#Alate Atta's Ascension

[the-ancient-dragons]

SilkWing Study!

Featuring the color palette of OC General Viceroy, Queen Monarch's brother in my Pantalan AU.

Details, explanation, and one more art below. Otherwise, next week are the HiveWings. See you then!!

Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth; school tried to kill me. I live!

Last time, I had called this series the 'dynamic bases', but looking back on some of them I would like to fix the anatomy and... generally everything, haha. The SilkWings I actually like all of the poses but I want to keep it as a study just for now.

It was a lot of fun to play with Joy's style and try to put the dragons in tribe-specific poses. Not all dragons in the tribes behave the same way, but it's a fun approximation. For example, for the SilkWings, I wanted the wings open as much as possible and from multiple angles. The pose at the top is a fun way to showcase both the wings and the silk - if the dragon is a flamesilk it could be shown there. I really like to make SilkWings interact with their silk like a cat's cradle game, it seems like a fun way they'd play and practice weaving.

Also, many people have their own interpretations of wingbuds, and this is mine. I'll do a whole anatomy study later but it's my headcanon that the dragonets hatch with the wings partially formed, just encased in scales to protect them as they finish growing. They would do this so they could hatch earlier (say half a hear-ish compared to other dragonets, who take the time to develop their wings in their eggs). Metamorphosis would then be the shedding phase where they drop the casing and release their fully-developed wings.

[the-ancient-dragons]

This is my favorite thing ever in the history of all time.

Please make more memes you draw them so funny

If you know Quest for Autonomy you know this scene. If not.... Uh, spoilers, but you can follow the link from my friends post to find out!!!!

Hey look. Dragon? Maybe. Guy on the left is Glimworm. Guy on the right is Eight. Both can be found in good friend Thunderclanwarrior12’s fic “Wings of Fire • Quest for Autonomy” on Wattpad. You’ll also find more funky dragon pics there.

OH I can tag this now! @theancientcreatures​ / @the-ancient-dragons​

[the-ancient-dragons]

Some characters from the final act of Path to Ascension, which is live as of now!

I had a lot of fun both making these and writing this story.

If you're a returning reader, check out the new update here. All parts are published on Wattpad now!

If you don't know what I'm talking about but want to find out, follow the link here.

[the-ancient-dragons]

Closeups of the art I used in the first post! These are characters from my previous and current series, from left to right:

The Five Dragons Lightningtail (top) and Thunderclap (bottom), Quickclaws (top) and Rainwind (bottom), Brisktail

Alate Atta's Ascension Eight and Ghost, Hawker and Demi (short for Demoiselle), Taproot, Metalmark

I think up next I will be focusing heavily on anatomy. I have some old stuff in the backlog I can slowly post and I will work in full-body experiments soon!

[the-ancient-dragons]

Path to Ascension Editing Begins Now!

Yaay!!! It's been a fight and a half to get a whole day to myself but I can finally devote myself to editing. I think I'll do two or three rounds:

1) Reread and catalogue every scene, character, choice, and consequence (I deviated from my original plan in some cases and I want a detailed timeline so I don't miss anything). I will also plan for things I need to add/remove/fix, which will be easier because I'll have everything out in front of me and I can see how adjusting things will affect everything.

2) Do the alterations I outline in the first round (a minor round of writing where I comb through the whole thing and adjust my words for clarity and plot adjustments)

3) Grammar/spelling and final checks (making sure there aren't any typos and one last clarity check)

I'll let you know when I complete each round. I'm super happy with what I've got currently and I can't wait for those that read PTA to experience it!!!

It might take a while, though:

Yeah, that's all 5 scenes together.... over 100 paperback-sized pages....

[the-ancient-dragons]

Today is a good day.

The final act of Path to Ascension will be posted next Monday-Saturday, 9 AM EDT.

If you read this story, you're in luck!

If you don't read this story and are confused but intrigued, you can find a link to it and my other works on my pinned post (this one is part of the Alate Atta's Ascension series).

See you tomorrow for my nightly art piece!

Wow, that's a lot...

I didn't write meaningless fluff, though. I tried my hardest to give you the action-packed emotional ending this series deserves. I am super proud of this and hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

Yesterday I also managed to crank out seven character portraits. They'll be going up on Monday the same time as scene xi., both here and on Wattpad.

I might be a little late on replies Monday but I will be there in the evening for those who read to scream at me! I can't wait to see what you all think!!!

[the-ancient-dragons]

PTA Editing Part III

I've finally gotten through part two!!!

(Future me: I forgot to post this 💀. I finished Part II around 1/2 PM)

(Also future me: why did I think the epilogue would just take a few minutes)

It took ages (mostly because the first and last scenes needed the most changes) but I can finally get on to the final touches. I can also write the epilogue because I finished all the major changes important to its continuity. Stay tuned for one last post regarding publishing times.

scene xi: finished! scene xii: finished! scene xiii: finished! scene xiv: finished! scene xv: finished!

epilogue: finished!

6/6 parts ready for publishing.

[the-ancient-dragons]

I did, in fact, finish scene xiv. yesterday. Not only that but I got some of scene xv. started as well. I have a way forward with this part and it's looking good so far. I'm about... halfway through? Idk I'm just letting the words flow and I'll stop when it feels right. I hope you all will like it!

