Last Updated November 10, 2020

Matthias

First Appearance

Escaped the Northern Vallan’Gangst Empire after a his home was attacked by Dragonslayers of the North (reason unknown). He spent three years traveling to study dragons. He’s currently staying in the small town of Lionsburg located in the region of Argentfall.

He’s currently living as a guest- and frequent patient- of the Blackshore family after being kicked out for getting into a fight with Allan- the patriarch of said family.

If given the chance, he prefers to keep to himself, though he tends to form very strong bonds with the few people he grows to trust. Even going so far as to recklessly put himself in harms way for them.

He formed a relationship with Ari after she expressed a shared interest in studying dragons- and hunting- oddly enough.

Ari (Ari’Malcros)

First Appearance

The Emerald Dragon of Argentfall- mostly disguised as a young maiden except when she needs to fly or comfortably resting at home, as her human form isn’t comfortable for long periods of time.

Eldest daughter of the powerful elven family ruling Argentfall. Naturally curious. She’s been wanting to leave Argentfall and hunt for treasure- but her family- with elves preferring to stay and preserve the home- have been unable to accompany her.

Though usually cheerful and pleasant, there’s a great darkness underneath- she has a lovely singing voice- which is used to lure and consume prey.

She currently lives with her father, stepmother, and four half sisters.

The Blackshore Family

Allan Blackshore

First Appearance

Half orc Dragon Honor Guard. Married to Carrie and Father of Agnes.

An adventurer in his youth, he fell in love with Lionsburg’s hospitable culture and decided to settle there with his wife and daughter. He participated in the Dragon Trials (the coming of age ritual where young men fight the dragon and earn their scars and place in society) three years prior to the story.

Carrie (Caroline) Blackshore

First Appearance

The town healer. She’s the wife of Allan and mother of Agnes. You would expect most healers to be kind and nurturing, and Carrie is kind, but brutally honest and will call you out on your stupidity.

After Allan was a frequent patient of hers, the two eventually fell in love and went adventuring together- ultimately settling down in Lionsburg.

Agnes Blackshore

First Appearance

The young daughter of Allan and Carrie. She frequently uses her cuteness to her advantage.

Cute as she is, she is incredibly fierce, and wants to be a brave warrior like her daddy when she grows up.

She’s grown to view Matthias as an older brother, and she’s terrified of Ari- as the dragon is always saying she’s going to squish and eat her (not maliciously, it’s the kind of thing you say to a cute thing, just maybe don’t say it if you’re a dragon!)

The Emerald Clan

Ari’s family. A clan of elves that ruled Argentfall for centuries. Their power having originated from the dragon Emral’Drath.

Minerva of Argentfall

First Appearance

A powerful sorceress in her own right. In her youth, she was known as The Silver Witch- one of the terrifying leaders of the Sisters of the Harpy- a diabolical witch coven that gripped Argentfall in fear and darkness.

All who crossed her path knew to be afraid… except for one… the dragon Emral’Drath. The dragon saw the Minerva for who she really was- a child born with uncontrollable magic who could only find a family in the most vile people.

Minerva, Emral’Drath, and Patricius all fought alongside eachother. Minerva even became the godmother of Ari- Emral’Drath and Patricius’ child.

Dragonlord Patricius

First Appearance

“If you think you’re the hero of this story… you’re sadly mistaken.”

The mysterious patriarch of the family. Prior to his marriage to Minerva, he was the Dragon Champion of Emral’Drath (dragonrider)

Much is known about him- but it’s unclear how much is fact and how much is propaganda thought up by the Empire to the North- of which he is something of a boogyman.

Though he’s hundreds of years old, those closest to him would tell you that he has an immature sense of humor.

Emral’Drath the Pious (deceased)

Emral’Drath was the previous Emerald dragon. She was Patricius’ first wife and the biological mother of Ari.

A genuinely kind and caring soul at heart, Emral’Drath is known for her dedication to helping those unable to help themselves, and teaching those who could to better be able to. She always saw the good in everybody and believed no one was beyond redemption.

She died protecting Argentfall from an enemy dragon.

