2014-09-20 - September Release

[Lexadin]

Ah the adults are finally here! I'm slightly disappointing with no dimorphism, but the adults look nice enough to compensate that.

 

On a side note I finally managed to get my final pair complete.

[Fortune86]

Oh my gosh. I love them. I love all of them. Particulary the Almandines. I want them all.

[imks]

A little bit pity they're no dimorphism. But Adult still looks gorgeous and adorable. Thanks artist!!

[Lavinia]

Honestly? I love, love, LOVE the fact that these new dragons don't have dimorphism, mainly because so many dragons (both in-cave and concepts) that exhibit dimorphism tend to have the big, strong, and aggressive male sprites and the smaller, weak, and non-agressive female sprites. The black dragons are one of the best examples of this. They're supposed to be warriors and the female sprite doesn't fit this description at all. And don't even get me started on that freaking alt black female sprite; that view from the back with the head turned to stare at you is basically the go-to "sexy woman" pose and these are DRAGONS. There are lots of other dragons like that as well. For starters, look at your golden wyverns, golds, coppers, undines, and soulpeaces and you'll see what I mean.

 

A good way to test this is to look at your favorite dragon breed that exhibits dimorphism and mentions nothing about gender differences in the breed description. Now imagine that TJ switched the sprites and your male dragons now have the former female sprite. If you would complain that your males now look weak, not strong enough, not aggressive enough, etc. then there's a problem with the sprites for that breed since that breed description says nothing about males being stronger than the females. If the description specifically states that males are larger or stronger than females, then the sprites do fit the breed. The problem here is that the only stated female-dominant dragons are Hellfire Wyverns (although it is strongly suggested with Hellhorses) but there are lots of species that are male-dominant.

 

tl;dr I am quite leery of gender dimorphism on DC because it seems to strongly conform to the concept of a male-dominant species and often uses human ideas about gender roles to depict dragons, even when the description mentions absolutely nothing about stronger males or gender differences. DC dimorphism can be done well where both male and female dragons of the same breed have sprites that show similar characteristics and fit the breed description but it often isn't done like this (again, just look at female black dragons for an example of female sprites that don't match the breed description).

 

On a more positive note, awesome job artists and concept creators! These dragons are really neat and have unique descriptions for each variation.

This is an interesting point. This sort of thing is a major problem in art such as comic books and book cover art. I agree with your point in substance, although I disagree with some of your specific views.

 

The normal black sprites I see as equally aggressive, and I still sometimes can't remember which is which. The alt female, I grant you, is definitely in the standard "sexy woman" pose, but I think these ladies still look fearsome despite that. Soulpeaces I disagree with you - both male and female sprites look very passive to me, and the male soulpeace is in the "sexy woman" pose, which I find a great subversion. GWs I would actually be up in arms about if the genders were reversed - it would look like the female does nothing but sit on her eggs. The female sprite, as is, looks much more aggressive/like an action pose than the male sprite, which is just chillin'.

 

On golds and undines, I definitely agree. For coppers, the sprites don't seem much different to me in aggression, but I can also see how they might look that way to someone else. I think embers, grays, lurkers, and purples are much more problematic this way than soulpeaces and GWs.

 

Dimorphic sprites which deserve commendations:

*Falconiform - I covered up the gender symbols and guessed which sprite was which. One sprite looked more aggressive so I guessed it was the male - I was wrong!

*Brute - the female is missing the obvious facial characteristics of the male (larger horns and what is basically a beard) but she does not look weak or passive at all.

*Grave - the female sprite may be in the "sexy woman" pose but makes up for it with the creepy hands! Those hands make the females look more threatening than the males, who are looking around like "oh, are you taking my picture?"

*Breeds such as moonstone or pillow - the female may have soft colors and look nonthreatening, but the male sprites look just as nonthreatening with only slightly brighter colors.

 

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On the new dragons: I love that another bright orange dragon is in the cave, we have been needing one other than magis for lineage design purposes. *starts plotting* I like the sprites - I'm not overly enamored with them, but I like them. My favorite of the three colors is definitely the Pyrope.

[Anca]

Not particularly crazy about that bright pink one, but I still like them and I like the fact that there are three different variations.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Anca

[Pixel.G]

I love them <3 especially the Pyropes because of the reference.

I just really need one more Spessartine to even out my numbers. D:

Edited September 24, 2014 by Pixel.G

[Ashywolf]

Dimorphism is generally overrated I feel...

 

Haven't seen any in the Alpine for a while which worries me. Haven't given up yet though.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Ashywolf

[schmupti]

I love dimorphism. Having a freshly matured batch of single-image adults to sort and trying to remember which ones are male and which are female is a royal pain. What I wouldn't give for a little corner-notch or gender symbol on the tiles themselves.

