pesky dragon drawings

February 29th 2020 //

A day for Hiccup and Hiccup only. 💛 Happy birthday to this very special lad! 🎉

Fall time = snuggle time 🍂

I hear hiccstrid is good for the heart..

365 of 365: The End.

If you’re reading this, this one’s for you.

Dedicated to dragon fans and animators alike. For all those who have liked and supported this wild ride of mine, I thank you. Whether you were here at Day 1 or Day 364 or anywhere in between, thank you for sticking around as long as you did. I’ve also said this before but at the start of this countdown I had no idea how far I’d get or if I’d even finish at all. Who’d be watching, and if anyone would care or just find the daily posts annoying. Drawing everyday for a year was a challenge that seemed even more crazier after the fact that I had barely surved inktober a few months prior. But I promised myself to try. All I could do was try. Something Hiccup I learned from Hiccup I suppose. ;)

It.. wasn’t easy, and if you’ve seen some of my tags you know how some days were tougher than others. Finding time to prioritize college homework as a full time student and the countdown, more often than naught having to sacrifice sleep or time with friends- but I was ok with it. We’re artists. It’s an occupational hazard. I wanted to follow through with a personal project, my love for HTTYD spurring me on even if no one cared. However; people did. You did. There were some people who said I couldn’t do it- that is was too much and tbh I expected more people to think the same thing. But the amount of utter support and encouragement from this fandom was jarring and beautiful. Reading your kind and lively comments and asks pushed me forward especially times when I felt really low and discouraged. I’m often hard on myself, but the fact that people took to this countdown so warmly and enthusiastically really got me as far as I have. I truly believe I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.

This fandom has been a home away from home with me for years. I’ve learned so much from this fandom, it’s the first and pretty much only one I’m in, and I’m so happy I was able to savor and share the last wait of dragons with you all. We have our squabbles, our disagreements but so does our beloved Hooligan gang! In the end there’s one common denominator that unites us all: Our love for Hiccup and Toothless.

Though the movies may be over, and everything Hiccup and Toothless had to teach us has been taught. Their journey and legacy will forever be embed in our hearts. And there will always be people out there sharing that very same connection, that love of dragons.

So from the bottom of my heart,

Thank you How To Train Your Dragon.

Thank You Dragons Fandom. 💚🐉

‪362 of 365: Dedicated to Dragons story artist, Johane Matte (@rufftoon)! She also made the amazing (unoffical) comic “Dragon Trappers” based off the deleted prologue from D2. It’s one of the things that has motivated me to try & make my own httyd comic one of these days. Thank you Johane!‬

‪361 of 365: “Do you trust me bud..?”‬

‪Dedicated to Pierre-Oliver Vincent, production designer on Dragons 2&3. Capable of creating gorgeous worlds/landscapes. He made Berk much more than a location, but a character in itself. A place to call home for fans & Berkians alike. Thank you P.O.V! :)

359 of 365: Dedicated to the viking Queen, America Ferrera.

Thank you for giving this loyal, fearless, strong and forever kick-butt woman her voice. Astrid embodies power & purpose, a true role model for many in and out of this fandom. 

It’s funny.. My first impression of Astrid was rather negative when I first saw HTTYD. I just, didn’t like her and that was mostly due to the fact she roughed up Hiccup as much as she did in the first film. A character I so closely related to.

It wasn’t until I joined the fandom and began reading and seeing posts and analysis did I start to see her character more clearly. I rewatched the movie with an eye on her arc and began to understand her as an individual and not just the “reward role” she had at the end of the first film (Something she broke far away from by the 2nd and 3rd film). She is a viking warrior. Focused and determined, not always patient nor perfect but deeply passionate. It took a minute to realize that outside her tough facade, hardend by the rough elements of the circumstances around her in HTTYD1, there existed a caring interior. She is a force to be reckoned with and when I came to realize this my love for her only grew- 10 fold by the day. Her pep-talks with Hiccup always seem to sLAP, and I’ll fight anyone who tries to make her a damsel in distress as this Astrid is anything bUT and I love her all the more for it.

Astrid Hofferson. Beautiful, supportive, who always keeps it real, and she would not have been the same without you. Thank you America. 💛

‪354 of 365: *Patiently waiting for you to see The Hidden World*‬

353 of 365: Dedicated to, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III himself, Jay Baruchel.

I know he may never see this, but I’m gonna write it anyway. Ever since the first time I watched HTTYD I was captivated by Hiccup’s voice, and yeah maybe that sounds weird but it’s true. I remember pausing the movie 25 seconds into the “This is Berk” monologue and being like- “Wow, um.. I love his voice?” And looked up the voice actor because by golly, I needed to know right then and there. There has just been something I find so comforting about Hiccup’s nasally voice and the way he talks, I genuinely enjoy listening to his unique tone. Jay Baruchel has played Hiccup from the start, ever since the beginning, and like he has said many times, at this point he doesn’t know where he stops and Hiccup begins. This character has become such a profound part of him as it has me, and many others who feel a deep connection to Hiccup.

Hiccup is the first fictional character I’ve ever resonated with so deeply. When I was watching him, scrawny, awkward, trying his best and failing miserably. Stuck in the middle and coping through self deprecating humor, it was something about that “I just want to be one of you guys.” line and the longing in his voice struck me so hard. Like a bucket of ice water to the face I realized I was watching myself. A character I, outside of being a total talking fish-bone, physically look nothing like and yet feel so affixed to, which has never happened with me towards a fictional character. Hiccup wouldn’t be the same had he been played by anybody else. Jay captures the very essence of Hiccup, because he is Hiccup and that’s just the way it is.

I’m getting a little carried away here, but the point is: Hiccup is my hero. I was stuck in a place where I felt lonely and small and in the way of everybody, and everything. As Hiccup looked into the eyes of Toothless and saw himself, so did I in the eyes of Hiccup. Seeing how Hiccup overcame and redefined the definition of a hiccup to the point where feeling like such a thing stopped feeling so bad. I have aged up along side my favorite character and what an honor it has been. Just as Hiccup comes to a new chapter of his life and learns to grow up, so do I. Letting go has never been easy for me, but if Hiccup could do it, then I can too. Thank you Jay Baruchel for breathing life into my hero, and making him the very character he is today.

Thank you Jay, for being our Hiccup. ❤️

‪350 of 365: It’s been a minute since I’ve drawn one of these guys <3‬

‪340 of 365: “You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you.”‬

‪Dedicated to the awesome story artist, Tron Mai. I love his boards of Stalka (as well as artist Bolhelm Bouchiba) & his overall style is extremely recognizable. Capable of conveying so much emotion and story through very few lines. He also was head of story for HTTYD 3!! SUCH TALENT!! Thank you Tron Mai!‬

‪339 of 365: I saw HTTYD3. Still taking it all in.. ‬

337 of 365: Drago’s Bewilderbeast.

“Good dragons under the control of bad people do bad things.” - Valka

‪333 of 365: Unapologetic Fury not having any of it.‬ ⚡️

‪330 of 365: “Stormfly, FETCH!”

She’s so good at it too. 💙‬

‪329 of 365: “That’s it Grump. You’re going up for adoption!”

Don’t yell at him! He’s just a little sleepy is all.‬

‪322 of 365: “Hey Snot-face.~”

Ruff starting to give Snotlout the time of day after that D2 save.‬

‪321 of 365: No wait- I shoulda drawn an adult scuttleclaw! Aw well, here’s another babyyy.