warrior-5

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so i was baking (or attempting to) while watching httyd when i remembered that one post about how the elder knew something was up when hiccup tamed that zippleback

what if she really KNEW?

like, she recognizes the training techniques BECAUSE SHE TAMED A DRAGON WHEN SHE WAS A YOUNG LASS

but something happened, you know, LIKE LOSING THE ABILITY TO TALK, and she couldn’t tell anyone

and perhaps her dragon died or something so she couldn’t show people

and she never had the courage to do it again but then HICCUP CAME ALONG SO SHE CHOSE HIM TO CHANGE THE VIKINGS VS DRAGONS THING BECAUSE SHE KNEW HE CAN DO IT WHEN SHE COULDN’T

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

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I’ve noticed that some of you have been giving one of my oldest HTTYD drawings (from July 2014) new notes. I did a redraw of it as a sort of warm-up to all the lineart I want to do today for my Erlkönig project. After two corrections, Astrid’s head seems to be too small still, compared to Hiccup’s, but oh well! Her shoulder guard is also eeeh, but I’ve got to move on.

If anyone wants to use this for coloring practice, I’m 100% okay with that as long as you don’t remove my signature and tag me so I can see. :)

This is the original (ugh) from 2014:

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Hiccup + shoulder rolls {x}

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Ok, I have to talk about this shot.  It’s probably my favorite shot of the movie because not only is it incredibly beautiful, compositionally speaking, it also has some brilliant symbolism.  Notice the two different elements that dominate the background for Stoick and Valka: Stoick the Vast is surrounded by stone.  The seemingly unchanging, strong, and “stubborn” nature of stone perfectly reflects Stoic’s personality.  However, even stone can be bent, changed with time and circumstance: the visual above shows this in the vertical pillars of stone to the pillars that have tilted (and this is where Stoic stands, as he is still tough as stone but has been changed in his views on dragons).  Now behind Valka is ice.   Water, the element often used to symbolize change, has been hardened to something less than yielding.  This reflects Valka’s struggle to change the village’s mindset to one of peace, but ultimately resigning to her own belief that people simply couldn’t change and there was no point in trying.  However, with just a little heat, that ice turns to liquid again…and coincidentally we see Valka collecting melt water from the ice in the next scene.  I’m not saying that all this symbolism was planned just so…but I kind of am :)

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Other HTTYD/HTTYD 2 themes analyzed:

War Theme

Astrid’s Theme

Hiccup’s Relationship with Dragons

Berk’s Theme

Toothless’ Theme, also in a way the Vigilante’s Theme, is no simple musical motive to dissect, for all it is probably the most prevalent melody played within the How to Train Your Dragon 2 soundtrack.  It is, in its own way, *THE* primary theme of the second movie, played for the longest amount of time of any of the other themes in the score. It is the theme with some of the greatest expressive variation, dancing from ominous and mysterious to cheerful to triumphant to mournful to warlike. While it is often orchestrated with choir, that is by no means the only way it is played; indeed every instrument in the orchestra takes its turn at playing the melody.

I have in the past called this theme both “The Vigilante’s Theme” and “Toothless’ Theme,” for I have noticed connections between the song and both Toothless and Valka. Within the movie’s artbook, an interview with John Powell suggests that this motive was crafted to be Toothless’ theme.

It is not that straightforward, however, because there is one time the melody plays and Toothless is not around. During “Stoick Finds Beauty,” this is the main accompanying melody, and this moment obviously has nothing to do with Hiccup’s dragon. It’s all about Valka.

Here’s the thing about this theme: it becomes Toothless’ Theme throughout the story. It is not one hundred percent how it starts, but that is how it ends.

The first time the melody is heard is when Toothless plunges into the ocean and is left behind by Valka and Hiccup. Valka’s arrival is what cues this theme; had she not come, Toothless would not have the potential to develop and become what this music represents: a dragon able to stand up, fight, and defend the others - basically, a vigilante. The song is about Toothless here and being left behind. The song, though, is instigated by Valka.

