At
5' 7" and 120 pounds, Fiat is short and rail-thin, with a thin but
distinct musculature. He has smooth, leathery hide of a sandy
color, darker on the back than the front. In place of hair, he
has a number of small, fine feathers and a pair of horns, curved
backward very slightly. He stands fully erect on three-toed feet,
each one having a long, thick claw. His tail is longer than he is
tall and helps him maneuver in flight.
Fiat's wings are composed of a thin, elastic membrane stretched between three flexible "ribs" sprouting from each of his shoulders. These are thicker than his thumb, and are composed of an exquisitely complex and extremely powerful system of muscles and ligaments wrapped around short bones. Each "rib" is also tipped with a small, mobile claw, so that when folded the wings can be used as a three-fingered appendage. The wings grew in over a three-week period around the age of eight.
Incidentally, Fiat is not a true flyer, but a glider. He rides currents of wind, using his tail and minute adjustments of the wing's shape to steer. He also has the innate ability to manipulate the principle of air to keep himself aloft higher and longer; most of the time, however, he does not find this neccessary.
Fiat's wings are composed of a thin, elastic membrane stretched between three flexible "ribs" sprouting from each of his shoulders. These are thicker than his thumb, and are composed of an exquisitely complex and extremely powerful system of muscles and ligaments wrapped around short bones. Each "rib" is also tipped with a small, mobile claw, so that when folded the wings can be used as a three-fingered appendage. The wings grew in over a three-week period around the age of eight.
Incidentally, Fiat is not a true flyer, but a glider. He rides currents of wind, using his tail and minute adjustments of the wing's shape to steer. He also has the innate ability to manipulate the principle of air to keep himself aloft higher and longer; most of the time, however, he does not find this neccessary.
+++++++
The
inspiration for Fiat came with his wings. I consider them fairly
original, and they offer so many artistic possibilities. The
second picture shows a Fiat with a fiercer, harder, sort of wind-beaten
look than the first, which casts him in a more thoughtful light.
I attribute this difference to physical and emotional maturation.
For those of you who aren't buying that, I probably should have
looked more carefully at the first picture while I drew the second.
Fiat remains a work in progress, and I will probably come back to him - I only explored two of those possibilities, and he is a dragon, after all.
Fiat remains a work in progress, and I will probably come back to him - I only explored two of those possibilities, and he is a dragon, after all.