A year past, and a year ahead

Well, this has been a really special year, hasn't it? I'd just like to make a quick post looking back over all I have to be thankful for, and then maybe take a quick glance ahead into 2015 and beyond.

So Many Snarky Heroes

This is my birthday gift to Inhonoredglory (a great friend of mine who has written a fantastic web-novel and occasionally runs one of the best Tumblr blogs out there). I gave it to her on her actual bday which was the 26th, but I didn't want to post it here until she had seen it. If you click the "read more, you'll get to see the whole painting. It is a new style for me... as well as some unfamiliar subject matter!

Merry Christmas, and a Happy Snoggeltog!

So, Christmas is here! I got some really nice stuff (and yes, I'm posting this very early on Christmas day)! Anyway, I wanted to make an art piece for the holiday, and I may still make a winter oriented HTTYD art-piece, but I left part of my digital art kit back at home (the pen of all things), and I am currently at my grandparents'. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you all a very happy Christmas. It is a wonderful holiday and it is a beautiful opportunity to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and how His life has completely changed our world.

I suppose I should tell you all the fun HTTYD related presents I got this year. There were not a ton (because I buy most all of the HTTYD stuff I see on my own!). I got a Toothless Tee shirt... in which Toothless's silhouette looks a whole lot like the Batman symbol! That is really cool and fun to wear around the house. I also got an HTTYD2 comforter! I would never have bought myself an HTTYD blanket, but now that someone got it for me (haha, my MOM!) I am really loving it! I was really pretty surprised!

Sometime today I'll watch Gift Of The Night Fury, and I hope you will all have an incredible day. I actually think some of my online friends may be sending me Christmas gifts. Those will be HTTYD stuff... probably. I won't be home until late on the 26th though, so I may not post about that stuff.

As a heads up on other things, I have at least one analysis planned out to write, the rough draft of the next Chronicle done, and even most of what I need to finish a HTTYD music video. I also have a bday present to finish for an extremely special friend, but I'll need to get back home to my digital art supplies before that can happen...

Again, I do hope you will have a merry Christmas and a happy Snoggeltog.

Toothless in the Red Rage (photo set)

So this is a collection of screen caps that focus on Toothless during the Red Rage scene... not on the humans (though that is an amazingly emotional display... which is why I did not do it).

Homecoming Hero

WARNING: The following story is certainly rated PG-13 or worse due to intense scenes of action and violence, disturbing images, and a sequence of torture. I don't glorify violence nor do I like it, but be warned that this chronicle is more intense than most of the others.

Alright! I know it has been a LONG time since I posted a Chronicle, but there is a reason. This one is very dark. Very, very dark. Possibly the darkest one yet, and when I do that, I want to be careful to keep it balanced. I don't want violence to be glorified or taken lightly. So, if you wish to read on, just be warned that things get rather grizzly. It will get less depressing in the near future, but I do just have to let you know that this is a real low point. The chronicle is about thirteen pages in length.

Together We Map The World (photo set)

I've finally gotten HTTYD2 in a format that allows me to take screenshots. I decided just to grab a few nice images off of the Together We Map The World scene. As of now, I am planning on taking many more screen shots of other moments, but if any of you would like images of particular scenes, I would be happy to make posts of them for you! Hope you like these. The details and animation in this film are breathtaking. Click the "read more".

I'm DONE WITH EXAMS

Finals WEEK

So, life is freakishly busy and stressful now that I'm in finals week, but I've got some gifs to share my feelings with. Here's the range of emotions one travails through in the last week of collage.

Big Hero 6 and HTTYD

First off, please note that the artwork is not mine! I just came across it on the Grapevine. However, the artist noticed something that I am sure a lot of the rest of us probably picked up. Big Hero 6 and HTTYD have quite a lot in common. Maybe too much? Well, I guess you'll have to read on as to whether I think this should be considered two beautiful films... or whether I think it should be seen as a versus throw down!

Drawing near the end... and still doodling!

My school semester is quickly drawing towards a close! I've been tremendously busy, but not so busy that I couldn't do the occasional doodle! I hope you enjoy them. Sorry for my recent lack of posts. Oh, and I have a Dsplash Chronicle nearly finished. I'll post that when I get done with it.

