“We did a lot of redesign, made them more spiky, even in the baby state.
It was a little bit of a relaunch, but we still kept it believable for the audience.
It should still feel like they were the same babies… but they are not.”
HBO
Pointing the way
“The scales got spiky and sharp,” Martin continues.
“They were meant to look cute, but in-a-dragon-way cute.
It affected not just the color, but the shape.”
HBO
Flying colors
“We made them darker, the skin got more shimmery,” explains Martin.
“From there on, they developed.
“Everything was definitely from the animal world because we’re not just building mystical fantasy creatures.
HBO
We wanted to keep them grounded in reality.
“And we were shooting outside on real locations.
So everything is real and not meant to be a fantasy.
HBO
We wanted to transfer that.
So to create the skeletons, we looked at bats and birds [for inspiration].”
Constant evolution
“We had to change the dragons over the seasons,” Martin admits.
HBO
The season influenced the design.
It wasnt scaling up.
We were redoing them from scratch.”
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“We made the wings a little larger.
We changed the breastbone.
We had seen that in bird skeletons.
Pixomondo/HBO
They have this larger chest to make enough space for the muscles, which drive the wings.
Then we looked at lots of lizards for the texture.
This was a constant reference for us because there are tons of different lizards out there.
Pixomondo/HBO
You cant come up with cooler ideas than from nature.
It’s all there.
You just have to find the right references, which was quite fun to do.”
Pixomondo/HBO
“She needed handles she could grab on.
That design changed again in season 7 when multiple people were climbing on Drogons back.
We had to make room for more people.”
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“She’s still a queen.
That was quite challenging.”
“We have Dany touching their skin and noses.
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This is where reality kicks in.
That was something, making sure that it’s clear enough for the audience but not humanizing them.
It was a constant thing through the years, keeping them as animals.”
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Hot property
“The dragons have been good for business,” Martin acknowledges.
“I’m super-thankful to be part of it.
When I started on season 2, I had no idea whatGame of Throneswas.
Pixomondo/HBO
I hadnt read the books.
I had no idea what kind of phenomenon it would become.
This is like working onLord of the Ringsand theHarry Potterseries.
Pixomondo/HBO
