Art

Designing the Everlux for FlightRising.com

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In November of 2024 Flight Rising released the Everlux dragon breed.

Designing a new dragon for Flight Rising is always an interesting challenge. The dragons need too be unique, fit into a square, and have enough surface area across both their bodies and wings for separate patterns (genes) to go into both. This breed originated from the Light Flight, and we wanted to explore a more alien dragon design. I came up with several concepts for the breed, but a heavy-set caterpillar inspired dragon is the direction we ended up going in.

Concept art for the Everlux dragons.



Before proceeding with a final, I decided to do some studies from reference to learn a bit more about caterpillar anatomy and how their segmented, soft bodies worked. I did several studies from photographs of monarch butterfly caterpillars. I took the opportunity to draw in my sketchbook. Up until this past year, I have not been doing a lot of practice studies, and since picking up the habit, I’ve found that I observe more carefully and learn more by drawing on paper. With digital art, it is very easy to cut, move, and warp drawings after the fact. With paper, I was required pay attention to get the proportions as accurate as possible from the get-go, and I think it helped me to draw more mindfully.

Caterpillar studies from reference.



With some practice under my belt, I proceeded to tighter drawings that fit the Flight Rising dragon style and template requirements.

Tighter drawings for the Everlux breed for Flight Rising.



And here are the final templates used for the game! Between the drawing and final stage, the FR art team provided helpful feedback on the hatchling. It was determined that the pulled up leg was busy and read poorly, so it was streamlined for the final. Getting an additional pair of eyes on something is always a good idea!

The final templates used for the Everlux dragons for Flight Rising
Personal

A Strange Little Change

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Hello, Jessica Peffer here – one of those dragon artists. It’s been a long time since I actively worked on NeonDragonArt, my art site. In fact, it’s been offline nearly a decade!

In that time I’ve been working with an amazing team on Flight Rising, a browser-based virtual pet game about breeding, customizing, and battling dragons. I was a co-creator on this project, working with our team on FR is a full time job!

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I had a difficult time separating my personal time from working on the game. I worked from home, and I was a co-creator. I had a great deal of personal and creative investment and ownership in the project. Because of this, it felt like anytime I was drawing, I should be drawing for Flight Rising. If I started to draw personal art I would feel guilty; couldn’t that time be spent on the project? Even if I’d worked a full 8 hour day, it felt like any more time spent on art should be used to get ahead on future updates. There was no work/life separation or balance.

For first few years of Flight Rising we had a small team. It was vital that each of us pulled as much weight as we could for the game to have regular updates and the players to have the attention managing such a community required. As time went on, the game and our team grew. We now have a dedicated community manager, and a whole team of talented artists creating amazing art for the project every week.

The situation changed, but my approach to my time and art did not.

A decade and one middle age ADHD diagnosis later, and I’m starting to carve out dedicated time for working on Flight Rising. Rather than doing my work at any time of the day, any day of the week, I’m now setting aside dedicated hours for my job on the FR project.

This has helped immensely. Is it work hours? No? Did I work all my work hours? Yes? Great! I can do whatever I want with the rest of my day, responsibilities managed and weird project-guilt assuaged!

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Which brings me back to Neon Dragon Art, and my strange little art. It’s been a decade and change since the site has been online, and I’ve been largely inactive on social media. I want to start posting my new art again, exploring new ideas, and trying to work with some of my weak areas.

While I love dragons and will never stop drawing them, I also love creature art of all types. If I’m going to start posting art again out the blue, it seems like if there was ever a time to rebrand, now is it!

So while I will keep Neon Dragon Art online as an archive, I’m going to be posting my new art and works here, at my new home on Strange Little Creatures.

If you knew me from Neon Dragon Art: Hi, nice to see you again! It’s been awhile, eh?

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