I ended up not doing anything with the images, 'cause they didn't look the way I wanted and Starburst beat me to miniature jungle-dwelling dragon anyway.
This is how they ought to look (only not quite, because the scanner i used is... fewmetsy):
Riplakish, Emerald-eyed Leafwing White, Male
Seliash, Sapphire-eyed Glasswing Silver, Female
Phyish, Emerald-eyed Leafwing Black, Female
Basically, they're tiny, marsh-dwelling dragons, about as intelligent as really smart fire-lizards. In the wild, they live in cytes, groups consisting of a lead female, her harem (3-5 males), their offspring, and assorted related and unrelated menials. Rank is determined through challenges, fought until one dragon submits. These rarely end in death.
Females and males are usually the same size, though females tend toward heavier builds. There is only one female to every four males, and they tend to dominate. The lowest ranking females will usually have one mate, while a cytequeen may have as many as seven males in her harem, and mate with all of then. It is possible for each of the eggs in the same clutch to have a different father.
They won't bond, exactly, but can either partner with an intelligent companion as adults (dolphineer-style teamwork) or, if the correct procedure is followed, can be bonded to an individual shortly after hatching. The prospective bonder must be naturally empathic in some way, though, or it will fail.
Ephemerals come in five colors. Blacks and whites are small, usually 1-1.5 feet in length. Silvers and gold are a bit bigger, and a large cream can grow to be as long as three feet. Wingsails are usually 'flame', or a red-yellow mix, but in rare cases can be 'leaf' (varied green), 'river' (blue to purple), 'night' (black with dark purple mottling and gold or silver speckling or streaks), or 'glass' (transparent icy blue). Eyes are gem-like (they do NOT glow, they're just slightly insectoid) and are usually white, or diamond. Rarer eye colors include ruby, emerald, blue sapphire and jet.
All Ephemerals' names end in 'sh'.
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I'm rather happy with the pictures, and the information me and my brother put together, but they take an hour each to draw... 30 minutes to sketch, 15 to ink, and 15 to color unless there's something I'm really stuck on, in which case it takes even longer. All of the above, of course, are extremely unusual... the first two were practice, the second was a request from my brother, who needed something to cheer him up.
I don't know whether I ought to do anything with these beasties besides stick 'em on my wall and feel pleased... I want to eventually adopt them out (others, not these), and if I do I'll have to draw them by hand... I'm not sure I could handle stages.
Anyway, comments, crits?
The outline is so nice, it'd be a shame to waste it!