SORRY

Hey all! I want to apologize for being completely absent of late. I had planned a lot of posts, and I had even thought up an idea for something to do on Thanksgiving, BUT I too my computer in for repairs, and they held it for three times longer than they said they would. I do love running this blog and I want to thank everyone who comments. Hopefully tomorrow I will post a set of all the doodles I'v done lately. I have a lot, actually! I have been extremely busy with school as well, so that has kept me from being as active. Anyway, main reason you haven't heard from me is that I didn't have a computer! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and I'll be posting more about our amazing HTTYD very soon!

Hiccup knows my suffering

I found this deleted scene really funny... because you have no idea how OFTEN my family tells me my hair is too big. When I saw this scene I was in stitches. Who knew that even Hiccup takes flack for his oversized do.

I JUST DIED

OH MY GOODNESS. DreamWorks published a video of Toothless animations, and look what it included!! This is what was supposed to come at some point near the very end of the Toothless Found scene! Click the "read more" to see some excellent gifs of this incredible clip that never made it into the final product. Oh, and special thanks to Rima for getting them for me and showing me this clip! She just made my week!

HTTYD2 Screenplay

DreamWorks has released the official screenplay for HTTYD2! You can read it here. This is very neat because it gives you the entire movie in type and actually points out some details you might miss while watching it. It is great to see Dean writing his own story out and describing his own scenes. I'd suggest downloading it asap!

Scientific Article

So, I open my mail late last evening, and it turns out I have something VERY fun inside! This is a little gift Rima Justoffravenpoint, and it is extremely fun and funny! For those of you who don't know, I am working towards a biology degree and then a PhD., so that made this even funnier. It is in the format of a scientific article, but it is mostly excerpts from my blog concerning... well, Toothless's saliva! I should TOTALLY do this as my PhD! It was really funny to read through this. Thanks a ton to Rima for doing it. It is really well formatted and looks hilariously professional. I also love the whole intro bit to it stating which college I am doing the research at (haha, and where it is located)! So, yeah, this would be a dream job. Oh and I must say that I love the little seal of the university up at the top and it's Latin motto (which I believe says something like "Never tickle a sleeping dragon... for he will wake and lick you mercilessly"). Oh, and the whole "John Smith" thing is very clever. Yes, I WILL be doing that research in the near future XD Really looking forward to that opportunity, and I'm thankful for the generous grant.

Anyway, THANKS so much Rima! This was wonderfully fun and really brightened my day!

It's been a while!

I've been VERY busy with school and I have also had some computer problems. I have still been doing the occasional fun HTTYD thing, so I thought I'd show you a rather large doodle I did. It's probably the biggest doodle I've ever done, so that's something new!

I went into a classroom that wasn't mine while waiting for my own class to start. I decided to draw Toothless on the two whiteboards in the class. A fellow student took a picture of me doing this and sent it to me. I heard later from people in the class that the teacher didn't erase it! That was cool. Haha, considering it wasn't my class I am pretty sure that the teacher doesn't know who did it! Toothless just seem to pop up everywhere when I'm around :)

Update

Hey all. I do hope you are still enjoying the posts I make and fanning over the beautiful things we've been given in HTTYD1 and HTTYD2. I apologize for being somewhat absent. I fully realize I haven't posted a lengthy analysis in weeks, and that isn't because I don't have stuff to say... it is because the weekends are the only time I usually get the chance to blog, AND these last weekends have been chock full of stuff... unfortunately that includes studying for exams. I try really hard to do well in classes, but even with my studying, my grades have dropped. They are not bad by any stretch, but they are not what I was hoping for. So, I've had to devote a lot of time to that. I thought I'd at least let you know what is up... and post an epic Toothless gif.

Oh, and I should also proclaim the good news that someone recently told me that if there was one real Night Fury in the world he'd come and find me... because I'm the most Hiccupish person (well... the most Hiccupish person that this girl who said this knows!). So, hah, I told her that she was now my favorite person... and so far she hasn't fallen from that rank. Honestly... I'm not like Hiccup in a lot of ways... and in a lot of ways I'm a much less good and nobel and humble person... so when people say I am like him it does make me pretty happy!

