be depicted in many different ways and each artist may describe theirs differently. The term wyvern does not have to be used, they are all dragons anyways (except that cockatrice), but the term wyvern can be used to describe a dragon of that type and I choose to acknowledge it as its own species of dragon. Other artists may do something different.

The stuff I'm talking about in this thread is a mix of stuff I've learned and my own beliefs on dragons and how they'd look and function based on how some of the animals we have today look and function. Nothing here is really 100% correct, and sadly we don't have any live dragons currently to know if I'd be correct or not (but that'd be hella cool), but this is just how I see it I guess.

Fowus1 votes

you live up to your name

Çhåryzård1 votes

That's actually why I picked it! :D

I planned to play Shyvana a lot (and Charizard was taken so i had to get creative)

While she isn't my main top currently (she was before) I plan to start playing her more and that's how I started thinking about doing all of this

DwarvenGiant1 votes

These are some interesting material and theories. I like it. Looking forward to see some more progress with your post and concepts. :)

Bookmarked

Çhåryzård1 votes

Yay ty! [slayer-jinx-catface]

InHaruhiWeTrust1 votes

i really think she is really lacking in the dragon part personally and wanted her dragon form to have wings on her back rather than whatever she has on her arms now lol. i really like where your going with this though. i made a shyvana rework post a while ago for a reworked kit if you wanna check it out http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/UHGk8Jb7-idea-for-shyvana-rework-thoughtfeedback-is-appreciated-xd feedback would be appreciated :)

Çhåryzård1 votes

First two concepts are up!

Çhåryzård1 votes

I will be posting 6 of these and if I end up not happy with any of them I will be posting more, so if you're not really feeling these two don't worry. (I shall do my best to make her as badass as possible)

Also any suggestions are welcome too :)

Raiku Kawisa1 votes

My biggest complaint about Shyvana (other than her ult is not unstoppable -.-* ) Is her base model. I literally never use her base skin because i hate it, dragon form especially.

Çhåryzård1 votes

I always thought her base skin was weird and when I first joined, I saved my free rp (that you get once you get to lvl 10 I think?) to get her ironscale skin when it was on sale.

I feel like her model is better in her skins but it still has this overall derp feel

Raiku Kawisa1 votes

I use Championship Shyv whenever i can (sometimes i grab Boneclaw for variety). Dragon is still derp, but i love busting eardrums with her Dragon Form Recall Victory Roar

Çhåryzård1 votes

I would've gotten championship if I didnt have ironscale, it's a really nice skin (I have this 1 skin per champ rule with the exception being Gnar because he's adorable XD)

Raiku Kawisa1 votes

I have the same for champs i like to play occasionally... But I have over 312k Mastery on Shyvana. She is my main, thus I have all of her skins. Plus I try to get all of the yearly event skins (Championship, Victorious and now Challenger)

Çhåryzård1 votes

I usually end up prioritizing one skin over the other and then not using the other ones. Like I got maid nidalee, and then that 1 year where riot gifted us skins I got headhunter nidalee and now thats the only one I use whenever I play her lol.

I did have arcade sona gifted to me a long long time ago and when DJ came out I bought that and now I don't use arcade much although I did use it a while ago on an aram just cuz. Gnar I usually switch back and forth between dino and snowday.

I might make an exception for shyv but I gotta start playing her more and then I'll think about it. Just got a big stack of rp and now with Aurelion Sol being announced I plan to use some of that for his skin (and hopefully its cool, I'd like to see something newer than a continuation of another line of skins)

Çhåryzård1 votes

Hey everyone posting the next 2 updates but this needs to be shared.

AO SHIN, NOW BEING CALLED AURELION SOL, HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! GOD BLESS THIS DAY!

I may cry....

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Aurelion_Sol

Çhåryzård1 votes

I have been stalking him ever since I found out his concept existed like you guys have no idea how excited I am

Çhåryzård1 votes

All the people who were like "hes never being released just let it go"

you guys can go eat poopy because lookie here he is being released never say never praise rito

MaIevoIent1 votes

No! D: this is a mess

Çhåryzård1 votes

Probably not gonna have the next 2 up till monday but any bumps are appreciated <3

Çhåryzård1 votes

I have passed 420 views.

Shyv and I are now blazin' it [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

Weathered1 votes

Second picture top right one. OMG IS IT SO COOL LOOKING

Çhåryzård1 votes

^U^ thanks!

Çhåryzård1 votes

Another 2 up

Scarletmeow1 votes

It might just be me being nitpicky but...Shyvana IS a female..and all of these dragon concepts look very very masculine. Don't get me wrong they all look badass and god I wish I could draw like you but I don't think shyvana's dragon form should look super manly ya know? Still either way great work [slayer-jinx-wink]

Çhåryzård1 votes

I'm leaning towards A or B (I'm also considering C a bit though) but I'd really like to hear everyone else's thoughts too. If nobody really cares I'll just pick one and go with it lol

Scarletmeow1 votes

I think either A, B or E. C looks nice but something about it puts me off (Can't put my finger on it)

Lumikan1 votes

Someone finally said it. Thank you. While I'm at it... Why has no one made a skin to make her dragon form look like...the Dragon? Imagine that. Standing there in dragon form a bit before dragon respawns. Idk, I'm bored and tired.

Çhåryzård1 votes

It would be pretty cool to have an actual dragon skin (similar to dragon pit) so theres a big dragon vs dragon battle whenever you go to get the buff

Çhåryzård1 votes

**Last day for any input on which dragon to go through with. I'm picking one tomorrow and I'm gonna start wurkin on it **

Çhåryzård1 votes

So I'm going with B and I'm currently working on it. I'm gonna be tweaking the design just a bit and I'm gonna add a bit of armor too. Any bumps while I work on this are appreciated <3

Every bump feeds a poro and disables a Teemo shroom.

Çhåryzård1 votes

Hey just wanted to update, this thread hasn't died and I still plan to continue. With the announcement of Aurelion Sol and his upcoming release, I wanted to make some fan art in hopes of getting into the Champion Creations thingy they do for new champs so I have put Shyvana on pause. (gotta welcome the new guy to the Rift, hopefully Shyv won't mind)

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/skin-champion-concepts/UeibwEU9-remember-your-roots?comment=00020000

If you want to see my progress and look at the art, it's here. Bumps and likes are appreciated too. It isn't done yet but I am almost finished with it so a completed picture will be up soon. Then I'll resume this project.

Thanks for the support guys and this'll be resumed soon!

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