Indeed the second time in the movie the music plays refers to Valka and her meeting Cloudjumper. It is a symbolic parallel between Hiccup and Toothless bonding; the music is referring simultaneously to the older and younger Haddock generations. Not only that, but this is one of two times that the music climaxes to a high point; the second time is directly between Hiccup and Toothless in “Toothless Found.” And when the music takes the forefront as one of the two main melodies in “Flying With Mother,” the song sings of Valka and her dragon flying just as much as Hiccup and his flying with Toothless. Valka is spreading her life and love as a defender of the dragons. It is indirectly preparing Toothless for who he will be by the end of the film. 

When the music calms, it is when Valka is showing Hiccup what Toothless can do, opening up the spikes aligning on his back. Valka is the dragon lady; Toothless is learning something new about himself.

Then comes “Stoick Finds Beauty,” and this is the last moment the music has any correlation to Valka at all. It is also, incidently, the one and only time that the music can only refer to Valka, being as every other moment has Toothless clearly in the picture. 

From here on out, Toothless one hundred percent adopts the theme. He becomes the defender of the dragons; the song is about him. 

It begins “Stoick Saves Hiccup.” Toothless is the killer of Stoick. That is the worst - and yet the best - time to use this melody.

Then in “Toothless Found,” the music builds beautiful symbolism. This theme slowly arises out of the chaos of churning strings, playing first in the background softly, and then growing and growing until it explodes out. This parallels Toothless’ mind slowly escaping the Bewilderbeast’s. He is in a fog at the moment, his thoughts of Hiccup slowly emerging. When he breaks free of the alpha’s control, the music likewise launches into the biggest climax yet. Toothless has found himself again. He is here, and so is his theme.

The movie henceforth explodes with this theme as Toothless and Hiccup fight Drago’s Bewilderbeast. It begins playing the moment Toothless jumps up and fights the Bewilderbeast, shooting plasma blasts at it. This is Toothless’ greatest moment, the one where he - rather than Valka - is acting as the protector of the dragons. Toothless has grown mightily throughout the story, and the music sings it over and over and over again. It only stops when the other dragons bow to Toothless; it is at this point the alpha’s theme plays. However, without all this fighting, without becoming the dragon he is, Toothless would have never reached that point.

This should be, hopefully, every instance of the melody, and is found in the following tracks:

Toothless Lost (HTTYD 2), Losing Mom (HTTYD 2), Flying With Mother (HTTYD 2 Expanded), Can We Start Over (HTTYD 2 Expanded), Stoick Finds Beauty (HTTYD 2 Expanded), Stoick Saves Hiccup (HTTYD 2), Toothless Found (HTTYD 2), Challenging the Alpha (HTTYD 2 Expanded)

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HTTYD - Clothing Details

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My friend made this for me on a 3D Printer...!

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i want to thank john powell for making the httyd and httyd 2 soundtrack

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The benefit to stories where people are friends with dragons as opposed to enemies

- The dragon doesnt get slain 

- EPIC FLIGHT SCENES

- BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP THAT CROSSES SPECIES AND MAYBE EVEN LANGUAGE BARRIERS

- THE THING WHERE THE DRAGON PROTECTS THE PERSON WITH THEIR WINGS

- ANGRY PROTECTIVE DRAGON BEST FRIENDS

- ANGRY PROTECTIVE HUMAN BEST FRIENDS

- MOTHERFUCKING FRIENDSHIP

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"Figure out which side you’re on."  Comparison between Eret and Astrid’s changed views on dragons.

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I made a thing in art class!

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In what other animated series would you see a secondary character display this level of complex emotion?

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ђiccuρ ღ Asτrid

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Please don't do this to me.

I Love You

There were dragons when I was a boy.

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But your father... he never doubted. He always said you’d become the strongest of them all. And he was right.

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How To Train Your Dragon by iya-chen Deviantart Tumblr Redbubble

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Let's not forget how truly terrifying this dragon can be.