January 2021 Challenge: Here Be Dragons
“We decided that such a land was best to leave to the old charts, to remain unmapped and to merely warn that here, out on the bleak precipice of the world, be dragons.”
I've always had a love of dragons so there was no way I was going to miss this challenge. Whether I finish it or not though, we'll see...
Design wise I was stuck for a while however I did know I wanted a place dragons would feel at home and also probably a place that there were very few, if any, humans. I turned to media for inspiration but I knew a lair or something small scale wasn't something I would be comfortable doing. I did have fun with Ruskwood but wanted a more regional map again. The main inspiration that hit me actually came from the 'test drive' scene from How To Train Your Dragon, and the movement between the sea stacks. The second was the phrase "here be dragons" to denote a dangerous edge of the world (despite the lack of historic prevalence of the phrase). So I wanted a shattered land of sea stacks and towering cliffs that led to a great waterfall that spilled out over the edge of the world. After some more inspiration grabbing I had a few rough concepts and a sketch followed from there.
Stylewise I am enjoying the painterly-esque style so will be working with that. Below is what I have so far. There will be a forest in the central valley and tiers of waterfalls falling out over the edge. I'm still undecided on human settlement but if I do I might add one to the larger island on the upper right.
### Latest WIP ###
