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Random Rant Time! Being a western style dragon enthusiast, this is something that bothers me a little. I’ve seen a lot of movies with 2 legged dragons (most recently, The Hobbit). Is it too hard to animate four legged dragons? The only movies I’ve seen with four legged dragons is Dragonheart and Eragon, which I wish they would make more movies like Dragonheart instead of the evil, destroy everything dragons. I guess that’s the traditional view of western dragons, but still. That kind of story is like a roller coaster. Exciting a couple of times, but it’s really just the same thing over and over. Yawn.
Which spawns another point. People always wonder why I collect dragons. Dragonheart is why. When I look at them, I don’t see evil creatures. I see the noble dragon, Draco. Another reason I love the Windstone dragons I have. They don’t look evil.
Anyone else feel that way?
Wings are arms that are specialized for flight. Birds for example, have two back legs for standing, and two front arms that they use to fly. Same for bats. When you see a dragon with two wings plus four legs, it technically has six legs. Two back, four front. I prefer dragons with only two back legs and two wings, otherwise I start thinking about how weird it would be for a vertebrate to have 6 legs and how that really would not work in real life (unless perhaps the wings were far enough back from the front arms that the shoulder blades and muscles for both would not get tangled).
Wings are arms that are specialized for flight. Birds for example, have two back legs for standing, and two front arms that they use to fly. Same for bats. When you see a dragon with two wings plus four legs, it technically has six legs. Two back, four front. I prefer dragons with only two back legs and two wings, otherwise I start thinking about how weird it would be for a vertebrate to have 6 legs and how that really would not work in real life (unless perhaps the wings were far enough back from the front arms that the shoulder blades and muscles for both would not get tangled).
Good point – the Windstone fossil record must include a variety of six-legged vertebrates. Would they be hexapeds?
In my mind, dragons have 4 limbs & wings, and wyverns have 2 limbs & wings.
They don’t get tangled; just like griffins don’t tangle their wings and forelegs.
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http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmI prefer 4 legs and 2 wings…I never like the two leggers, it looks weird to me….
4 things I'm looking for:
1. Mother Meerkat
2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF, Brimstone would be awesome!
3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male GriffinI know why most dragons in movies are two-legged – it’s a matter of anatomy as well as biology. The dragons in movies are theoretically living on Earth and on Earth, there are only four-limbed animals (not counting bugs here) – no six-limbed, which would be required for four-legged dragons (which are technically six-limbed beasties, as wings are limbs just as much as legs are.) So, that is why 99% of the dragons in movies are two-legged rather than four. The film makers make them two-legged to make them more believable as Earth organisms… though I believe technically, if you look at mythology a two-legged dragon actually isn’t a dragon at all but a wyvern.
For an example of a non-Earth dragon, Anne McAffrey (RIP!) has proper four-legged dragons, but she explains the fact that they have six-limbs (counting wings) by having other six-limbed animals… namely, the tunnel snakes, which are also six-limbed. There’s a whole Genus of six-limbed animals on Pern – on Earth, there isn’t. (Unless you want a bug dragon of course, but that wouldn’t work because yuck.) In my own series, there’s actually a lot of six-limbed animals as well as dragons, which helps there and any four-limbed animals in those evolutionary groups are explained away properly with residual limbs. (Think of whales – their ancestors were four-legged – another example is horses – they may only have one toe today, but several million years ago, they had more and remnants of those toes may still be found hidden in the leg bones of a modern horse’s skeleton.)
I haven’t really noticed that many movies with evil destroying dragons personally. Smaug’s evilness doesn’t really mean that all of his brethren are evil and the dragons in LOTR (fell beasts or something I think?) aren’t dragons at all, though yeah, they’re evil – but they’re not dragons.
I unabashedly write, draw, design and collect dragons because I love dragons, period. 🙂
So yes… the reason why we can’t have proper four-legged dragons in our movies is because Earth’s biology and evolutionary tree doesn’t support the notion – and because film makers are obsessed with believability which comes from, at least in the case of creatures, the sciences of anatomy and biology – watch the special features regarding Buckbeak the hippogriff in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban if you don’t believe me! Science is VERY important to film makers!
Director Peter Jackson (LOTR, Hobbit) has the film rights to the Temeraire series by Naomi Novak and it’s been stated that he’s thinking of making that into a mini series (ohheckyes!) so hopefully then we’ll finally have some awesome four-legged dragons… ‘cus the dragons in the Temeraire series (most importantly including Temeraire himself) are four-legged dragons. Also, the Pern books are also supposed to be getting a movie, according to the author website (now ran by Todd McAffrey.) I’m hoping dearly for both! 😀
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Excellent!
I didn’t even know that they were making a film for the Temeraire series. It’s a great series. It would definitely make a good tv show. But, I am not sure if it would work very well as just movies. There would too much left out.
Back on topic, I agree that I have always thought of the two legs, two wings kind as wyverns. Proper dragons have four limbs and wings. They are magical, their magic makes up for any anatomical issues, right? 😛
Also, in my own little world, I don’t really see dragons as being an evil species either. They are like all other sentient beings, they have both the good and the bad. I prefer them to be mostly good though. I love the dragons in the Pern books, and in others where dragons work together with humans as partners. I guess in the end, I really am just a dragon freak. Hence my large dragon figure collection, of which many are Windstones. And the fact that I will read almost anything that has a dragon play a significant role as a character. 🙂
Looking for-
red fire young dragon
old animal line frog, wolf, barn owl, tortoise, tiger cubIt has never even occurred to me there were two legged dragons and 4 legged dragons with wings. When I think of a creature with wings like a pegasus for example, I do not think of a two legged horse with wings. That would be creepy and weird. So I think of the same thing with dragons and griffins, to have 4 legs and two wings. I only think of birds as having two legs but I think of mammal or reptile type animals as having 4 legs. If you add wings on even if they count as limbs, I still don’t see it that way. I see them as something that can be added or taken away, not there to replace legs.
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
I like both version (2 legs and wings, but also with 4 legs and wings) although I mostly prefer 4 legs and wings. They have to be well designed and the figure must look harmonious, then both versions work for me, I guess 🙂
Draco from Dragonheart is definitely in my top ten but I must confess one of my absolute top favorite dragons so far is Toothless from the “how to train your dragon” movie. He is cute but also fierce and I just LOVE his design. This movie (and the series) is a great example of how both leg/wing-Version can work and still look good and somewhat believable, I think. 🙂 The variety of dragons they have there astounds me every time. Can´t wait for the next movie!I like both version (2 legs and wings, but also with 4 legs and wings) although I mostly prefer 4 legs and wings. They have to be well designed and the figure must look harmonious, then both versions work for me, I guess 🙂
Draco from Dragonheart is definitely in my top ten but I must confess one of my absolute top favorite dragons so far is Toothless from the “how to train your dragon” movie. He is cute but also fierce and I just LOVE his design. This movie (and the series) is a great example of how both leg/wing-Version can work and still look good and somewhat believable, I think. 🙂 The variety of dragons they have there astounds me every time. Can´t wait for the next movie!I love Toothless, but I really hate the other stupid looking dragons in that story…they are an insult to dragon kind.
I like dragons with four legs and NO wings… do those have a special name?
Like… the oriental dragons, mayhap?
Read my books! Volume 1 and 2 of A Dragon Medley are available now.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/mybooks.htm
I host the feedback lists, which are maintained by drag0nfeathers.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htm
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