How to Draw Dragon Wings

Winged dragon

One of the most enduring images from medieval folk tales to modern fantasy art is the mighty dragon, soaring down from its craggy mountain lair on outstretched wings. In this drawing tutorial, explore a technique used to draw dragon wings, step by step. Dragon wings are often depicted in a fashion that resembles both the wings of the flying dinosaurs of old, and the webbed wings of the bat.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Paper
• Eraser
• Computer with printer (optional)

Instructions

1. 

   See that in this first image you have a wingless dragon as an example to practice with. If you have access to a printer, print out the image and use it to add the wings on. Alternately, you can draw in your own dragon as you imagine it.

2. 

   Sketch the framework of the wings in lightly, as shown in this example. The wing is formed basically like an arm and a hand with very long, extended fingers. There is will be an extra length of bone that extends out from what would be the elbow of the arm-like wing structure. The lines should have a slight curve.

3. 

   Sketch the outer edges of the webbing as it stretches between the finger-like bone structure. The edges form curving arcs, as shown in this example. The last section of webbing runs between the elbow extension and the body of the dragon.

4. 

   Begin drawing in the shapes of the finger-like wing supports. There should be slight bulges where the joints of the bones meet. The bones should have a slight curve, and taper to a slender point at the tip, just beyond the webbing.

5. 

   Draw in the webbing, shading in from the wing-supports inward. The shading should be lighter as you reach the middle of the webbed area, to give the appearance of light passing through the thin membrane. Use your eraser to touch up areas that may need lightening. In this drawing, the other wing is at an angle to the viewer that allows him to see only the edge of the wing support. Draw the second wing in the same way as shown in the example. If you master the form of a wing, you can experiment drawing it from other angles by cutting a copy out of paper, bending it slightly in a curve and using it as a model. You now have a good technique for drawing dragon wings.