I'm going camping this weekend (Friday to Sunday) so I'll use that as a break to let the words marinate. When I come back I'll begin editing. I have a hard time separating spelling/grammar/typos from continuity and flow, so it might be all happening at the same time or I might do the heavy editing first and leave the small grammar stuff for a second pass. Who knows.

See ya on Monday! (And keep an eye out for the SeaWing art tomorrow!)

[the-ancient-dragons]

You guys would hate me if I posted scene xi. today. All I can say is you will be glad I'm posting all 5 together...

Working on part 2/5 now!

[the-ancient-dragons]

On a roll! I finished xiii. yesterday, and this scene will be slightly shorter so I should get through it no problem. If I don't get exhausted, that is-

With luck, tomorrow will be The Big One (also known as the most heavily rewritten part of the book XD)

(Still deciding exactly what I want. Basically, what I want to show and how to do it. Some things might not be shown based on the way certain events unfold, but might appear in the epilogue. We'll see.)

And who knows if the characters decide to derail my plans today, I've already shuffled a few events around to better fit the flow XD

[the-ancient-dragons]

PTA Editing Timeline!

I don't want to make 50 posts for this so here's my new idea: You can check this post for updates regarding the progress of Part II editing. I'll make a separate post of the same format for Part III when I get there. Thank you for your patience! scene xi: major changes fixed scene xii: major changes fixed scene xiii: major changes fixed scene xiv: major changes fixed scene xv: major changes fixed 5/5 parts finished with the 2nd round of editing!

[the-ancient-dragons]

PTA Editing Part II

So it's been a while (I've been busy but unfortunately not with writing).

Part two is when I make the actual big changes - the reason it's taking so long is I have to basically rewrite the entire last chapter and make sure the previous four are impeccably clear with the timeline of events.

Usually, a regular chapter takes me a whole day to edit so I imagine for five very important ones it will take a lot longer. This time I unfortunately don't have an ETA and I'd rather not break a promise again.

You'll hear from me again when this round of editing is complete. Good news is I just finished the first part of the first chapter, so I've got some progress.

[the-ancient-dragons]

So I went crazy yesterday and started and finished scene xii. Onto scene xiii. now and remembered to update after finishing the first segment. Things are getting really crazy now >:)

[the-ancient-dragons]

Let's see how far I can get today >:)

[the-ancient-dragons]

HiveWing. Overcomplicated. But also not?

Joy and Tui, y'all cooked, I just put my own spin on it.

Details and explanation below.

Otherwise, next week are LeafWings! See you then!

More overcomplicated dragons.

I thought I had fun with the RainWing.

I was wrong. This was FUN.

Of all the ones I've done this design is nearly identical to the original. I'm not saying that to toot my own horn, it just somehow came out like that because I found the perfect references (and avoided altering the skull too much lol). Let's talk about them!

First, an unlikely one: iguanas. I originally picked them for their spines, but when I saw their eyes and large jaw scale (or whatever it is) I knew I'd found the new reptile base for the HiveWings. I also included the little snout and under-the-chin spikes they have; it just fits perfectly for a beetle-and wasp inspired dragon.

Speaking of beetles and wasps: I took heavy inspiration for the HiveWing's 'beak' from wasp mandibles. I love the way the mouth looks originally and wanted to preserve and exaggerate it. So, when creating the beak, I combined the jagged jaws of wasps with the curved beak of an African fish eagle. To top it off I referenced the rhinoceros beetle (obviously) for the horn on the nasion.

(The nasion is a point where your nose meets your forehead between your eyes). The HiveWing's horn isn't directly on it but I couldn't think of another word.

I actually wanted the entire head to have an insect-like feel, that's why the snout and forehead are built from large plates (once again referenced from rhino beetles).

Lastly, besides the lion-inspired teeth, an incredible animal called the nyala was responsible for the back horns. Whoever photographed that bull in that exact angle: thank you.

Let's see how badly I mess up the LeafWings next week. If you've read this far, perhaps let me know if you would like to see all of my personal headcanons for the LeafWings? For Alate Atta's Ascension I use a design where they have four wings and extra frills to look like leaves. I can do one closer to canon where they're more like a Pyrrhian tribe and another where they visually fit in with the other Pantalan tribes. Let me know!

[the-ancient-dragons]

Introductions

Hi! I'm @theancientblog (she/her).

This is a Wings of Fire art blog, a place where I can share all my art/updates for my fanfics (finished or unfinished) and cause maximum confusion to people who don't know what's going on :D

Art Tag

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Wattpad: Thunderclanwarrior12

Where I keep my hoard of WoF fanfics (and a couple of art books. You can dig around in them for some ancient art from my high school days). Below are a few teasers of my written works:

The Five Dragons: A five-part fantribe series following the SwiftScales, including map art and a guide to the Dragons of Ventus. It is my first series and if you can manage to stick through the first two, I promise the writing quality gets better towards the last three books!

The Blue Comet: A standalone Legends-style book following a desperate IceWing's quest to return home. Mystery, misery, and many action scenes!

Alate Atta's Ascension: Another fantribe series following the AntWings, including map art and a guide to the Dragons of Pantala (updated to include the fantribes!). Currently ongoing!

Instagram: _the_ancient_one

I almost never post on Insta but if I do, it is finished pieces and mixed in with other fandoms and personal work (though to protect my IP I might stay off there...)

I hope you enjoy!