Dragon Hunter Portfolio Builder - Drawing Foundation Guide

The Dragon Hunter Portfolio Builder is a step-by-step system to create portfolio-quality concept art. This first part covers a complete drawing foundation—six weeks of structured development that will turn your rough ideas into polished character sheets, detailed props, and epic creature concepts.

Pick one of the three tracks below and follow it through all six weeks. By the end, you’ll have a strong project for your concept art portfolio!

• Track 1: Design a Dragon Hunter character, their iconic prop, and a unique dragon concept.

• Track 2: Illustrate a narrative scene of a Dragon Hunter sneaking up on a dragon in its natural habitat.

• Track 3: Build a gameplay mockup featuring a Dragon Hunter in a 3rd person RPG game (see examples for inspiration).

• Track 1: Create a Dragon Hunter character design sheet

  • 6 thumbnails

  • 3 portraits

  • 3 refined sketches

  • 1 final drawing

• Tracks 2 and 3: Begin your Dragon Hunter Narrative Illustration

  • 6 thumbnails

  • 3 refined character thumbnails

  • 1 refined compositional thumbnail

• Track 1: Design a weapon, tool, or hide-out for your Dragon Hunter

  • 6 thumbnails

  • 2 refined weapon concepts (with distinct shape language)

  • 1 final design

  • 2 functional call-outs

• Tracks 2 and 3: Refine the acting and gear for your illustration

  • 3 weapon designs

  • 1 refined color version

  • 1 detailed sketch of the featured character and props in scene

• Track 1: Create your Dragon concept sheet

  • 3 mannequin-style head designs + 3 mannequin full body designs

  • 3 dragon heads (inspired by snake, lizard, or alligator)

  • 6 full-body dragon thumbnails

  • 1 final dragon design

  • 3 gameplay or animation call-outs

• Tracks 2 and 3: Finish your Dragon Hunter illustration

  • 3 sketches of the dragon’s lair

  • 1 refined environment design

  • 1 final illustration (line art)

This guide breaks complex portfolio projects into bite-sized checkpoints, using techniques covered in our 6 Steps to Draw Anything: A Beginner's Guide, Dynamic Figure Drawing, and Beginner Design Guide.

Sticking to this weekly schedule will help you build professional, eye-catching work for studios or freelance pitches and prove to recruiters you can finish what you start!