Anyway... I DO have stuff up my sleeve. I don't have any real art projects planned... but I do have another Dsplash Chronicle that is almost ready to be posted. I also have a Dsplash music video in the works... and once I get HTTYD2 in a format that I can use for video editing, I've got an HTTYD2 music video planned out as well! So, yep.

Oh, and if any of you really want it, I can post a review on the new short. But, to be honest, I didn't just love it. Compared to the second film it felt pretty bland and I wasn't sure how well Hiccup was represented... plus Toothless was almost nonexistent in the plot (yes, he was there, but he didn't DO anything... totally UNLIKE his role in the second film). So, hah, even with all my business I've managed to write a post expressing at least a few opinions as well as letting you know what will hopefully appear on the blog in the near future. Enjoy the epic Toothless gif! Somebody sent it to me, and I felt it would be fun to share.

Dragon Party!

I'm getting a group over from college to watch HTTYD2 tonight! Some of them have not seen it. It was released on iTunes just this morning, so I am really anticipating watching it over again! I will be sure to blog if anything interesting happens tonight. I sorta am getting the feeling that I'm gonna cry all over again! Agh, and in front of college piers too... oh well, it will be worth it! Hope the rest of you have iTunes so you can get the beautiful digital HD!

Update: It was fantastic! Seriously though, I was crying through like the entire thing! It has been half an hour since I finished it, and my face is still hurting from sobbing. And when the Alpha starts taking over Toothless, my heart was beating like a drum! Man, it was going so fast I started to feel kinda sick. Anyway, everyone who hadn't watched it liked it (though, as usual, several of them walked away saying they didm't have a clue how to process the emotions). So, yeah, that was a fun time and a great success for our amazing sequel! Not sure when I will be able to muster up the emotional energy to watch through that film again. It really is an emotional roller-coaster ride. Anyway, thanks to those who watched it with me, and thank you Dean for an amazing (and heart-wrenching) sequel. I'm never gonna get over this movie.

One Warning

Alright! This is the continuation of the main Dsplash plot! I took a little break with the Chasing Shadows chronicle, but now it is time to bring you back up to speed after the cliffhanger. I'm super, super pleased to say that I got Inhonoredglory to pre read this before posting it and that she really enjoyed it. Hopefully you will too. It is, as other plots have been, somewhat intense, but when dealing with all-powerful foes, intensity is an occupational hazard. This focuses mostly on the Doctor, but the next Chronicle I am set to release (it just needs a little editing) will focus back on the HTTYD characters. Anyway, hope you'll let me know what you think of it!

A day worth remembering...

Hey everybody! Just thought I would note... four years ago on this day, HTTYD was released on DVD and BluRay in the United States. Four years ago I spent all morning sitting in a class room, unable to be patient, just waiting for my school to dismiss so I could rush home and see whether my movie had come in the mail or not. It was awesome, and I was just so happy to finally have my all time favorite film on DVD. I just thought this date was worth remembering... because HTTYD1 really was magical and still is, and the fact that I finally got to own it on Oct 15, 2010 still excites me! I hope all of you have had as great of a four years loving this movie as I have.

Oh, and on another interesting note, on Oct 21 I'll be using iTunes to finally download HTTYD2! WOOT! I have no idea how that day will pan out... so many people want to watch it with me and I kinda want to watch it on my own! Oh well, I'm sure it will be fun (ugh, if homework doesn't get me to bogged down. Perish the thought!).

Chasing Shadows

This is another Dsplash Chronicle. It is not very long, and it actually doesn't deal with the current main characters! But, it is important. Haha, I know I left you on a sort of cliffhanger with the last one, but this doesn't have anything to do with that! Hopefully I'll get back to the cliffhanger plot very soon, but until then this plot should hopefully prove intriguing! The characters in this story will have pretty big roles to play in the future plots. They won't ever be the main characters, but don't be surprised if the main characters come in contact with them!! Click the read more to see the story.

Sleepy Companions

I painted the line art I posted earlier. It posed a lot of fun and interesting challenges, so if you would like to see it as well as some close ups, click the "read more". I hope you'll like it... I admit it is a little different than most HTTYD fan arts. Man, I've got some other ideas up my sleeve, but I don't know if I'll get the time to do them.

