Al'raxisstymnder Flaymestryke

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My entry for Contest of Dragons.

Full description of red dragons here: [link] , but here are the basics:

Think themselves superior to all other chromatic (evil) dragons.
Have an amazing eye for value; the gaining and keeping of treasure is the complete focus of a red's adult life. Some hoard women and children along with their wealth.
Usually live in an active volcano. Their element is fire.
Prefer to fight on the ground as they are fast but not maneuverable in air. Their massive blasts of fire end most battles before they truly begin.

When I first read about the contest, I had an idea for a society that had built itself entirely around red dragons - they would lure young reds to man-made "mountains" - pyramids which were heated by large furnaces and contained a huge forge. They would lavish the dragon with gold and jewels and pretty much anything it wanted if it would just breathe fire into the forge once in a while, allowing them to forge Adamantine weapons, which they would sell at exorbitant costs and split the profits with the dragons, thus expanding their hoard. The dragons, who decided they liked to be pampered, would hire artisans to forge them custom jewelry and weave tapestries, or even paint mural "tattoos" onto their scaly hides.

However, after drawing a red dragon sitting on his hoard looking like a happy cat, I decided that was too boring. So I thought, what if it was a small mountain nation that was being invaded? They begged the dragon slumbering in their mountains for help, promising him all the spoils of war they collected. The battle went so successfully that they named this dragon Commander of their army, and maybe they decided to go on a conquering spree of their own. The pyramid thing can be the dragon's retirement, living a life of luxury and wealth. And if he got bored, he could always eat his allies.

So here you have him, incinerating the opposing army's cavalry without much trouble. I gave him a massive wingspan, because I hate seeing huge dragons with wings that don't look convincingly able to carry their weight. He's got bull-like horns because this guy actually *uses* his horns, they're not just there for decoration. I also thought, hey, this dragon is cocky and proud. He'd want to be wearing the equipment of his slaughtered foes as jewelry. Yes, that's a halberd, full blade, and lance he's wearing for earrings. And his shield necklace runs from a tower shield in the center to tiny bucklers on the ends. He wants his enemies to know he's not screwing around.

As for style, this dragon (and many of my dragons) is heavily inspired by the 80s Rankin Bass movie "Flight of Dragons" and the designs of Wayne Anderson ([link]); though it leans more toward the animated translation of his style than his original designs. I did the vast majority of this myself, even creating new brushes for some of the textures in it. I even did the fire on my own. I'm pretty proud of that.

Detail shots:


Resources:
mountain silhouette: [link]
scroll: [link]
horses on fire: font "DJ Horses" (with riders and tack added)