Happy belated birthday to all my October-born readers!  I’m late, but I have a great excuse — I actually did it!  I moved to Florida, just in time to escape the cold Minnesotan winter!  I’ve written most of this post sitting on a beach!

But more on that later — you came here for Opal dragons, and that’s what I’ve got for you, starting with Opal: The Icy Castle by Greek professional artist Maria Dedevesi, posting as RenePolumorfous.  This was a commission for her fellow Flight Rising player lackinsanity and I think it’s brilliant; check out her lovely description at the original post as well.

If the amazing level of detail looks familiar to you, it’s because Maria created my favorite piece from AtoZ 2018 for the letter X, and you can see more fantastic dragons in her gallery, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check out her own Flight Rising lair page for yourself!

From the International Gem Society (continued here):

Opal is the traditional October birthstone. These gems are perhaps most well known for their play of colors and have their own unique gem grading system. Opals also have one of the most divergent sets of symbolic associations. You can choose to believe they’re the luckiest or unluckiest gems in the world. …

Wearing opal as a jewelry stone is a relatively modern practice. However, in ancient times, people wore this stone for various reasons. Many considered opal to be beneficial to the eye and wore it to cure eye diseases. Some even believed it could render the carrier invisible. Supposedly, carrying an opal wrapped in a fresh bay leaf would keep others from seeing you. This superstition earned opal the popular designation of patronus furum, Latin for “patron of thieves.”

Up next is Japanese Dragon Sculpture by Australian professional artist Chantel Lidbetter, posting as HiddenTreasury.  Chantel captions, “She has a stunning genuine milk Opal gemstone on her forehead that shimmers colors in the sunlight just like the rainbow of tiny rhinestones all over her. I have painted her with beautiful pastel colors of purple, blue and aqua to give that whimsical look.”   See more from Chantel, including her fantastically crafted Fursuits, at her gallery and her YouTube channel, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Then we have Opal Dragon by American deviantartist wolf-wishes.  This was created for the Creature Exchange group, where artists trade designs every month based on wish list descriptions.  You can find more artwork in their gallery, and they write about this piece:

This beautiful lady is the Opal Dragon, famed for her beautiful iridescent feathers that change colors depending on how they catch the light. … She cannot fly, and so intimidates other creatures and dragons with her shimmering winglike feathers that protrude from her shoulders and jawline. …

Because I’m late I decided to include a couple bonus dragons, including this one called Dragon in the Sky by Ukrainian professional artist Anna Pazyniuk, posting as anndr, with a beautiful opalescent background.  I just really loved the composition of this piece, including the design of the dragon.  You can see more of her beautiful work in her gallery, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, and support her art at her Redbubble shop or through her Patreon.

Here’s another bonus Opal Dragon by American professional artist and crafter Becca Golins from Dragons And Beasties, who I did just feature in the July birthstones (shh!), but this was just too pretty to pass up.  Check out Becca’s gallery, official website, Instagram, Facebook, Etsy Shop, and Patreon for more.  She captioned this in 2011:

This is a custom I have been meaning to work on for a while. Good faux opals are surprisingly hard to come by! I was on the verge of trying to make my own out of sculpey, when I found some decent ones on Etsy. I used a newly available Premo color, Frosty White Glitter, for the body. It has little flecks of iridescent glitter in it that really bring out the colors in the opal. The gems down her back are iridescent as well.

And finally, here is Opal Rain Dragon by Australian professional artist Amy, posting as Kandy-Cube. Created for fellow deviantartist Pixeldeerest (f/k/a ColdplayKeybaord), this dragon’s design required “Double Limbs, Keratin Growth [horns and nails], Dragon Wings, and glow” and I love how everything came together!  Check out more of her artwork in her gallery and on Twitch, or her Pokemon art at Amykarp.

As I mentioned, I made the move I’ve been talking about for more than a year, and I’m about to post this from a bar in Clearwater, Florida, very close to my new apartment!  I can’t even tell you how happy I am — right now, at 8pm on November 3rd, it’s 74° F (23° C) where I’m at, and it’s 40° F (4° C) back in the Twin Cities of Minnesota!

There’s more to the story, of course, and I’m still working on the update post, so stay tuned for that — but for now, thank you for your patience, I appreciate you coming back to my site, and as always, take care and stay creative!

Image credits:

+ Opal: The Icy Castle by Maria Dedevesi, posting as RenePolumorfous
+ Opal image from the International Gem Society article What is my Birthstone?
+ Japanese Dragon Sculpture by Chantel Lidbetter, posting as HiddenTreasury
+ CE: Opal Dragon by wolf-wishes
+ Dragon in the Sky by Anna Pazyniuk, posting as anndr
+ Opal Dragon by Becca Golins from Dragons And Beasties
+ #128 Terradragon w/m – Opal Rain Dragon by dd