Another day, another doodle

I've got another set of college doodles to share. These are just little fun things I do before classes start (or when my teachers begin rabbit trailing...). I hope you'll like them! I am gonna put them under a "read more", but I do just want to say that the image above is probably my favorite of the bunch. He's sooooo cute!

Sleepy Companions (line art)

This is a little art piece I did over an afternoon. No, the above image isn't the whole thing; it's sort of a preview. Click the read more to see the whole thing... Oh, and Hiccup and Toothless are not the only companions who are sleepy in this line art :)

A Dragon's Journey (Part 2)

Alright, I've got enough time this weekend to finish up the analysis I started last week. Not sure if this will be the only post I do in the next couple of days or not. I guess it will depend on how much free time I get and how I choose to spend it (I do have a cute art project in mind!). Anyway, in this analysis I will continue to dive into the character arc we see Toothless travel through in HTTYD2... and this will be the more complex and significant of the two analysis.

Beyond the Clouds (Review of Lego creation by Stormbringer)

It's time for another review! I'm gonna try and keep these varied and therefore interesting, and today I've chosen to do a review on a lego creation (also called a moc) by Stormbringer. He/she (agh, I'm unsure of gender, but I'm pretty sure he's a he... so I'm just gonna say he and hope to be safe.) kindly gave me permission to post pictures of his creation here, and I really do just love his work! Click the read more to see more images of his set and to read my more thought out opinion of it.

A Dragon's Journey

Well, as I write this I’m actually sitting in the passenger seat of a car on a road-trip to my grandparents! Hopefully I’ll find somewhere with wifi so I can post it to you all. I’ve really looked forward to and dreaded this kind of analysis because in it I will be taking characters from HTTYD and trying to explore some of the major arcs they went through in the second film. In this post I plan to explore one of the most lovable characters of the franchise and the journey he took in the second film. In this post I’ll be discussing the character arc of Toothless.

He's just a Fanboy, and Twenty, could there be a worse possible combination?!

Alright! Bday post! Today is my twentieth birthday, and considering Hiccup and I turned twenty in the same year, it is a pretty exciting date! Bellow I'm gonna post some of the gifts I've been given, and I'll update it if I receive any more. Thanks so much to everyone in the fandom (haha, and those that are not but keep up with this blog out of friendship to me), for the gifts and the well wishes! So far, you've made this day a blast!

Taking a break

Hi all. Thanks very much for reading this blog and following it, I really do appreciate it. I will be taking a break from posting... not sure how long. I really worry that I've started to use fiction as an escape, and an escape in an unhealthy way. It takes up a lot of my free time to write on here and to do the art, so I think I'm going to take a break from it so as to use the free time for something more important. I need to focus on my walk as a Christian because that is what is important to me, and that is the great adventure. I do think that I will still be posting, but maybe not for a while. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll understand. I really do worry that my obsession with fictional things has really drained my ability to walk with Christ and to grow in holiness.

Hiccup and Toothless

Alright! I actually got time to do art this weekend! This will probably be my only post I get to do because I do still have an exam to study for, but this was a fun break from all of that. It didn't take me too long either. Anyway, it is another crossover piece, and I REALLY hope some of my readers will recognize what I am parodying. Click the read more to see the full art piece as well as a line art.

A fantastic bit of art (by kairu321)

I admit... this is sort of a cop-out post for me. I've been so, soooo busy with my college work of late, I really haven't been able to post anything really good lately. So, since I'm not creating any quality work, I figured I might as well do a review on someone else's! Click the read more to see all the pieces.

And even MORE college doodles

Click the read more to see my newest bits and bobs of quick, rushed, and very unprofessional doodles. I know this isn't much of a post, but I've been so busy of late! Anyway, hope you'll enjoy them.

Princess of Twilight meets The Fury of Night

So, this is one of my more hair brained, off the wall ideas, but I did a rather silly (hopefully somewhat charming) digital painting just recently! The idea came to me just three days ago, so I'm surprised I finished it so quickly. To see the entire image and read a description of how and why I painted it, please click the "read more".

