Castle Ramparts Protected by a Dragon coloring page
A castle dragon surveys the walls--clean lines, large forms and an artistically contrived storybook office, made to be colored by children.
This courageous and yet merciful scene depicts a kind dragon sitting on the castle ramparts with flags waving in the wind. The crenellations of the parapet (the mere up- down things) are dimensioned big and neat, and the blocks of stone are so plainly outlined that they easily can be filled in with shading. Rounded tips of the horns and the soft looking belly sclerites prevent the dragon getting too serious; well shaped back scales that curl up over their backs form satisfyingly wide areas to color in; the folded wings make huge areas of wet looking flesh to color in. The walkway is graced with a circular tower having a clean wooden door and iron hinges, and two lanterns are hanging on curved brackets. An arc of a flagpole with streamer flag is overhead where a far hill and two fluffy clouds indicate the world outside the walls without being too cluttered. There are little highlights--crests of shields on the wall, ties of the rope on the banners, some cobbles in the rampart floor--to equip the enormous spaces (wings, sky, tower stones). All of this is framed within a thin neat line so that the completed page will be clean in a binder or frame.
What to color (step by step)
Royal Day: warm grays of stone, sky blue,crimson-gold banners, jade or teal dragon.
Moonlit watch: cool blue-grays, indigo night, silver glow of lanterns, sea-glass dragon.
Sunset Pilouard: lavender-peach sky, banners made of terracotta, emeral or plum dragon.
Underpainting: Dampen lightly, evenly with colour: dragon (leave belly plates and inner wings 1/2 shades lighter), tower stones, rampart blocks and sky.
Model the Dragon: Dark re: the chin, the folds of the wings, behind the curl of the tail and where the paws come in contact with the rock. Leave the little white accent on snout, tips of horns and some scale edges.
Design: The stonework depth can be filled with either a mid gray or tan ground. Give mortar line and bottom of every crenellation a darker tint; just a little brighter on the top edge to suggest sun/sky light. Add a darker gray to darker cracks to add more texture.
Tower & door: In wood begin with tan, pencil in the grain with darker lines a shade or two darker; shading it closer under the hinges and where the planks meet. Metal bands/hinges, pale yellow (gold) or gray (iron), with even smaller highlights of white on edges.
Banners & flags: Choose 2-3 colours and alternate wavy lines or crest shapes is ideal. Burn a thin lighter line on curved lines to give a sheen of fabrics: darken where the cloth overlaps or touches the pole.
Lanterns & glow (optional): center colors pale yellow/cream. Tint around stones and some of the dragon cheek with that color so gently as to insinuate warm light.
Sky & distance: Mix sky a little lighter towards the horizon, darker above. To night, give pale moon halo and micro star dots; to day hint softness of the undersides of clouds with cool gray or lavender.
Shadowing: Darken the thin shadow directly beneath the dragon, base of a flagpole, and the inside faces of crenellations to make all things look like they are resting on top of the fortification.
