The Prince and the Wyrm

My process on this was pretty unique (compared to my other pieces). Lighting isn’t my strong suit and I often use reference pictures to help inform colors and shadows. For this one, I modeled a basic scene in 3ds Max, threw in the lighting and textures I wanted, and used the resulting render as the base of my painting.

The design for this particular dragon evolved to something more parasite-like, which you can check out in The Thing in the Ice. Its dad makes an appearance in Ceolokon and the Allfather, and grandpa is slumbering peacefully in Moonlight. Lava breath runs in the family.