Art Appreciation

[SlowHornpipe172]

First things first: this is a drama free zone. Drama will be ignored. We have plenty of it elsewhere thanks much.

 

Kay, so... I notice that a lot of the time, people are all over how gorgeous new dragons are during a release and then once the news thread is locked, no one ever says anything about how pretty the sprites are ever again. Also, sometimes people get really annoyed with common dragons (pinks, whites, etc) to the point where they no longer realise how good their art actually is. And there's really no place on the forum to just post, "wow, I just love X sprite. it's so well done." So I thought I'd create one.

 

This was also inspired by a post by someone that was something along the lines of "if someone made a thread all 'I just love x dragon's sprite' everyone else would be annoyed." Which is true, but I think it shouldn't be that way.

 

So this thread exists so you can gush love and appreciation and rainbows to our wonderful artists. You could list your very favorite sprites or go in detail on a couple or if you feel like it, say something nice about every single sprite (wow!). Actually, I kind of hope that in short time, for every single dragon we'll find a few people who love the sprite more than pizza (and if you love something inhuman better than pizza than that is pretty intense, unless you don't love pizza I guess).

 

--

 

So I guess I'll start off with some appreciationy bits.

 

Let's see. I would have to say that on an art-only basis, my absolute favorite sprite on the cave is the male two-headed. They are gorgeous! The wing shading is super impressive and I love how it seems so square and full, if you know what I mean. Also I've been following ascension (which is amazing and should for sure come out soon!) and the ascended male split is even better.

 

Other favorites:

Vine. SO MUCH DETAIL in such a little place, and it's all super clear (also I realized a little while ago that the flytrap is his tail - awesome touch).

Skywings. Always loved these guys. I like the color and the loopiness of the pose.

Whiptails. They're so very well done. The whippiness of the tail is perfect and I love the pose and the wings and the colorsss.

Female Springs. They look like half a heart. I love this.

Female Alt Blacks. Can you say POWERFUL?

Female Storms. They're so cute and graceful and compact and I want to hug them.

Male Pinks. Their pose is super well done. I live their heads especially, they look so inquisitive. The markings across his shoulders are a nice touch.

Whites. They have the best wings out of like any dragons. The shading is great. It's very dark in some places but the dragon is obviously white.

Waterhorses. I saw these and I was all MUST GET NAO. They're so cool. They look like they're underwater, with their colors and shading.

Magmas. I especially like female magmas because the sprite looks so awesome and powerful and fierce with them.

Male Electrics. WIN.

Vampires. Of course, I have like a zillion. Males especially. Super cool designs.

 

 

So yeah. Um, enjoy. I hope I'm not breaking any rules or anything.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

I love the horse dragons, the delicate shading of the ribs and mane really give depth to it--and that's a very hard thing to do on such a small picture!

[Feathers]

My favorite dragon (though it's tough to pick, with all of the great work our spriters do!) is probably the White; I love the feathers on their wings, and the hatchlings are so adorable! They look like they're just about to scratch their heads! A White was my second dragon, so they've always been dear to my heart.

 

~Feathers

[Stealthypugs]

Silvers! Not because their rare, but because of their elegance, their feathers, their silvery sheen! And then there are all those awesome holiday dragons! And I always loved the purples, and now especially (the male purples are just awesome!) The daydreams are also cool, I love their colors and how they are sitting on clouds and the poses. And the balloons... They remind me of, erm, balloons!

 

And I love all the other sprites to, their all awesome

[superunknown]

I like a lot of them, and there's not any that I dislike. I just like to collect them all. But I think I really love the deep sea! I never thought I'd love them that much! I don't know if I'd call them "pretty" so I was surprised by how much I really love that sprite, but they are graceful looking! It's just kind of cool and different. I hope we have more underwater based dragons

Edited April 2, 2010 by superunknown

[Mysthunter]

Who ever did the Nebula dragons total props!!! Those have to be my new fav. dragons now...the artwork on them is just wonderful. Although, since they are all black I do have a question about which way the face is point on the male. I am unsure if it is looking straight forward or slightly looking backwards...

 

The only one that I really would like to ask a question about is the albino...nice dragons, and the art is nice...just want to know why the sharp 90 degree turn up wards...but, either way it is a nice design.

 

Either way I think all the artwork done on DC is top notch, I really would love to have the ability to talk to some of the artists to find out where they got some of the insperation from.

[Completely Different]

It's always been hard for me to choose a favourite on this site- because even the one's that aren't my 'very most favourite' are simply stunning.

