February 10th is the start of the Chinese New Year. 

Which means it’s time for my annual illustration featuring the year’s animal from the Eastern zodiac. This year it’s the dragon—the only mythical animal of the twelve. (I started with the rooster back in 2017, so I’m down eight with four more to go.)

The image above was done in Illustrator and I started in back in November of last year, thinking I’d get a head start and, even with my regular illustration work, I’d have it done in plenty of time for January 1st. But I didn’t like the first version, it seemed too ordinary.  (See below.) So I tried a different pose with the neck curved. (Also below but unfinished.) That seemed to improve it but it still didn’t thrill me. I thought maybe changing the colors would help and I tried several color versions and was about to settle on the mauve. It looked kinda fresh and interesting…and OMG what was I thinking!? The next day it looked absolutely terrible. (See below.)

So, still unhappy I went back to the earlier illustrations I’d done in the series, (see all seven below) looking especially at the dog back in 2018. That kind of cleared my head and I started from scratch. The new version is more dynamic and clearly in keeping with the vibe of the earlier work, both color-wise and in breaking the image down to basic shapes. 

Hope you like the final version. (Click on each image to view a larger version.)

By the way, in China dragons have symbolized wealth and good fortune since ancient times. So, I wish all of you a prosperous and healthy year ahead.