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Hey guys! So, Raelisoraz asked me to refine & upload this tutorial I gave him on drawing dragons; it's by no means amazing but it is how I use anatomy in my dragons.
For those unfamiliar with me and my story, my dragons are from the planet Zulabar (making them Zulbilian): when I was writing in red I was reffering to them.
As I said, this is how I draw my own dragons, I'm not claiming this is the only way to do it. You can go ahead & say my anatomy is wrong but in the end the beauty of drawing dragon anatomy is that you get to make it up yourself. I've based my own dragons largely on birds, but their legs are a little more similar to that of a dog's and their neck & jaws are that of a crocodile.
This is not the only way to do this, but it is how I do it!
Also Rael requested Wyverns, so have some wyvern anatomy too. I haven't done as much with wyverns because my own dragons all have six limbs and stand on all fours, so I sort of made it up as I went along. One major different in wyverns I found is that I can't connect wing muscle with the keel (breast bone attached to the bottom of the ribs) very easily, so I had to base the wing muscles more off a bat than a bird.
The 'extra set' of ribs in Zulbilian dragons in the neck may seem like a really bad adaptation, and you'd be completely right. Most of the time they have no consequence but they break easily, hence why Zulbilian dragons are so concerned with covering their neck, and why showing your neck to someone is a great show of trust. broken ribs in the neck, as you can imagine, would be disastrous as they would puncture the windpipe with ease.

For those who cannot read my handwriting:
On the left hand side:
Things to consider:
length of muzzle?
length of tail?
height?
is the chest deep or shallow?
paws or feet?

Head ideas:
Try adding different shapes for muzzles!

Wyverns are a little different.

Head is more egg shaped. Muzzle may be a triangle rather than a box.
thighs are longer--> <--knees bend down more like a bird

In the middle, left hand side:
alulas (create lift without stalling)

thigh is larger than the shoulder
elbows are equal; back leg elbows are more vertical than front legs
Paws and ankles should line up.

In the middle, right hand side:
remember: wings are like arms/hands; anything your arm can do a wing can do too.
these 'neck ribs' are present in Zulbilian dragons, not in most others.

On the right hand side:
The bigger the dragon, the bigger the wings, and the bigger the wing and chest muscles.

Muscles are important too;
a dragon that prioritises flying will have massive chest & wing muscles, giving the illusion of a 'deep chest'
a dragon that walks and runs more will have larger leg muscles
a dragon that hunts on the ground will likely have a strong bite and so will have a bulky look to their lower jaw and back of the neck (author's note: as seen in crocodiles)
is the tail used for defense or just for balance? An 'aggressive' tail will be thick with muscle; a 'thin' tail is more appropriate for balance.

Description
Download for a larger view.

Hey guys! So, Raelisoraz asked me to refine & upload this tutorial I gave him on drawing dragons; it's by no means amazing but it is how I use anatomy in my dragons.
For those unfamiliar with me and my story, my dragons are from the planet Zulabar (making them Zulbilian): when I was writing in red I was reffering to them.
As I said, this is how I draw my own dragons, I'm not claiming this is the only way to do it. You can go ahead & say my anatomy is wrong but in the end the beauty of drawing dragon anatomy is that you get to make it up yourself. I've based my own dragons largely on birds, but their legs are a little more similar to that of a dog's and their neck & jaws are that of a crocodile.
This is not the only way to do this, but it is how I do it!
Also Rael requested Wyverns, so have some wyvern anatomy too. I haven't done as much with wyverns because my own dragons all have six limbs and stand on all fours, so I sort of made it up as I went along. One major different in wyverns I found is that I can't connect wing muscle with the keel (breast bone attached to the bottom of the ribs) very easily, so I had to base the wing muscles more off a bat than a bird.
The 'extra set' of ribs in Zulbilian dragons in the neck may seem like a really bad adaptation, and you'd be completely right. Most of the time they have no consequence but they break easily, hence why Zulbilian dragons are so concerned with covering their neck, and why showing your neck to someone is a great show of trust. broken ribs in the neck, as you can imagine, would be disastrous as they would puncture the windpipe with ease.

For those who cannot read my handwriting:
On the left hand side:
Things to consider:
length of muzzle?
length of tail?
height?
is the chest deep or shallow?
paws or feet?

Head ideas:
Try adding different shapes for muzzles!

Wyverns are a little different.

Head is more egg shaped. Muzzle may be a triangle rather than a box.
thighs are longer--> <--knees bend down more like a bird

In the middle, left hand side:
alulas (create lift without stalling)

thigh is larger than the shoulder
elbows are equal; back leg elbows are more vertical than front legs
Paws and ankles should line up.

In the middle, right hand side:
remember: wings are like arms/hands; anything your arm can do a wing can do too.
these 'neck ribs' are present in Zulbilian dragons, not in most others.

On the right hand side:
The bigger the dragon, the bigger the wings, and the bigger the wing and chest muscles.

Muscles are important too;
a dragon that prioritises flying will have massive chest & wing muscles, giving the illusion of a 'deep chest'
a dragon that walks and runs more will have larger leg muscles
a dragon that hunts on the ground will likely have a strong bite and so will have a bulky look to their lower jaw and back of the neck (author's note: as seen in crocodiles)
is the tail used for defense or just for balance? An 'aggressive' tail will be thick with muscle; a 'thin' tail is more appropriate for balance.