Do You Ever Think of Making A Dragon? Here Is How

Simon Otto is DreamWorks Animation’s

Head Of Character Animation for the How

To Train Your Dragon series, and a

thoroughly nice man too. Speaking to him

at DreamWorks’ Los Angeles HQ back in

February, we asked about the

“ingredients” that make up different

dragons, and he sent us his notes on what

makes each wyrm so wonderful. But

before you begin assembling your very own

out of yoghurt pots and IKEA bins, read

his thoughts on how the monster mish-

mash idea first came out…

“All of our dragons’ character designs

and behaviors are essentially constructed

through mixing and matching of

interesting characteristics that we

discovered in the animal world or in

objects with character that surround us.

It wasn’t necessarily dominating the

design conversation per se, but when it

came to really nailing down the

characters’ behavior / identity, and

trying to find what made them

entertaining, we researched all of those

things that inspired us and studied them

in great detail.”

“Stormfly is a cross between an ostrich, a

T-Rex and different kinds of parrots.

When we animate the Deadly Nadder, we

mainly emote through body language and

head angles. We keep his facial range

limited. You will find that you can convey

a lot through using just the right head

angle changes, eye darts and posture

adjustments. We think of him as a bird

that is always on alert. He is constantly

adjusting his vantage point with quick

head movements, just like a chicken or a

parrot. This helps to sell his bird like

qualities, and his sense of alertness.

“Skullcrusher is a cross between a rhino, a

truffle pig, a dung beetle, a jackhammer

and a battleaxe. Skullcrusher is Stoick’s

trusted tracking dragon and he is always

on; always ready to follow a scent or go

into battle. His body is well suited for

digging; it’s square and muscular,

particularly around the shoulders and

neck, with a low centre of gravity. Its

massive weight is supported with short and

stout legs that are keeping the battleaxe-

shaped muzzle close to the ground.

Nothing can stand in its way when it’s

following a scent: entire rock formations

are cracked open, forests get bulldozed

over, even other dragons are rolled aside

to make a clear path. Once it picks up a

scent, it trails it stubbornly. It either rolls

obstacles out of the way or it just splits

them in half. As it starts digging, it

stands on its hind feet for a split second

and then throws all its might behind its

head and smashes it into the ground with

full force, like an ibex or a musk ox

fighting off a rival.

“Cloudjumper is a cross between a grey

owl, a Great Dane, a vampire bat and an

X-wing star fighter. With its regal

appearance, Cloudjumper combines

dignity, strength and elegance with great

size and a powerful, muscular body. This

proud dragon has well-developed senses

of smell and hearing. However, it’s the

eyesight that makes a Cloudjumper an

unbeatable stalker. Most of its day is

spent on the lookout. It usually positions

itself on top of a large tree or a rock

formation at dusk to start its stalking

ritual. During this time its body remains

completely motionless. Its head, eyes and

muzzle plates, on the other hand, are

following every event that takes place

within a radius of 10 miles. Once it has

locked in on a target, this expert aviator

leaves its victim no chance. Silently, it

approaches its prey, then once at close

range and at top speed, it suddenly

deploys an extra set of wings, which helps

it to stabilize its glide. It then extends its

massive claws to grab a hold of the prize.

Skyscreamers, Cloudjumpers’ breed,

usually hunt at night, but many have seen

this dragon kill during daytime.”

“Grump is a cross between a walrus, a

tadpole, an old bulldog and a trash bin.

Grump is Gobber’s dragon and workshop

companion, tasked with keeping the forge

fire going. Contrary to Skullcrusher, this

lazy slug of a dragon is hard to keep

awake, even when in flight. He’s sort of

useless, but he does serve as a handy

travel trash bin.

“Hookfang is our most classic looking

dragon. He really represents the basic

image that people have of a dragon and

we felt that in the first movie we needed

to satisfy that expectation in order for us

to be able to make a movie about dragons.

He has some influences from bats in the

way he walks and flies and some snake-

like clues can be found in his behavior

too.”

“Toothless is a cross between a black

panther, a bat and and a small bird of

prey. He also has some snake influences in

his design and his behavior is a mixture of

cat, dog, horse and a whole lot of other

odd animals, such as wombats, kangaroos

etc

“Meatlug is a cross between a pit-bull, a

crocodile, a Harley-Davidson and a

helicopter

“Barf and Belch are influenced by cobras

in the way their head and tail movements

are fluid and mesmerising, but they walk

more like horned lizards or komodo

dragons.”