Date News

I have just learnt from the Grapevine that HTTYD3 has been pushed back. It will not be released as soon as we first expected. This is kind of a bummer in some ways... but there is a bright side to everything. Previously it was going to be released summer of 2016. Now the new release date is set to be June 9 2017. That is a long time to wait... a really long time. But, to be honest, the second movie made us wait four years. I don't know how many of you felt this, but I was shocked by how worth the wait the second one was. I don't want the third one to be rushed, especially considering how dramatic the ending looks like it will be. Sure, I wish I could know the ending sooner, but I also am happy to get another year of speculating and spazzing and hoping and dreading! Once the third movie is over... I am pretty sure we will be done. There will probably be no new HTTYD stuff. I'll never stop loving the story (just like I'll never stop loving LotR), but I won't be kept on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen to our heroes next. We can enjoy these years, and we can hope that when we come to the end of the trilogy, it will have been worth the weighting, longing, and loving we've all done. The second one was... so I can wait on the third. 

Toothless Found... Toothless Finding Himself

I'm going to try and write a little analysis of one aspect of the "Toothless Found" scene. I had been thinking about this for a while, and after seeing Rima's post about this scene (which I posted on this blog. Thanks again Rima!), I really felt like I could try and voice my thoughts because they kind of mesh well with her's, and it is always exciting to agree with other fans! Anyway, click the "read more"

College doodles continued

So, I posted a couple doodles that I had done in class a few days back. This post is a continuation of that post, and it just shows that I shouldn't be trusted near blank sheets of paper when I've got a pencil... because in no time flat you can bet that little Toothlesses will start popping up!

The Red Rage And A Worldview Of Fear: Analysis By Justoffravenpoint (Rima)

This is my first time doing this sort of thing, but I' going to post an analysis by another HTTYD fan. She runs an excellent Tumblr blog (which is where I originally met her) though I don't know whether she has been too busy to be active recently. Anyway, I was sent this analysis by her, and I liked it so much I wanted to show it to others. When I was on Tumblr, a LOT of my posts were actually just replies to other people's posts, and I liked that... I liked being able to celebrate HTTYD through other people's amazing work. So, I'm considering posting other people's stuff on my blog... whether analyses or art. I'll have to see if this works... because I want to have the people's permission first (I already got Rima's). If I do this, it will allow the blog to celebrate HTTYD more broadly AND let you see that quite a lot of my ideas are not necessarily original to me! I learn a lot from others, Rima included, so without further delay, here is her analysis of the Red Rage scene.

Ok, my campus is waaaaaaaaay cooler than I thought

I had to make a video for my society, as I may have mentioned on the blog. I posted an image from it a few days ago. If you want to know how the movie was received, click the "read more".

Oh Dear...

Below is an image I did for a funny video that will be played in front of... my entire college. I was asked to photo edit a bunch of guys (including myself) onto super hero bodies (like Ironman, Superman, Batman...). Ahem, yeah, this might be the most horrendously nerdy thing I've ever done... might be. Click the read more... because I'm semi trying to hide it from the world while showing it. Man, that isn't the best strategy, is it?

College doodles (so far...)

Western Civ got a lot more Toothless doodles on the front than I can usually sneak in during a class period. This is mostly due to the fact that our professor spent the entire first class telling us about the syllabus...

Ecology, the dream class of a young Viking man who wants to map the world...

In English Lit I managed to do an attempt at a doodle of Toothless dangling Hiccup off a cliff. I may play around with this positioning and actual do a real image of it one day. Here's hoping!

Oh, and my Genetics book has an... interesting... sticker on the front! Haha, I love it. I wish I could get a hold of my Genetics lab book, but currently my professor has it. It has a doodle at the front as well, but it is just a drawing of Toothless looking at a double helix. Anyway, this is how one should always start a year of college... with as many Toothless's as possible!

Blog Policies

So, since my blog is (thankfully) getting a couple of readers, I felt I would lay down some basic facts about how this blog works. Some of this will be, yes, rules, but other things will hopefully be fun for you!

