Ancient Pagoda Guarded by a Dragon coloring page
A calm tiered pagoda guarded by an amiable dragon, clean lines, large forms and grand details that create an eye-catching, kid-friendly coloring page.
The focus of this elegant coloring page is an old, tiered pagoda with smoothly rounded eaves, simple roof tiles and lanterns dangling in corners. The base is surrounded by a friendly-looking dragon that has a long body and scalloped, back scales that are created with smooth, stable linework making it simple to color. The horns of the dragon are curved, the claws are not too large, and the face is not that hostile, which makes the overall impression inspiring instead of dangerous. A low garden wall and a stone path are led to the doorway and a couple of stylized clouds and some branches with simplistic blossoms complete the picture. It has just enough pattern--roof tiles, wood beams, scale rows--that it is pleasing to color without overwhelming the page. Black areas (dragon belly, pagoda walls, sky) contrast with smaller details (lantern tassels, blossom spots) and the entire piece is framed in a narrow margin so your completed picture is clean when put in a folder or frame.
The step-by-step coloring (How to color)
Select a mood & palette:
Jade and Cinnabar: emerald/ teal dragon with hot red ornamentation, pagoda in red and cream combined with dark wood.
Moonlit Calm: ice blue, blue or silver dragon; recessive grays and indigo of pagoda accented by gauzy lantern light.
Sunset Harmony: golden dragon; terracotta, peach and plum pagoda; gradient of a warm sky.
Apply base coats: Light, even coats on the body/belly of the dragon and the walls/ roofs/beams of the pagoda should first be applied, prior to shading.
Dragon depth: Darkness of the underside of the neck and the tail, under the chin and the point where the body overlaps the coils. Shade between scales discretely; leave small white accents of the snout, horns and edges of scales.
Pagoda roofs: The color tiles are of a medium shade; the shade under each eave and where the roofs overlap. Give a finer lighter edge on top curve to make it glossy.
Wood/beams: Base would be tan or russet, and then thin types of vertical lines in between the side to form wood grain. Enrich darker at buildings at junctures, edges and under roofs.
LANTERN glow: Make lanterns bright (cream or pale yellow). Put in a pushed-up center of some dimension and halo softly on out a bit of pale yellow to indicate source of light. Tassels tassels in contrasting color.
Garden particulars: Stone paths: Dot off or lightly stipple with gray a base, shading off in corners of each stone. There is some depth to keep blossoms soft (pinks or whites with a touch of color at petal base) and leaves in two greens.
Sky and finish: Mix sky pale close to the horizon darkening to the top or leave white fading out some of the darkest cloud-shadows. To add a clean, gallery ready edge, re-trace the exterior edge once.