 

I adore the magma, for one this. The detailing that went into it was superb and really looks like lava.

 

I really like the new female alt black. Perhaps I'd never noticed before on the male form, but there's really a water-colour like impression to them, that makes them both threatening but beautiful.

 

I've always loved the magi, because of how it appears to glow, and the serenity of its pose. When I see that, I just think of the magic of a camp-fire.

 

The truth is, I could probably go on like this forever- the gracefulness of the daydreams, playfullness of the seasonals, and the sheen elegence of the silvers, but I really would spend my whole day here.

 

(And kudos to the new offical in-cave artists! I'm glad you get to show off your work to the whole cave!)

[Svataben]

I'd just like to say thanks to the people who made the Easter eggs. They are lovely, every single one of them!

[Zovesta]

The male split. I've always been a fan of two-headed anythings (I grew up on Devon and Cornwall, Zak and Wheezie... even the Little Mermaid, for god's sake), and it helps that they were my first dragon (described and all)...so of course I adore them. But the sprite itself is lovely. ^^ Oh, CaityG...I adore your art. I'm turning into a creepy stalker again. Moving on.

 

Everything from Jer is, of course, brilliant. <3

 

The vine dragon - I love it. So very well done!

 

I've always liked the stone dragon. It had such a nice charm! And very well done with colouring and shading, and spritelines, of course!

 

The balloon dragon has an epic muzzle. Seriously. I just want to hug that face so hard.

 

All of the seasonals, honestly. <3

[Dracofilia]

My favorite of all sprites is probably the Earth/Pebble/Green Dragons! They get way too little love! <3

 

I just adore their roaring pose, because you can see that the roar comes from the deepest part of the lungs, and is just bursting out in all it's glory!

 

The rest of the body also has nice depth and even though you can't see it's back, you can easily tell where it is, and how the legs lay.

 

Others among my favs:

 

Female Blacks (both normal and alt.) - They're both so graceful and elegant~

Waterwalkers - Love their tiny sails and cute little heads.

Frills - When you look at it first, it looks HUGE and powerful, but when you look closer, they're actually quiet small, but with huge Frills. It perfectly depicts their behaviour!

Stone - Such detail! They look like mountain-gargoyles.

Male Blunas - Very dynamic and colors are amazing.

Deep Sea - Looks very fish-like, but in a majestic, draconic way. Also, it's smiling~

Nocturnal (both day and night) - Love the shading and they perfectly contrast with the frozen-day/active-night aspect.

Snow Angels (all types) - Good anatomy and the wings are spazztaztic.

[Rockin' On]

Every single dragon im the cave is just awesome..they all have so many awesome posings,expressions,colors..etcetcetc!!

But I was just blown away when my "summonned" hatchie "grew up"to say the least!OMG!@z!!Whoa! What an amazing evetrything about this dragon!!I love the spread open wing appearace as if posing to show their absolute beauty,like a peacock (male)with its tail feathers spread open...its just amazing!

Im in love with black alts(both genders,but the old sprites were just"SO STRIKING"!!I am a DRAGONJ..hear me roar..but see me first!!

I am still finding new things about our metamorphis of sprites to go into any one dragon ,except for the ones Ive mentioned..and they all are just gorgeous in their own ways!

Rockin' On

[Izon]

I think my favorite would have to be the male Daydream. It just looks so playful, I want a million of them.

 

But, my all time favorite is the ND sprite. I love love love it! It looks so realistic, like how you can see it's ribs. I want a full set of male/female ND's, and I'm gonna make 'em. Already got one.

[DoogieRace]

Oh, this topic is a great idea!!!

 

 

My absolute favorite sprite is the Yulebuck hatchling. I love how it looks like a cute little raindeer with its funny tail ^^

 

And I also love the cracking magma egg. I could watch those shiny, glowing markings on the dark shell for hours <3

 

And the ungendered frill hatchlings are adoreable too! They look a bit like o.O

 

The male pygmy is also one of my favorite sprites. He's so cute! I like his position, it's like he's watching something interesting from the air...

 

Last but not least: The tongue of the green dragon ^^ It's a cute, curled thing that makes this angry dragon somehow funny ^^

[FeatherTail]

First of all, all of the dragons are excellent! Here are some of my favorites:

 

*Spark: The yellow and dark blue look really nice together. They look so amazing and powerful. My younger brother came in once and looked at the screen and said, "Wow, what's that? That's really cool!"

