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aboveClouds — Saise Reference Sheet
Published: 2012-03-12 02:55:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 4124; Favourites: 90; Downloads: 40
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Bigger picture under download!
Another character sheet! Not everyone likes to draw gryphons, so I thought it would be a good idea to post one of my dragon characters for exchanges/trades/whatever.
Saise is an oldish character of mine. I think I made him sometime back in 2008 but I never posted him publicly. I've always had a soft spot for teal dragons and bright colors, so a tropical sea dragon just made sense to me. C:
Some extra notes about him:
-The size of his fish scales is totally up to you! If you want to make him super smooth like I've made him here, then that's cool. On the other hand, if you want to give him massive, stylized Koi fish scales, then that's cool as well.
-The five spots on his eyebrows are -not- random like the spots on his body. All the members of his species have some kind of spots on their eyebrows.
-The spots on his body are from a mineral deficiency. The scales haven't formed properly, so they kind of turn black and rot at the edges. It isn't extensive enough to be dangerous, though.
-Follow my little painting for his eye. I simplified his eye on the rest of the reference sheet because I like to keep my refs simple.
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ART INFO
Art and Saise are © 2012 by ~aboveClouds
Background textures are [link] and [link]
Note: A blue iguana would be a pretty good ref for Saise's facial shape now that I think about it. He just wouldn't have the big... round thing on his jaw near the back.
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Comments: 27
oh he's adorable! reminds me of an olldddd dragon/flying fish pokemon creature i made up years and years ago~
[link]
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Thank you!
That's a really cool creature. ^^
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Whoa !
I've got a great imagination, I love this guy !
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Thank you very much, Nebquerna!
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Aaah you finally got it up, wonderful! I've already mentioned before, but I'll say it again: DARLING character. It's great to see a dragon with believable flaws and a defined psychology-- he may lack an instantly-defining trait that sets him apart from the masses (this is excusable since he isn't a part of a story!), but he's still very well written. Yeeesss, poor Saise may act big and confident, but on the inside he's like that awkward, pimply nerd. I love that.
(I wonder what sort of stories he has to tell. Hmmm)
Great work on the design, too. The idea of a crocodilian fishy dragon is pretty interesting, and it's believable after looking at that bird's-eye pic. I can practically see how he moves! I'm curious about his wing-fins: are they extended both when "flying" and swimming? I'd imagine that folding them against his body would make him more aerodynamic in the water!
This isn't a critique but just a little note: I think it would've been awesome if this sheet were stylized to look like his habitat, with fish and sea plants. In some chars there's a potential to make a really expressive, fun sheet, and Sais is one of those. Ahahahaha-
-boo'd off stage-
-hem. Awesome work on this sheet, though, Saise is outright dandy. I'm hoping to see more of him.
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Oh geez, sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, Ribs. DA didn't send me your comment. ;.;
I'm happy to hear that you like him! Just wondering, but do you have any tips on how to give your character an instantly-defining trait? I'm developing some other characters right now, so a guide or a book on the subject would be wonderful. A lot of my characters seem too... similar to each other right now. >.>
"I'm curious about his wing-fins: are they extended both when "flying" and swimming?"
His wings are only extended when he's flying. He'll keep his wings close to his body while he's swimming, and will only extend them when he needs to turn quickly under the water. Here's a video that shows how Saise would "fly"/swim: [link]
"I think it would've been awesome if this sheet were stylized to look like his habitat, with fish and sea plants. "
Damn, I wish I had thought of that while I was making the sheet. Oh well, at least I put the water texture in the BG. /lazy
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Ahahaaawwww, flying fish are so cute. What fantastic little critters! That's still a really neat concept, mashing up flying fish with a dragon.
But yeah, when it comes to an instantly-defining trait, it's good to think "what is this character all about?". If a character's got one (or two) things to run on-- like a passion, fixation, goal, etc-- it helps tie together all the other traits, and can further bring them out. 
(Would some examples be nice? Haha. It's midnight so I'm not sure if my answer was clear enough!)
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Would "peace maker" count as an instantly-defining trait or is that too generic? His story isn't very fleshed out right now, but I've always imagined him trying to make peace between the dragons and the humans as best he could. Whether he's successful or not is another story. >>
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Nope, "peace maker" is a good one! Even the simplest single-main-trait can bring out the rest of the character. Good choice, yo. I'd imagine it's also very fitting considering the setting. ;D
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Thanks, Drak. I leik bright colorz.
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Thanks, SoldierToger. I like to put a unique twist in all of my character designs (I'll base them off of an unusual species, give them unexpected colors/markings, etc.).
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You're welcome C: It's good to see people looking for something different/unusual/rare, rather than going for all the common things (not that they're not cool, either!).
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Very cool character! C: Love that design~ Very well drawn as well
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