Ok, first thing I suppose you should know is that I am a Christian. That means I WILL hold certain moral views and principles. I am happy to discuss them with you, but if you want to argue them, I may not reply to your messages. This blog isn't about that, it is about HTTYD, BUT I can hopefully say that my love for Christ will permeate the way I post, do art, talk, and analyze here on the blog. If my views conflict with yours, I am sorry, and I do wish you would consider my stand point, but I don't say things to try and attack those who don't believe what I do. If we differ, we can still be friends, and I don't plan to attack you or use this blog as a platform against you... but I will speak what I believe is right, and you should probably know that most of my stories and analysis have at least some roots in the principles I've come to believe.

Alright, with that I would like to say that I do have children who read this blog. That means I want any sort of even mildly bad or vulgar language to stay out of the comments. If you comment and use language that I don't approve of, I will delete it. I don't really approve of it, and I don't want the atmosphere here to have it. No, I'm not gonna fall over dead if you spout something off in anger or excitement, but I may delete your comment. I don't dislike you for it, I just don't want it posted.

That leads me to commenting... PLEASE feel feel to! I so, so, so love it when people comment on this blog. When you don't comment, I really don't know if what I'v done, said, or drawn is even remotely thought provoking. I don't really even know if people read my posts. So, if you feel like you will be a nuisance by commenting, you are not! If you are shy and feel that maybe I'm too busy or "important" in the fandom... I'm not. I'm just a fan, exactly like you, and I want to hear your thoughts! I try to reply to comments as much as possible, so feel free to ask questions or state opinions. You are all really great, and even if it as simple "I like that piece of art" or "That scene is my favorite too" comming from my readers really excites me! Thank you to those who do comment! I use Disqus, and it is super simple to make an account. All you need is an email address. So, if you ever do get on a post and have any thoughts, you'd make this HTTYD fan really happy if you'd let me here them! This doesn't just have to be a blog about me... in fact I'd like to get to know you... what your favorite scenes are, who your favorite character is, what other movies you enjoy, when you have a bday (incase of special bday posts). So, please feel free to contact me.

Finally, I'm going to tell you about a new "policy". I am FULLY willing to take requests! If you want a certain piece of art, if you want a certain scene analyzed, if you want something from Dsplash explained, or if you just want to know what I think about something, feel free to tell me! I'd love to do analyses on request... that is what Glory did and she was fantastic. I probably will never get to her level of writing and blogging, but I do try to do my best to give you interesting stuff. An example of how I try to take requests is that I was asked what I thought of the soundtrack. Instead of giving and answer, I wrote a full post. I am completely willing to do that, in fact I love to do it! So, if you have a post you'd like to see, pop me a comment! As for art, I can do line arts and sketches very quickly, and I will do them on request. If you want me to do a digital painting, it would have to be an idea that I liked enough to put the time into... which on average is twenty hours. So, no promises that I can get to all the requests, but I will try if anyone gives me any, and I hope I'll be able to do a good job.

So, that is how the blog works! I hope you will continue reading, and thanks so much to those of you who do.

Skrillaphobia? Cured.

For a rather interesting, personal post concerning frightening events both in HTTYD2 and in my own strange and silly fandom life, please click the "read more"

Nightmare of Nightmares

This is a digital painting I have done just recently. Probably took me ten hours to complete. The above image is NOT the full painting, but I will post the entire image below along with some close ups. Due to spoilers, I'm gonna use a "read more". Please take a look.

Back at college.

Well, I am back at college. Kinda weird. The summer just flew! You can see my little Funko Pop Toothless up on top of my desk there, I brought him to keep me company. I have a very rigorous set of classes this year, so I may not be able to post as often. I have brought my digital art tablet, though, so I plan to finish a painting I've been working on. Also, one of my best friends has moved into the dorm room right next to me, so it will be nice to have more company (he paid for my ticket to see HTTYD2, so he is pretty stinking awesome). Anyway, hopefully I'll still be active, but please don't be surprised if it takes me longer to post or get back to you!

Update

Hello all! I just want to thank you for reading my blog and for all the comments you leave. I am sorry that I haven't posted any real analyses or art pieces in a while. I have one big analyses and one really big art project in the wings right now. I hope to have them finished by Tuesday. I have spent over three hours on the art piece already... but I don't know how much longer it will take. Hopefully it will be worth the wait. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what I was up to, and I hope you'll check back occasionally to see If I've posted my painting!

