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Description
Color Key:
lightest grey: Cartilage
mid-light grey: Approximated Complete Animal
mid-dark grey: Bone
dark grey: Cavities and Foramen

Basis: Human anatomy and crocodile anatomy. I’m decently versed in the former and completed the bones section of human anatomy and physiology (college level, involved real cadavers and model bones) last semester. The crocodile anatomy was used in places where human anatomy was clearly wrong for the organism and based from a number of drawings of the skeleton.

Mistakes Known: The hips are just all wonky-I drew in the way-too-curvy femur and inked it while I was still in need of a decent reference for the hips. Not enough ribs- I’m not sure if that’s because I make the intervertebral discs to wide or if I just needed to include more vertebrae. I think I’m close on the vertebrae though. Processes off the vertebrae- I didn’t reference well what looks like what across the different sections of the spine. Just laziness, my bad. Cartilage-some pieces, like the end of the humerus should be cartilage and then I’m not sure if the small pieces between the carpals and the metacarpals (and tarsals and metatarsals) are supposed to be cartilage because we didn’t study them in detail. Caudal Vertebrae: Humans don’t have tails so I just half-assed that.

Additional Notes: I'm well aware that wingless dragons are no where near as dragon-y as winged ones. To make a winged dragon, just add a second scapula behind the first one, angle it difefrently and build a third limb struture for the wings. (I really didn't have the space on my paper and the wings would have made it messier)

See more? Tell me! This is how we learn.
---------------------------------------

Okay, this has been something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. Finally got around to it during Immuno lecture this morning and then finished up this afternoon. Also one anatomy thing I want to contest, because there’s a new idea that I’m seeing more and more often about wings being powered by back muscles…. NO. Unless you have some VERY clever explanation of that that works, the answer is that is wrong. Muscle power is all based on contraction, i.e. the muscle shortening. A muscle connection a wing to the spine would only raise the wings… which is the weak part of the recovery stroke. You need a powerful down-stroke which back muscles will not provide. For this set of anatomy, I’ve made the sternum and rib cage long enough that with a second scapula for the wing behind the arm, you should be able to decently muscle it for flight in a way semi-analogous to what birds have. Or at least cheat it better. As I have said before, I do not have the only or best idea for dragon anatomy, but this one isn’t bad since it’s based on how bones fit together in real organisms to the best of my understanding of them. Play with it to make something that suits your own tastes…. Just don’t do silly things like magic back muscles.

Crit on the anatomy and links to resources on how to correctly do parts I did wrong are much appreciated. Also a list of places where I overdrew from human anatomy (aka, bones/connections that are unique to humans and a dragon should not have) are appreciated.

Drawing a Dragon Full Body tutorial: chikara-redwing.deviantart.com…

Description
Color Key:
lightest grey: Cartilage
mid-light grey: Approximated Complete Animal
mid-dark grey: Bone
dark grey: Cavities and Foramen

Basis: Human anatomy and crocodile anatomy. I’m decently versed in the former and completed the bones section of human anatomy and physiology (college level, involved real cadavers and model bones) last semester. The crocodile anatomy was used in places where human anatomy was clearly wrong for the organism and based from a number of drawings of the skeleton.

Mistakes Known: The hips are just all wonky-I drew in the way-too-curvy femur and inked it while I was still in need of a decent reference for the hips. Not enough ribs- I’m not sure if that’s because I make the intervertebral discs to wide or if I just needed to include more vertebrae. I think I’m close on the vertebrae though. Processes off the vertebrae- I didn’t reference well what looks like what across the different sections of the spine. Just laziness, my bad. Cartilage-some pieces, like the end of the humerus should be cartilage and then I’m not sure if the small pieces between the carpals and the metacarpals (and tarsals and metatarsals) are supposed to be cartilage because we didn’t study them in detail. Caudal Vertebrae: Humans don’t have tails so I just half-assed that.

Additional Notes: I'm well aware that wingless dragons are no where near as dragon-y as winged ones. To make a winged dragon, just add a second scapula behind the first one, angle it difefrently and build a third limb struture for the wings. (I really didn't have the space on my paper and the wings would have made it messier)

See more? Tell me! This is how we learn.
---------------------------------------

Okay, this has been something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. Finally got around to it during Immuno lecture this morning and then finished up this afternoon. Also one anatomy thing I want to contest, because there’s a new idea that I’m seeing more and more often about wings being powered by back muscles…. NO. Unless you have some VERY clever explanation of that that works, the answer is that is wrong. Muscle power is all based on contraction, i.e. the muscle shortening. A muscle connection a wing to the spine would only raise the wings… which is the weak part of the recovery stroke. You need a powerful down-stroke which back muscles will not provide. For this set of anatomy, I’ve made the sternum and rib cage long enough that with a second scapula for the wing behind the arm, you should be able to decently muscle it for flight in a way semi-analogous to what birds have. Or at least cheat it better. As I have said before, I do not have the only or best idea for dragon anatomy, but this one isn’t bad since it’s based on how bones fit together in real organisms to the best of my understanding of them. Play with it to make something that suits your own tastes…. Just don’t do silly things like magic back muscles.

Crit on the anatomy and links to resources on how to correctly do parts I did wrong are much appreciated. Also a list of places where I overdrew from human anatomy (aka, bones/connections that are unique to humans and a dragon should not have) are appreciated.

Drawing a Dragon Full Body tutorial: chikara-redwing.deviantart.com…