Lurker Drake - first draft

Lurker Drakes are amphibious dragon species living in small enclaves on the coasts of a peninsula far in the south west. Despite their name, Lurker Drakes prefer hunting down their prey to ambushing it, using their large fin-like wings, tailfins and webbed feet to propel themselves through water at incredible speeds straight at their target before it has a chance to react; this comes at the price of being rather ungainly out of water. Although they often appear sullen and their social behaviour can be rather peculiar, they are very friendly and hospitable to any outsiders who happen to wander into their territory.

(First things first: The thing on top of the sideways view is NOT a giant fin, but a wing! It's hard to see on the side view because the wing is much like a manta ray fin and flush with the body, and there's no shading to show it.)

This is the first draft of one of my original species in Legendaria. I didn't actually want to submit it at first, considering it's barely more than a sketch, but I haven't yet submitted anything this year (!!) and that needed to change. I'll just throw it to scraps later.

I'm not particularly happy with the anatomy or the pattern, but that doesn't really matter since, well, it's just the first draft and it's more about the idea and general feeling of it. The colours will almost certainly change, most likely to something less vivid, and anatomy might get an overhaul too, but the overall concept will stay - a dragon with manta-ray like wings and streamlined, water-adapted anatomy. I also ended up using mako shark references for the snout, and dogs for the legs.

I wish I wasn't as crap at coming up with nice colour patterns, though. The more I'm looking at this one, the more I hate it xD Oh well, it's not like I'm anywhere near done with the species.

Drawing time: 5+ hours (most spent on coming up with the right design; I'm slow, but not THAT slow xD)
Species: Lurker Drakes © me
Art: © me