Thomas Olson
Artist * Game Art Prof * Educator * Game Developer
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Hybrids, Part 1 (earlier dragons)

Gathered here are the earliest hybrid dragons in the game. DragonVale shipped in August of 2011 with 26 dragons. Fire, Plant, Earth, Cold, Lightning, Water, and Air as the primaries (Air was the only breedable primary, bred from Water and Fire). Then Blazing, Crystal, Firefly, Flower, Ice, Lava (a studio favorite), Moss, Mountain, Mud, Poison, Quake, Scorch, Seaweed, Snow, Sonic, Storm, Swamp, Tree, and Willow, and the Rainbow epic.
Others were released as we could get them done.

Lava. Fire/Earth. This guy was a studio favorite. It's a personal favorite, too. I made a pen and ink drawing of it after Durer's rhino drawing for Denver Comic Con. It's in this album.

Lava. Fire/Earth. This guy was a studio favorite. It's a personal favorite, too. I made a pen and ink drawing of it after Durer's rhino drawing for Denver Comic Con. It's in this album.

Poison. Plant/Fire.

Poison. Plant/Fire.

Flower. Fire/Plant. This is the evil clown of DragonVale. What happens when you move an artist who just left Resistance 3 working on the Widowmaker and move him to Colorado in midwinter without his family and ask him to make something cute.

Flower. Fire/Plant. This is the evil clown of DragonVale. What happens when you move an artist who just left Resistance 3 working on the Widowmaker and move him to Colorado in midwinter without his family and ask him to make something cute.

Firefly. Lightning/Fire. So. Right. Kind of a... shrimp/butterfly/thing. OK. You be you, man. I think I was going for a larval stage and an adult... but this could be better.

Firefly. Lightning/Fire. So. Right. Kind of a... shrimp/butterfly/thing. OK. You be you, man. I think I was going for a larval stage and an adult... but this could be better.

Blazing. Air/Fire. He probably should have been called a Phoenix, or given some more limbs or horns. Kind of just a bird. The chick cracks me up.

Blazing. Air/Fire. He probably should have been called a Phoenix, or given some more limbs or horns. Kind of just a bird. The chick cracks me up.

Quake. Earth/Lightning. A rare early dragon with a fair amount of detail on it. Also, "tooth lips", which was soon against the design rules. It fits a dragon made of stone, though.

Quake. Earth/Lightning. A rare early dragon with a fair amount of detail on it. Also, "tooth lips", which was soon against the design rules. It fits a dragon made of stone, though.

Crystal. Lightning/Earth. Oof. Not purty. Sometimes you just have to ship what you got.

Crystal. Lightning/Earth. Oof. Not purty. Sometimes you just have to ship what you got.

Tree. Plant/Earth. If Abraham Lincoln had a baby with George Washington's wooden teeth... Also, due to a joint orientation bug, this guy vomited instead of breathing his leafy breath for a while. It was awesome.

Tree. Plant/Earth. If Abraham Lincoln had a baby with George Washington's wooden teeth... Also, due to a joint orientation bug, this guy vomited instead of breathing his leafy breath for a while. It was awesome.

Moss. Earth/Plant. Dopey dragon. I was thrilled when Mr. Jack did a painting of this guy. You should check out his DragonVale paitings, they rock.

Moss. Earth/Plant. Dopey dragon. I was thrilled when Mr. Jack did a painting of this guy. You should check out his DragonVale paitings, they rock.

Mountain. Cold/Earth. One of the earliest ones to get done. We were cranking this game out at Backflip's usual furious pace--we didn't know it was going to gross millions yet. Crappy PS shortcuts. Also, does it live in mountains, or is it one?

Mountain. Cold/Earth. One of the earliest ones to get done. We were cranking this game out at Backflip's usual furious pace--we didn't know it was going to gross millions yet. Crappy PS shortcuts. Also, does it live in mountains, or is it one?

Mud. Earth/Water. Not only one of my favorite designs, but a leap in construction. Faked 6 legs by just omitting the back 2 you never see. And the neck rolls out really far by a series of nested arcs. It's got a long, colorful tongue I'm not sure you see.

Mud. Earth/Water. Not only one of my favorite designs, but a leap in construction. Faked 6 legs by just omitting the back 2 you never see. And the neck rolls out really far by a series of nested arcs. It's got a long, colorful tongue I'm not sure you see.

Ice. Cold/Water.

Ice. Cold/Water.

Snow. Cold/Air.

Snow. Cold/Air.

Storm. Lightning/Cold. See Seaweed for the "eyelash" theory.

Storm. Lightning/Cold. See Seaweed for the "eyelash" theory.

Swamp. Plant/Water.

Swamp. Plant/Water.

Swamp. Plant/Water. Original color, but it blended with the habitat too much.

Swamp. Plant/Water. Original color, but it blended with the habitat too much.

Seaweed. Water/Plant. At one point, giant eyelashes were called for to make some "more feminine". Not sure that's working here. LOL.

Seaweed. Water/Plant. At one point, giant eyelashes were called for to make some "more feminine". Not sure that's working here. LOL.

Sonic. Air/Lightning. We did a thunder dragon later. This one was meant to be thunder as sound, rather than a crashing Thor-like dragon.

Sonic. Air/Lightning. We did a thunder dragon later. This one was meant to be thunder as sound, rather than a crashing Thor-like dragon.

Willow. Air/Plant. Oof. I'd weep too, if that was my face. Probably the ugliest dragon in the game.

Willow. Air/Plant. Oof. I'd weep too, if that was my face. Probably the ugliest dragon in the game.

Hybrid thumbnails. Plant exploration.

Hybrid thumbnails. Plant exploration.

Early thumbnails. You can see the origins of Earth, Lightning, Firefly, and Lava here. As well as some kind of rabbit monster with a carrot sticking out of it's head.

Early thumbnails. You can see the origins of Earth, Lightning, Firefly, and Lava here. As well as some kind of rabbit monster with a carrot sticking out of it's head.

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