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Zmey Gorynych
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53K ViewsLast year I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work on a dragon book for Scholastic by way of Becker&Mayer Books. I got to take a crack at designing 16 different mythical dragons from all over the world for a book called Sink Your Teeth Into Dragons.
I had no idea that Zmey Gorynych was so popular, definitely the most requested dragon. One thing I was exploring on this project was bringing the serpent back to dragon designs. So many historical accounts of dragons describe them with snake-like features but I feel like that's been mostly lost in modern dragon designs. I wanted this one to be less extravagant than most of the others to give it a more classic vibe. That being said, I was't going to pass up an opportunity to paint sweet glowing through holes. I bet this thing is a real nuisance for those castle-goers.
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Photoshop CC: 6 hours
Illustration©Becker&Mayer Books
I had no idea that Zmey Gorynych was so popular, definitely the most requested dragon. One thing I was exploring on this project was bringing the serpent back to dragon designs. So many historical accounts of dragons describe them with snake-like features but I feel like that's been mostly lost in modern dragon designs. I wanted this one to be less extravagant than most of the others to give it a more classic vibe. That being said, I was't going to pass up an opportunity to paint sweet glowing through holes. I bet this thing is a real nuisance for those castle-goers.
Others from this Project
Photoshop CC: 6 hours
Illustration©Becker&Mayer Books
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Comments146
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I absolutely know about this because I'm Russian and this dragon is used in many Russian stories. In some he's green, in some he's red.
Edit: Fabulous picture ^-^
And to think, modern depictions have this dude being portrayed as a HARMLESS villain.
Dracula's "True Form"?
Hi RJ! I just wanted to let you know that I've featured this dragon on my dragon artwork blog (with proper attribution and links back, of course). I love this piece and all the dragons in that book look amazing! You can find me at Writing Dragons, and your feature in my April AtoZ Challenge here. Keep up the great work!
Did you base his design on King Ghidorah?
He probably referenced a hydra
Zmey Ghorynych is a Russian dragon excuse me-
It looks just like Ghidorah doesn't it?
Zmey Ghorynych is a Russian dragon excuse me-
Well, it looks rather close, but I’ve been told by the guy that Ghidorah wasn’t an inspiration (plus he isn’t actually gold but rather green).
Correct it is not any Ghidorah but it is a Hydra but it's a dragon of Russian religion
This question is kind of ironic considering that Toho's representation of Zmey Gorynych was one of the main inspirations for creating the design of Ghidorah.
Huh. That is ironic.
You must not have studied Russian dragon folklore.
Admittedly I should have probably done that (it was just the fact that this guy is a three-headed golden dragon and my brain connected the dots!)
It is green. No yellow. Although in some stories he's red.
Gorynych is more of an olive, though. This is an illustration of the moment when he was slain. Also, he was the son of a sorcerer, I believe. It's complicated.
I don't know much about this dragon, all I know is that he's a Russian dragon (:
Looking back on it, he is a bit green. Darn it, I must have somehow misseen the colours.
It's an easy mistake to make in that lighting.
No
wait, was this the same creature seen in the film The Sword and the Dragon featured on MST3K?
You sure that's not King Ghidorah? XD
You must not have studied Russian dragon folklore.
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