*Female canopies: They look so pretty and elegant!!

*Horse dragons: I don't know exactly why, but they are really cool-looking. They look so much like horses, but they are very dragon-ish, too.

*Stripes: They are so pretty and elegant. The gold goes well with all four colors. The new female sprites are really pretty, and the hatchies are cute.

*Daydreams: The light blue and purple look really nice together. They're very pretty, and I like the new male sprite's pose.

*Whiptails: The colors are very nice together, and the pose is perfect.

*Whites: They are so elegant, and the wings are amazing! The hatchlings are very cute, too.

*Reds: They look so powerful and strong!

*Purples and 'old' pinks: They are so pretty and graceful! I've always loved them.

*'New' pink males: The pose is wonderful!

*Greens: I don't really know what to say except for good job! They are amazing!

*Male pygmies: The pose is excellent!

*Guardians: They are a very good-looking dragon.

*Female winters and male autumns: Absolutely beautiful!

*Geodes: Gorgeous!!

*Valentine hatchies: Very cute!!

 

Wow. That's a very long list. Sorry!

[MyrrhDarkwing]

I'm doing my favorites out of the ones I actually own.

 

First off, WHITES. They are so cute... I really like the eyes, such a great shade of blue! And the feathery wings are nice. The hatchlings are even cuter, if that's possible. Whoever sprited them rocks.

 

Female Waters are also good. They look... powerful, I suppose it the word. And I like how you can't see the entire body.

 

Female Geodes. I really like their heads, they remind me almost of a cat's.

 

Neotropicals of both genders are cute. I like their daintiness, bright colours, and, of course, the stripes!

 

And pinks are really cute as well. They also sort of remind me of cats, which is neat.

 

Nocturne hatchlings, especially with wings. Not quite sure why I like them, but I do.

 

Waterwalkers. They look strong, but delicate at the same time. If that made any sense.

 

And, of course, Whiptails. My first dragon was a whiptail, so I may be biased here, but I do think they're really cute...

 

[elderberrysyrup]

Red dragons- SHADING LOVE.

[Jollymad]

Just going down my scroll and hitting some of my favorites:

 

Yulebucks: great anatomy, great shading. Very clean, you can see where everything goes, and the stripes are a good color match and are arranged so they aren't distracting.

 

Thunders: I love the way the tips of their wings are like swallowtail butterflies. The motion of the sprite sweeps into a compact proud look.

 

Vampires: The ribs are cool, the tidiness is cool, the swirly bits are cool, just very balanced. I think I might like the females a bit more than the males for being more subtle and for the colors, but the males have a neat tux thing going. And the neat little red toes!

 

Night time Nocturnes: neat blend of colors in the shading, the purple bits add interest, and the sprite just looks happy.

 

Albinos: the hatchies are among the best in the site. Great anatomy and pose that makes them look like they saying "Ah?" in reserved interest.

 

Skywings: I like the underjaw, there's a bit of shading there that makes it look like you could scratch them under thei jaw like a dog. Like the way the pose shows all their wings, and how they move.

 

Magis: looks muscly and like they're prepared to leap into action. I also like the way they look when they're shrunk in lineages, the orange on orange is bright and distinctive. (Same with the skywings and the other monochrome dragons, for that matter)

 

Whites: their pointy faces aren't hidden because they're backed by the shading in their wings, which are excellent. Like the way the cream is used to shade their necks. They're just detailled enough.

 

Male Winters: I love their dreadlocks. Also their expressions, like they're concentrating.

 

Male Summers: I like their big flanks and the color harmony between their light green crests and dark green bodies.

[Zero_Photofox]

ok this is probably silly, but I LOVE the mints! They're so cute!

 

I'm also a big fan of the frill dragons, since they're so pretty... I'm sad to see them going

[SecondStarToTheRight]

 

There isn't a green dragon I don't love. Neotropicals and Vines are special.

 

I am in love with Sunrise/Sunsets and albinos and pygmies.

Albinos make me think of ghostlike 'good' vampires. They are majestic and righteous looking. Love 'em.

 

Love ALL of them, really. Can't get enough. Glad there is so much variety.

[Belasth]

All the new dragon sprites are simply amazing and have so much detail. I love them

 

I also love the magmas, they are so awesome

[ArgentiAertheri]

Paper -- has nothing to do with rarity but rather the fact they look like real origami

Electrics (the new design) -- great job conveying a sense of motion

Nocturnes -- great shading and solid anatomy

Other anatomy wins -- Frills, Bluna, Neotropical, Ice, Waterwalker and probably other's - but those are the ones that stand out

Also, I just love the Balloons, I think it's the creme color, as that shading is also full of win.

