Smaug and His Environment

GDT has already commented over at the TORN message boards on some of the things we might expect for Smaug’s design.

First, he said that the two best dragon designs, in his opinion is, the Eyvind Earle / Disney dragon from SLEEPING BEAUTY, and Vermitrax Pejorative from DRAGONSLAYER.

I have not seen DRAGONSLAYER (should I?) but I have vivid memories of the Malificent dragon from SLEEPING BEAUTY. I saw it on a huge screen at a drive-in movie theater in rural Indiana. My parents and I were parked in a brown Buick station wagon. The wagon was turned around, with the back opened up and I was lying on blankets and pillows watching the movie. The radio was tuned to the movie audio. On that drive-in screen, the dragon was enormous, scary (to a youn’un such as I) and beautiful. Just as striking was the fire and color that surrounded the dragon, making each frame a feast for the eyes. When GDT said over at TORN that, “Smaug is the perfect example of a great creature defined by its look and design, yes, but also, very importantly, by his movement and -One little hint- its environment”, I can only hope he is channeling those images of Earle’s dragon, with his black, elegant body traipsing through the fire and brimstone, with each flame, each rock, each cloud of smoke evoking the power of the dragon.

Here are some pictures of the great Eyvind Earle creation, and how the environment exudes just as much power and fear as the dragon itself.


For more on GDT’s comments on Smaug, go here.

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