_{"Forged between two worlds. Where fire roars, ice answers"}

Hey, Splinterfam! 🙌 Today, I’m bringing you one of my most challenging and epic fan arts to date: Zyrx the Emberglace, a creature born from the fusion of a fire dragon and a water dragon, whose body is a battlefield of opposing elements.

I’ve always loved drawing dragons 🐉, and each new project is an opportunity to push myself further and explore these beings filled with strength, mystery, and power. With Zyrx, I knew I had to go beyond: I needed to capture its wild energy, that explosive blend of scorching heat and deadly cold. My goal was to make you feel, when looking at the final illustration, that Zyrx is about to burst through the screen and unleash storms of fire and ice.

🔥 ZYRX: THE LIVING STORM

<pAccording to official lore, Zyrx was born from elemental chaos—an impossible hybrid lineage between a fire dragon and a water dragon. Its body is unstable; every scale vibrates with raw energy, and from its throat erupts arcs of incandescent lightning.

When Portia Nyr offered it a deal—a fragment of Praetoria’s secret in exchange for clearing the path for the Arcane Conclave’s expeditions—Zyrx accepted. Now, it soars across the skies like a living tempest, obliterating anyone who dares to stand against it.

If left unchecked, the Riftwatchers and their allies will fall under a fate of ash and ice. The air around it burns and freezes simultaneously; approaching too closely is suicide. But for the mages of the League of Verico, surrender is not an option: they must stop Zyrx… or perish.

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⏰ CREATIVE PROCESS

✏️ Phase 1: Sketch & Lineart

From the very first stroke, I knew this illustration had to convey strength, majesty, and chaos.

In this phase, I worked on Zyrx’s overall silhouette, aiming for a pose that communicated both power and movement.
I curved the neckline to add dynamism, spread the wings so they seemed ready to unleash destruction, and directed the dragon’s gaze toward where fire and ice would collide in the design.

🎨 Phase 2: Base Colors

This is where the fun began: bringing the beast and the background to life.

I separated the character into layers—wings, body, horns, effects—to maintain absolute control. I chose contrasting tones: intense reds for fire, icy blues for ice. This time, however, I established the background colors first to properly work out the painting’s colorimetry.

The goal was for the viewer to feel Zyrx’s duality—her scorching heat and lethal cold. Even in this early stage, I could already imagine her roaring over a battlefield.

🌗 Phase 3: Shadows, Details, and Elemental Energy

The real challenge was balancing the two elements so neither overpowered the other, and integrating everything with the background. I wanted that effect where the dragon’s beam is so powerful it splits the earth open, turning it into lava.

I added deep shadows to create volume, enhanced the shine of the scales, worked on the reflections across the wings, and incorporated light effects I found on Google to give a first glimpse of the energy discharge.

My goal was to make Zyrx look like a living force, not just a creature. At this point, the lightning beneath her skin began to truly come to life.

🌟 Phase 4: Magic, Final Effects, and Finishing Touches

The final phase was pure obsession with details—and the realization that I could do so much more to render the final result.

I added particle effects, mist, and energy to give it the epic feel Zyrx deserved. The edges of the lightning bolts are charged with sparks, and the frozen areas glow like shards of crystalline ice.

The contrast between both elements is undoubtedly my favorite part. I even added ice to her wings—even though the lore states that anything that gets close to her burns, I wanted to take it to the extreme with ice. This creates a clash of temperatures where heat and cold compete to see which destroys anything nearby first.

Dragons have always been my weakness: powerful, mysterious, and full of magic. Painting them is my favorite way to pay tribute to them, and Zyrx is, by far, one of my most ambitious projects.
Enjoy the GIF (Fair warning: the file's a bit heavy, so patience appreciated! 😉

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Did you like this dragon?
Tell me in the comments! 👇

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