How to Draw an Attacking Dragon

Here we will show you how to draw an attacking dragon as a continuation of our series on depicting these mythical monsters.

In our example, the dragon is in flight and ready to attack. Its wings are spread out to the sides, and its claws are ready to grab its prey. This tutorial largely follows our lesson on drawing a flying dragon but makes the pose more combative.

How to draw a dragon for beginners step by step

Step 1: Sketch the dragon skeleton

The first thing we need to do is outline the skeleton of the dragon. This is easy enough because we will use very simple lines. Start with the head, outlining it as an oval, and draw a long curved line for the spine. On this line, place the chest and pelvis. Make the chest the largest central mass and place the smaller pelvis farther along the same curve. Finish this step by sketching the arms and legs.

Step 2: Start building the dragon body

The dragon’s skeleton is done, and now we will add some volume. Start from the head, sketching the outlines of the wide-open mouth. Give the muzzle some length in front of the original head oval. Next, draw the curved neck, which flows into the torso and then into a long curved tail. Build the neck around the line from the previous step like a flexible cylindrical form.

Step 3: Add the limbs and wings

With the help of simple geometric forms, sketch the arms and legs. Make the upper parts of the limbs thicker and gradually narrow them toward the feet. In the same step, outline the huge wings, which resemble bat wings. Start them from the upper part of the torso and use long lines to mark their main direction and span. Notice that the two wings are not shown at the same angle. The wing on the right side of the drawing is spread much wider, while the opposite wing is more compressed by perspective.

Step 4: Refine the dragon head

Starting from this step, work with the final details. With clear, dark lines, carefully draw the dragon’s face with a wide-open mouth full of sharp teeth. Place the teeth along both jaws and make them different in size. In the same step, draw the dragon eye and the spikes on the head. Refine the nostril and the contours around the eye and mouth. Remove the unnecessary guidelines from the head.

Step 5: Draw the dragon’s neck and arms

Continuing the lines of the head, carefully draw the neck, which smoothly passes into the upper part of the body. Keep the neck noticeably thicker near the torso and preserve its curve from the previous steps. Next, trace the arms with sharp claws. Make the upper arms heavier near the shoulders and narrow the forms as they approach the wrists. Make the fingers long and curved, with the claws continuing their direction.

Step 6: Detail the dragon’s legs and tail

Now, continuing the lines of the upper body, carefully draw the lower part of the body and the legs with long, sharp claws. The hind legs should look more massive than the front ones, especially in their upper parts. Next, draw the long curved tail. Along the upper side of the tail, draw spikes that continue the row from the neck. Make them gradually smaller as they approach the end of the tail. Remove the unnecessary guidelines before moving on.

Step 7: Refine the dragon wings

Carefully draw the long wing bones, joints, small claws, and the membranes stretched between them. First, using the construction lines indicated earlier as a guide, draw the upper edges of the wings in detail, gradually erasing the construction lines. Next, draw the long wing fingers and the lower edge of the membrane stretched between them.

Step 8: Add shadows to the dragon

You can leave your dragon drawing as it was in the previous step or add some shadows. First, determine the light source; here it comes from above. After that, add shadows with hatching to the areas of the dragon that receive less light. Place the most noticeable shadows beneath the head and neck, on the underside of the torso, and on the lower parts of the limbs.

This tutorial fully follows our basic principles of drawing a dragon but shows how to depict this mythical monster in a dynamic pose.

You can also modify this dynamic pose slightly. For example, you can draw the dragon breathing fire or change the position of its limbs. You can also try changing the viewing angle by drawing the dragon from the side in an attacking pose. For this, you can use references or your own imagination.

Here we used the image of a European dragon with four limbs and wings, which we showed in our Western dragon drawing tutoria.

Dragons from other parts of the world can look quite different, so the drawing process will also be slightly different. For example, to draw a Chinese dragon in an attacking pose, you would need to remove the wings, make the limbs noticeably shorter, and make the body and tail much longer.