[Husky51]

Rats... No Dimorphism... sigh...

[walkinslow]

There were 9 eggs, but now there are only 6 dragons? I don't get it.

[Jelly_Doughnut]

So... are these rare or something? Because in a lot of trades I see, people offer really rare dragons for the new release ones. I even saw one guy offer a neglected dragon for the trio of new eggs.

[MrSword]

I got 2 of each color. Hope they'll influence right.

[MessengerDragon]

So... are these rare or something? Because in a lot of trades I see, people offer really rare dragons for the new release ones. I even saw one guy offer a neglected dragon for the trio of new eggs.

As far as I've seen this is what pretty much always happens with new releases. Usually after a month or so they become much easier to get.

[Amazon_warrior]

So.... no dimorphism, then? Anyone see what happened to the other dragons TJ had? (Perhaps someone who cares more than me noted the codes?) Not that I mind one sprite for a species, actually - it's something I often take advantage of when making lineages.

[loesje2004]

I only count three eggs not nine ?

[Keileon]

-snip-

You know, alternatively, the female Black could be pouncing on an enemy or prey from a cliff. The Golden Wyvern could be in mid-flight, glaring down at or attempting to intimidate a threat. The Bleeding Moon female is arguably fiercer than the male. The female Blusang has a far more dynamic pose than the male. The Bright-Breasted Wyvern is less dynamic, but fiercer-looking and more interestingly patterned. Brutes are about equal pose-wise. The Duotone appears vigilant against attackers, with both heads glaring in opposite directions. And this is just looking at the first two pages of my scroll.

 

There are a ton of dimorphic sprites that don't portray the female as inherently weak or submissive. I'm not saying that they can't be taken that way, but I doubt they're supposed to be. People who see that in a lot of these sprites might just be seeing what they expect to, rather than what's actually there. ^^

[Fiona]

loesje, TJ posted 9 eggs, 3 for each color. Apparently because September. And trolling us.

 

And on the topic of dimorphic sprites, (Which isn't exactly on topic, but whatever) I know on coppers we weren't thinking aggressive/more passive on either gender. We were thinking pouncing from on top and attacking from below. Though coppers aren't so much aggressive as they are fierce.

Edited September 24, 2014 by Fiona BlueFire

[Fuzzbucket]

People who see that in a lot of these sprites might just be seeing what they expect to, rather than what's actually there. ^^

This.

 

This this this this.

 

I HATE it when people get all high-horsey about these things !

 

Oh - and these sprites are lovely - though I was hoping for dimorphism.

[Lastalda]

I really hope these end up being as common as the other recent releases. I have so far managed to catch one pair (volcano), two days ago, and nothing more.

 

I'm definitely not a fan of getting the releases without warning again. Makes it so much more difficult for those of us who have a busy life outside of DC.

[loesje2004]

loesje, TJ posted 9 eggs, 3 for each color. Apparently because September. And trolling us.

 

And on the topic of dimorphic sprites, (Which isn't exactly on topic, but whatever) I know on coppers we weren't thinking aggressive/more passive on either gender. We were thinking pouncing from on top and attacking from below. Though coppers aren't so much aggressive as they are fierce.

Thank you for explaining to me

[Sundew]

Ahh! The adults are gorgeous! <3 I'm all for no dimorphism... It's nice when it's there, but I don't like my dragons looking all divided. I'd much rather see half-and-half than all dimorphed sprites or all identical ones.

 

Lovely dragons, congrats to everyone who guessed Pyralspites!

[Lenora]

I'm definitely not a fan of getting the releases without warning again. Makes it so much more difficult for those of us who have a busy life outside of DC.

Agreed

Missed the whole release, damn.

[Amazon_warrior]

And on the topic of dimorphic sprites, (Which isn't exactly on topic, but whatever) I know on coppers we weren't thinking aggressive/more passive on either gender. We were thinking pouncing from on top and attacking from below. Though coppers aren't so much aggressive as they are fierce.

I always thought the femme Coppers look like they're about to launch themselves into the air. More... potential energy than the kinetic energy of the males? But still, energy.

[LibbyLishly]

There are a ton of dimorphic sprites that don't portray the female as inherently weak or submissive. I'm not saying that they can't be taken that way, but I doubt they're supposed to be. People who see that in a lot of these sprites might just be seeing what they expect to, rather than what's actually there. ^^

THIS.

 

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I'm going to have to try to read Homestuck again now, aren't I? I started it once and got too busy to continue. Then I tried to come back and felt so utterly lost.

[Fuzzbucket]

Agreed

Missed the whole release, damn.

While I do like scheduled releases - they are still dropping and reasonably easy to catch. (and they are of course permanent, and look how other recent ones are almost blockers at times now !)