And the new black hatchlings are just too cute, I'm very glad I already had a bunch frozen!

[hydrothermal]

I LOVE all the dragons. Lots of work, lots of variety, lots of beauty!

 

Magmas and thunders are among my favorites. They're simply gorgeous and powerful.

 

Pygmies are adorable. I can totally imagine them as fairies.

 

Electrics are impressive. I love the smooth, powerful look of their sprites.

 

Nocturnes are...well...an awesome idea. And I like the effect of light on them in the day. They really do look like statues.

 

THANK YOU to all the spriters for their beautiful work. I could say something about all of them...easily.

[yieldy]

Like every piece of art, there's something unique about all of the sprites and I really have a sentimentality about all of them! One of my most favorite :

 

*Guardians: the only thing I didn't like about them at the beginning was the color, which is not so festive as of the others sprites, but that's the beauty of plainness I guess, and their look is so majestic!

 

*The male gray - So beautiful! Reminds me of the way Chinese dragons are usually being drawn.

 

*Silvers - same reason as the gray, and the really look like they're glowing <3

 

*Magis - When I started playing the game that was the dragon I wanted the most, it's like they're out of a fairytale.^^

 

*Vines - especially the alt., combination of dark green and orange is beautiful!

 

* Dorsals - they're so elegant!

 

*Seasonals - as the description says they "perfectly depict the weather". Beautiful ones!

 

*Daydreams - I love the idea of them and the sprites are even more awesome!

 

So many others: the stripes,the blacks (especially the male alt. is stunning), blunas, nocturne, magma, thunder, electric, pretty much ALL the Holiday dragons ...it can just go on forever. As I said every sprite is beautiful and unique on its own and I really appreciate all of them! Thank you, spriters, for all the hard work!

 

 

[DeLaCreme]

There is so many, many gorgeus dragons I cant pick out an absolute favorit. It also depends on my mood,- some days im all in the black alt sprites, next day its the splits. The shiney magis,- and so on. That is why I keep playing this game and dont release adult "old" dragons. My...presssciouseseseses both elder sprites and new Small pieces of yummy artwork to keep my imagination flowing,- I luuuuve it

 

( and im 33 years old,- go figure )

[Umbee]

Going down my scroll.

 

Nebulas: I've been waiting for these ever since I saw them in the completed requests thread. I love outer space, so I was thrilled to see a dragon based on it. Dang, those things are gorgeous. I think I'll have to start an army of them sometime.

 

Black hatchlings: They look so adorable and curious, especially the males and ungendereds.

 

Curled alt blacks: D'awww. They look somewhat like kittens. ^^

 

Blunas: For one thing, they look very graceful. I'm also very fond of the colour choices here.

 

Yulebuck hatchlings: Cuuuute.

 

Snow angels: They really do look angelic. I have the ones with white and gold wings, which are by far my favourites.

 

Alt vines: I love how they're curled up. I like how they're drawn, with you being able to see how they look both under and above ground. I also love the way the plants are coming up out of their backs. Overall, one of my favourite sprites.

 

Dorsal hatchlings: Cute, yet evil-looking at the same time. And the red ones remind me of Darkrai somewhat.

 

Frills: While they're deinitely not one of my favourite dragons, I have to admire the level of detail that went into them. It seems like every time I look at the sprite closely, I notice something new.

 

Frill hatchlings: They just look so happy to be alive. Even though they aren't really alive, but you know what I mean.

 

Guardians: First off, they remind me of Dialga. Secondly, they look like they really take their job as guardians seriously. I can imagine one as being a bodyguard for some stuck-up gold. Which isn't an insult to golds, it's just the relationship I imagine between one of my golds and one of my guardians.

 

Ices: I adore the way they have icicles hangng of their bodies. And again, I love the blue.

 

Water hatchlings: My very first dragon here was a water, who I froze because he just looks so cute as a hatchling. The tail is an especially nice touch.

 

Female purples: They look both mysterious and peaceful.

 

Purple hatchlings: Condensed adorable. That is all.

 

Sunrise hatchlings: Look very princess-y, like the sort of dragon I would have loved when I was a little girl. Once again, great colour scheme.

 

Female vampires: Very nice details here, especially the swirls on the wings.

 

White hatchlings: Another very cute hatchling. Like the curled alt blacks, they look a little kitten-ish.