Man... This is so cool.

This is an art piece that Dean Deblois drew! It is currently for sale online at the site linked here.

The only catch is that it is very expensive! I could buy it... I have enough, but I don't feel good spending the money on myself. Out of all the HTTYD merchandise out there, though, this is the bit I would like the most. It is 125$... and I wish I could get it for my birthday, or get people to pitch in on it so I wouldn't feel bad about purchasing it myself. I just don't know... I mean, COME ON, it is profession art by the director himself, and it looks fabulous! It'd be such a grown up HTTYD thing to get, too...

I really love it mostly because Dean did it, and he knows so well (better than anyone, I suppose) how to convey the feelings and essence of HTTYD. This one is so particularly fantastic in that it shows the calm beauty of Hiccup and Toothless's friendship. That calm, brotherly sort of kindness and love that makes them able to enjoy even the simplest things together. So, the fact that this drawing is so pretty (it is artistically really neat in and of itself) AND the fact that it was actually drawn by the man responsible for making HTTYD such an incredible, inspiring, and heartwarming tale drew it... well that makes it even cooler! 

Not sure if I'll decide to buy this or not... but I'd really like to!

Some of my favorite tee shirt entries!

I am really stunned by some of the artistic talent that has been displayed by the welovefine tee shirt contest. I'm gonna post some of them here (they are, sadly, not full sized images), and just tell you why I'd be thrilled to where each one of these as a shirt!

Welovefine Tee Shirt contest open for rating!

The HTTYD2 tee shirt contest I entered has now opened for rating. If you have a welovefine account (or if you want to make one [they make some amazing HTTYD tee shirts]) you can follow the link bellow to go and vote on all the tee shirts to help decide which ones will be made and then worn by dragon fans all around!

https://contest.welovefine.com/vote.php?id_contest=83#/id_submit=34496

If you drop by and see my design (the one posted above), I'm sure I'd really appreciate any votes you might give to it! It certainly isn't the best one on there... there are some REALLY professional ones, but I think mine is at least good enough to be running with the others. So, please vote (not necessarily for mine), and soon we'll have new tees!

Every Fairy Tale Needs A Good Ol' Fashion Villian

Pardon my Sherlock quote for the title, but this post is going to focus on Drago, and why I think he was such a fantastic character and villain, AND why he scares me to death and makes me really loathe him with a passion! He's NOT the kind of villain I can like, but I can appreciate his complexity and his role in the story along with the fascinating themes he has brought into the world of HTTYD.

It can't just be me

This is a large set of gifs, so I am going to put it under a "read more" so as to not clog up the blog. (Sadly, none of the gifs are mine)

A Boy Left With Nothing

Ok, so this was a pitiful attempt! I tried to do a digital painting of a much younger Drago on the day he lost his arm and his family. These events would trigger something in the young man and turn him into one of the most terrifying villains I have seen in animated movies. I know his head is big... but it was tricky to proportion him because in the film he isn't really very normal looking (like most other viking adults, he is very stylized in his animation). I actually really like the idea of Drago's backstory, and I intend to delve into it in a post sometime soon. But, until then, hopefully you'll at least enjoy this a little. I'm not all that crazy for it myself... but it was my shot at it. It's hard to age his features down and make him look much younger, but at least I've learned some things from my attempt. Thanks for viewing!

Cloudjumper Sepia Sketch

I did a quick sketch of Cloudjumper today. I did the outline in a darker pencil and then went back and did small details in a lighter grey. I rather like it, but it isn't anything special. This is the type of art that takes me the least amount of effort and headache. I did look at a couple of references to get details right on his head and stuff, but the positioning was all freehanded. I think he was a lovely dragon, but he's a little tricky to draw due to his many fins and wings sticking out all over the place! Anyway, I hope you like it!

Dragons: Beasts? Species? Races? Beings?

I am going to try and pin down exactly where I think dragons belong in relationship to humans in the HTTYD universe. Are they just animals or are they equals? Where do they rank alongside their Viking counterparts? Is the death of a dragon as much of a tragedy as the death of a human being? Click the "read more" to view my thoughts.