ART EXPLOSION WEEK 43: Theme MYTHOLOGY / Nidhogg and Ratatosk

Hello everyone!

This week the theme of the contest ART EXPLOSION WEEK hosted by @juliakponsford is: Mythology

My drawing for this contest is the Dragon God Nidhogg and the little squirrel Ratatosk (yes, it's not as cool as the dragon)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In the Nordic mythology, Nidhogg is the Dragon God who lives in one of the roots of the Yggdrasil Tree, the sacred tree that sustains the 9 worlds.

It is said that it constantly corrodes the roots of this tree and is destined to do so until the day the Ragnarok arrives, "the end of the world".

Nidhogg represented as a powerful dragon, for its function of constantly corroding the root of the Yggdrasil, causes some to call it "The one who hits full of hate", but this is due to Ratatosk, who is the cause of deceiving Nidhogg by promising to satisfy his thirst for revenge with the arrival of Ragnarok.

Nidhogg lives in the kingdom of darkness, a place shrouded in perpetual fog called Niflheim, there grows one of the roots of the Yggdrasil.

This little squirrel is called Ratatosk, she runs up and down the Yggdrasil tree carrying messages between the nameless eagle, perched on the treetop and Nidhorgg.

Ratatosk is not very interesting ... it is a squirrel and it cheat our Dragon God promising revenge if it hits the root ... for me, this squirrel only cheat Nidhogg to cause the Raknarok. Many of these beings of the Nordic Mythology want the arrival of the Raknarog.

The Tools:

• Mechanical Pencil.
• HB, 3B Leads.
• Charcoal Pencil.
• Brush.
• Moldable Eraser.
• Graphite Powder.
• Opaline A4, 300G

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The Process:

So many people say that to draw it is always better to make the background and then the character. For me this idea is difficult because, i have no idea what background, i wanted to make the dragon and from it, i would see what elements to place.

Initially i had no idea how to do it, so i took some different elements. Its head is of an Oriental Dragon, its horns are of a Two Horned-Dragon, its body is of a Dragon-Humanoid and its wings are of bat ... Because i like Batman, i have nothing more to say ...

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• I made his face with features of an oriental dragon, because the drawing was very small, he could only simulate the scales with small lines.

• The horns i made with the HB pencil and i shaded with a charcoal pencil.

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• Then, i made the neck with some scales, with the moldable eraser i gave them volume and pronunciation.

• flaking the same way, i made the chest and arms.

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• I made his body full of scales, which stand out shading with the charcoal pencil and the moldable eraser.

• I like dragons with a humanoid body, so i made Nidhogg's body in this way, but without losing the curvatures, nor the dragon's lasrages.

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• Nidhogg is a Dragon 4x4 so I made some fins on his neck, so he does not look like a brachiosaurus!

• Then i drew the place where our Dragon will be located, a part of the Yggdrasil tree, simulating its texture with charcoal strokes and brushstrokes with graphite powder.

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• It looks like a sea creature so I add the wings, As Nidhogg lives in a dark place, i made him bat wings. (Batman Rulez)

• I also add his tail that is lost in the mist of the place.

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It looks very good but, to give more meaning to the illustration I wanted to add one more branch where our friend Ratatosk will be.

It is very small so detailing it is very complicated.

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And this is The Final Art!...

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

I love drawing these things, at first i loved drawing faces and i never dared to draw dragons or very detailed creatures. Now my favorite drawings are these creatures because making the scales is something i enjoy a lot and i also love the fantastic creatures!

I want to thank @juliakponsford for your great contest, to all of you for your great support! You are great!

Thank you and until the next time...!