Ok, so I have seen that most people are having trouble making realistic dragons, and they usually end up with something like this
Or like this.
First thing you notice is that they have bright colors, right? We must abide by one of the laws of nature while making one, or making anything that is realistic, which is "nothing is pure white, pure black, or neon". First off, think about the habitat your dragon will thrive in. Is it snowy? If so, make it white (but not pure white!). Is it in a forest? Make the colors grey, brown, green (not neon or bright green!), or black (but not pure black!).
Think realistically here. What would happen if you placed a bright white and blue dragon in the middle of a forest? The chances are is that it will either die from predation or starvation. What would happen if you placed a dark colored dragon in the middle of a snowy habitat such as a tundra? It would also suffer the same consequences as the white and blue dragon.
Now, I know it can be hard making a dragon in the aquatic class, but you must think about the surroundings aswell. This means no bright colors! First of all, think about how shallow the water in the habitat is. Is the habitat a shallow pond? Then I would recommend making the dragon a sand color to blend in with the bottom, or an algae color to blend in with the top or the banks. Is the habitat an ocean? If so, make it a light, sunny blue (not bright neon light blue!) at the bottom, and a darker blue at the top.
Now, there is one question that some people are probably asking: What about the fire? Fire is only available to those who have the ability of flight. The secret to a dragon's flight is not their wings, but their lungs. Dragons with the ability to fly have two lungs and a special bacteria in their stomachs that causes them to produce hydrogen (a gas that is highly flammable and lighter than air), that then flows into their second pair of lungs. What about the fire? I'm just getting to that part.
All dragons have molars, whether they are carnivores or not. However, the molars in flying dragons are larger, stronger, harder, and can easily crush stone; specifically platinum. Why platinum? Because when struck together, platinum creates a spark. Flying dragons with the ability to breathe fire have special cheek pouches made to hold this rare earth metal. When these cheek pouches are moved in a special way, it causes the platinum to create a spark. The dragon, before doing this, will breathe out the hydrogen in its lungs, and then will ignite it, thus creating the illusion of breathing fire. Dragons with this ability have a flap in the back of their throats to prevent backfires, similar to that of an alligator's or a crocodile's, which is used to prevent water from draining into their throats when submerged. This flap is found in the throats of sea dragons, which is used for the same purpose as the ones found on crocodiles and alligators. However, the more hydrogen a dragon breathes out, the more it will lower in altitude due to being unable to lift its weight.
Now for the classes. Dragon species and subspecies are categorized into different groups, known as classes. Dragons have various classes, just like they have various species.
Insectoid
Insectoid dragons have the appearance (or parts) of insects, arachnids, invertebrate, or any other arthropod. These dragons are usually characterized by having multiple eyes that make up one large eye, having exoskeletons aswell as skeletons, jointed appendages, and/or lacey insectlike wings.
Mammalian
Mammalian dragons have lots of fur covering most places, visible genitals, warm blood, and have the appearance (or parts) of mammals. Even though reptilian dragons can have fur, mammalian dragons have more fur than any other dragon.
Reptilian
Reptilian dragons are mostly covered in scales, have cold blood, and will molt and shed their skin as they grow larger. Reptilian dragons can grow fur, but they do not have as much as mammalian dragons do. These dragons are most common amongst stories and folklore.
Amphibious
Amphibious dragons, as their name suggests, spend part of their lives in the water and the other part on land. Their young are called nymphs, and when born may not have fully developed lungs, and must stay in the water until their lungs do develop fully. Amphibious dragons cannot spend their entire lives out of water, and if they try to, their skin will become dehydrated and they will die. Amphibious dragons may have very soft scales, or even no scales at all.
Aquatic
Aquatic dragons spend most of their lives in the water, and can have lungs, gills, or even both. Most aquatic dragons are incapable of flight, and use their "wings" as an extra pair of fins, which they use to glide through the water. They, like crocodiles and alligators, have the flap in the backs of their throats used for the same purpose. Their hands and/or feet are usually webbed, similar to a duck's feet or a fish's fins.
Hope this helped! If you have any questions, please message me or say so in the comments.
