We made it!  It’s the final entry of the April AtoZ Challenge 2018 — and to cap it all off, here is an epic dragon from Slavic mythology called Zmey Gorynych by American professional artist RJ Palmer, posting as arvalis.

This is just of his designs for “a dragon book for Scholastic by way of Becker&Mayer Books” called Sink Your Teeth Into Dragons, and he writes:

I had no idea that Zmey Gorynych was so popular, definitely the most requested dragon. One thing I was exploring on this project was bringing the serpent back to dragon designs. So many historical accounts of dragons describe them with snake-like features but I feel like that’s been mostly lost in modern dragon designs.

I wanted this one to be less extravagant than most of the others to give it a more classic vibe. That being said, I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to paint sweet glowing through holes. I bet this thing is a real nuisance for those castle-goers.

This is a great interpretation of the traditionally three-headed dragon, and his other designs are awesome too — check out his eagle/dragon Wyvern, the Armenian dragon Svara, and all the rest in his gallery.

RJ is also well known for his depictions of realistic Pokemon, and he’s even compiled his work into two art book volumes you can purchase at his Art of RJ Palmer shop.  He’s all over social media as well, so follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr for more.

THAT’S ANOTHER ATOZ IN THE BOOKS!

I kept it simple this year with my theme of “Odds and Ends Dragons” — amazing artwork by artists I’ve come across in past searches, but wasn’t able to find a spot for at the time.  Read more at my Theme Post.

All of these AtoZ posts appeared (on time and like clockwork!) at 9:05 AM CT (-5 GMT) each day Monday through Saturday during the month of April 2018!  For even more dragons, check out my 2016 and 2017 posts!

Thanks to everyone who found and followed me this year, it was an awesome AtoZ and I’m happy I can once again claim the survivor badge! 

Now to go back and catch up reading everyone else’s awesome AtoZs… I promise I’ll make it through and like and comment on all of them, I’m just slow!

But now that AtoZ is over, the next post will be this coming Saturday when I post my AtoZ Reflections a little bit early.

Then next week, the second week of May, I’ll have the May Birthstones post — and this time it’s emerald, my own birthstone, so stay tuned for that!  And that gets me back on track with my new schedule.

Congrats to everyone who participated in this year’s AtoZ no matter how far you made it!  As always, take care, and stay creative!

Image credits:
Zmey Gorynych by RJ Palmer, posting as arvalis