That's right! Those goggles on Craddock's head aren't just for show! In fact, if any of you ever wondered how in the world a feral dragon can ski, well, I hope this explains how its more than just possible, but actually quite effective!

Here's how it all works:

- Craddock specially engineered skis to fit a quadrupedal dragon such as himself! The back skis function mostly like normal skis, but the front skis are very customized! Craddock grips them via handles right at their center of gravity, and since Craddock does have opposable thumbs, this allows him to freely control the skis in any direction! They also have poles attached to the handles that extend beyond the back of the skis, so if Craddock ever needs to move along flatter terrain, he can rear up on his back legs and push down on the poles, landing back on the bottoms of the skis after the push!

- Going straight is very simple, as shown in the Bottom Right image, the quadrupedal body is quite good at staying stable even at high speeds and going over uneven terrain! And should he need to slow down slightly, he can always snow plow both his front and back pairs of skis, even more effective than just a single pair!

- Turning is where it gets a bit more complicated, but still quite effective and even natural given some practice! Slight turns can be achieved on all fours, but to turn sharp, like when descending a steep slope, Craddock rears up on his hind legs like in the Bottom Left, lifting his front skis off the ground, and swings his tail to the side to shift his momentum. When combined with angling his hind legs similar to how a human would when they turn while skiing, and maybe even adding in his wings as a bit of a parachute if necessary, he can turn with speed and precision on his hind legs!

- When Craddock reaches the bottom of a slope, he doesn't need to wait for a ski lift to take him back to the next peak! All he has to do is take off the skis, carry them in his mouth like in the Top Left, and fly up there using his wings! As such, he can ski anywhere! Backcountry IS his norm! And fresh powder is ALL his!

- Craddock has been skiing for long enough that he has even learned to do some fancy tricks like in the Top Right! In fact, by utilizing his heavy tail tip and his wings to help shift his momentum midair, he can pull off insane feats of acrobatics that no human could ever pull off!

So, between all these techniques, Craddock can ski just as well as any biped. In fact, I would argue he can ski even better than any human ever could!

This was a Raffle Prize by the absolutely amazing  Hato !! And yes you heard that right, I actually managed to win this sketch page in a raffle! I can't believe my own luck! But I think I certainly made the most of it! I cannot be more happy with the results! And honestly, I really do have to stress just how great of an artist Hato is. Not only did she do all this for free thanks to the raffle, but she also made MANY changes to the sketch page as per my request! With all the things she changed, I would have expected to pay extra if it was a commission! But rather, she made all the requested changes gladly and for free! And she still threw in the other uncolored sketches that she did that I did not request anyways! So absolutely go check her out! (She is more active on twitter @Hatosaurus!)

Also, go ahead and check out the uncolored bonus sketches that I got along with this raffle prize HERE!