Briallen of Argentfall

First Appearance

Ari’s half sister and closest friend. Briallen was born with bad eyes that hinder her ability to shoot arrows- a skill which she frustratingly refuses to give up on. She developed a love for languages after studying the Draconic language Ari was born with the ability to speak it.

She can speak hundreds of languages- but she’s never traveled anywhere. She and Ari talked about traveling for decades, but every time the opportunity presented itself, Briallen always had some excuse.

Let’s face it. There are so many obstacles to becoming a better artist: and most of them are you. You always hear yourself say, “You’re not good enough”, “why do you even bother?”, “There are so many artists better than you’ll ever be.”

Seriously, no one is a harsher critic then you.

Here are some quotes you say to yourself next time that stupid little voice comes up again.

Great artists never stop learning – Jorge Jimenez

Well, this is a comic site, and what better way to start than with a comic artist! Jorge Jimenez is a prolific comic artist from DC.

The reason why this quote is so inspirational is because it really hammers home the idea that no matter how great of an artist you are, you will always have more to learn.

To never stop being hungry. To never stop working to improve your craft.

Every Artist was First an Amateur – Ralph Waldo Emerson

No one is born into the world an artistic genius. Every art genius started by drawing chaotic scribbles.

Becoming a great artist takes years of practice and study. Though you can argue that some artists are more “talented”, that it comes naturally to them, they still at one time sucked.

Seriously, look at any independent webcomic today and compare it to how it was when it first made. Notice how much the art improved!

Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly – G.K. Chesterton

While we’re on the subject of great artists, Picasso did hundreds and hundreds of paintings- but we only really know him for a few. That’s because most of them are meh, but a few of them are absolutely brilliant, and that’s what he’s known for.

Art is most certainly worth doing. So, do it, and do it badly, then move on to the next thing. We learn best by doing things badly.

I highly recommend following Ethan Becker on Youtube. He’s a professional artist and animator and has a lot to say about this very subject.

Don’t Let Perfect be the Enemy of Good – Commonly attributed to Voltaire, but it’s been used by everybody

I can’t tell you how many times I left art pieces unfinished or how much my learning stunted because I spent hours on creating an illustration “that just wasn’t working.” When you see your favorite artists on Instagram- really look at them with a critical eye.

What do you notice? They’re amazing, sure, but they’re not perfect.

There are lots of areas where the proportion’s wrong, or the lineart’s not clean, or the colors are outside the lines (God forbid).

There’s a pretty good chance you didn’t notice these imperfections at first, didn’t you? Well, guess what? To those artists, those imperfections are the worst thing ever. And these are professionals.

Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to who you were yesterday – Jordan Peterson

Yes, I’m aware of the accusations that this guy is a Nazi- they’re untrue. Like idiotically so. Moving on:

This quote I feel is more important than ever. It’s so easy to never want to pick up a paintbrush again because you go on Artstation, Instagram, what have you, see the best results, then have the demon in your mind whispering “You’ll never be that good.”

In reality, that’s just the algorithm picking the best of the best to give you the best user experience and put the best work in front of your eyes.

You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take – Wayne Gretzky

This is great to play in your mind when you’re looking for people to commission you, or applying for illustration opportunities on Upwork and the like.

Referring back to that pesky little demon telling you you’re not good enough or, in this case, “Why waste your time? You won’t get it.” You can easily reply “Well, if I don’t, I DEFINITELY won’t.”

The end.

It’ll Be Better Next Time – Common Saying

This is definitely true when it comes to art. I’m gonna bet 99% of the time, you’re going to look at all the imperfections in your art and think it’s bad. Guess what? Everybody who can barely draw a stick figure hates you now.

If this is really causing you grief or making you not want to continue, just think, “It’ll be better next time.” Imagine a year from now having dedicated yourself to practice and study, and you’re putting this image side by side an updated version.

Also, yikes. I should take my own advice. The reason why I haven’t written any blogs lately was because I didn’t want to release one unless it was perfect. Last one I wrote was Writing Romantic Chemistry (The 5 Love Languages) in JUNE!

If you want some hope, please consider reading Dragonrider’s Dance from beginning to end, and see how drastically the art’s changed over the months.