Dracopedia: A Guide to Drawing the Dragons of the World [Hardcover]

William O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 24, 2009

Everything you ever wanted to know about dragons, but were afraid to find out

Fantasy artists will breathe easier to discover a less perilous alternative to drawing dragons from life. Dracopedia grants you safe, easy access to the world's most prominent dragon species, from tiny, innocuous feydragons to the ferocious wyvern.

For years, artist William O'Connor has traveled the globe, studying dragons in their natural environments. His findings, field notes and sketches have been compiled for the first time into this single, beautifully illustrated compendium—a natural and cultural history of the beasts as well as a step-by-step drawing workshop.

• Details of the anatomy, behavior, habitats and legends of 13 major dragon families
• Heavily illustrated with field sketches, anatomical studies and gesture drawings
• Shows the start-to-finish creation of 13 striking paintings, illustrating key concepts that apply to every medium

Dragons have terrorized and delighted humans for centuries—continue the tradition with Dracopedia. It's packed with inspiration for putting fierce" into your fantasy art, as well as the facts to keep your dragons true to life.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William O'Connor's won over 30 awards for his art. He is a member of the Graphic Artist's Guild, New York; Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists; American Showcase of Illustration; and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: IMPACT (September 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600613152
• ISBN-13: 978-1600613159
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.7 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Themes

More About the Author

Author/Illustrator of the best selling Dracopedia book series, as well as illustrator of over 3000 illustrations for the gaming and publishing business, William O'Connor's 20 year career has aloud him to work with such companies as Wizards of the Coast, Impact Books, Blizzard Entertainment, Lucas Films, Activision and many more. Winner of over 30 industry awards for artistic excellence including 6 contributions to Spectrum: The Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art and 4 Chesley Nominations, William has taught and lectured around the country about his unique and varied artwork.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Dracopedia October 12, 2009

By Carla L. Morrow

Format:Hardcover

I just bought this book, and it is truly amazing. As a Dragon artist, drawing dragons in a realistic light, I have been frustrated with other book on drawing dragons. This book covers many different types of dragons though out history and various cultures, including the actual history of each dragon as mentioned in its culture. Using both illustration and comments you get a real feel for each dragon species. Dragons being SO culturally diverse and recognizable, its interesting to actually see what areas have developed what dragon myths and ideas. He also covers the biology of each dragon, showing why they look the way they do for their environment, making them very plausible, something other dragon book have left out.
This book doesn't really cover HOW to draw as other book do, starting with circles and lines, but its more geared towards those who have a grasp on basic drawing and understanding of the media you choose to use. O'Connor does work digital, so those who use computer media might get a bit more out of it, but even as a watercolor artist, the way he describes the methods can be transcribed to all media choices. He Shows the development of each painting, including starting sketches, and along with the instructions for each step, then adds plenty wonderful and useful tips.

John Howe's Forging Dragons is another book that i find as equally useful as this one.
John Howe Forging Dragons

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for artists and non-artists alike! December 1, 2010

By PC

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Dracopedia is beautifully detailed in both its art and its design, made to look like a tome with page design that adds to the feeling of the book without being distracting. It is well laid out and a great read.

Agreeing with what a previous reviewer wrote, this is not a how to draw book and would likely be most useful for those who are past that stage and would like to learn more about more advanced stages, such as coloring, shading, and backgrounds, along with extra information about the dragons themselves. Therefore, the book has much more potential for reuse and reference, rather than being tossed to the side when people are past the "okay, I can draw circles, lines, and other shapes now" (stick frame) stage.

That also makes it great for the non-artist dragon lovers!

More about the content and the organization of it:

Each chapter begins with larger art of the final piece and specifications of the type of dragon. It then goes into biology and the various other genera and species within that category. Though the book may cover 13 dragons in more detail, there are countless other pieces, such as four other hydras and five other sea orcs, so it has much more content than the product description would lead people to believe.

It then goes into behavior and history before the demonstration, which includes various different tips in each section to help an artist along his/her way.

The actual detail within each chapter differs for each type of dragon, which makes things much more interesting. There's information ranging from an artist's note mini section about finding inspiration for the basilisk to the skeleton and musculature of the Great Red Welsh Dragon.

A last thing worth mentioning, along with a nice index, is that the book has a foldout color poster at the end that compares all of the demonstrated dragons side-by-side (mostly profile view) and includes a size comparison at the bottom.

Very well done!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent dragon art June 15, 2010

By Marsanik Lapp

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The author was fantastic in capturing how step by step to draw the dragons. I was very impressed he did the "KILIN" since it is hard to find and my totem animal. Also in the book of unicorns and that too is an excellent book series as the figurines in the front cover are placed inside it. This book of dragons however, he also does in photoshop and gives you clues to steps. You can recreate them in oil paint just the same as he unfolds the development stages of drawing quite well. I just ordered another for my 15 yr old nephew as well who also hopes to become like myself a professional artist and/or teacher. It has many examples or different dragons with great sketches. It will make a fine example to use for adults and kids in classes as the material is interesting enough and appropriate for ALL ages. This artist is NOT a beginner. (he is not Robert Bateman either but then again that is a superior master of our day we all hope to aspire to.) He could be a bit like John Howe though as he chose to be about this painter's skill, and John Howe is certainly worth buying also. It was worth every penny I spent and got the 2 books all for under five dollars for this order.