The amphiptere is an interesting but obscure variety of dragon from real-world folklore (primarily European heraldry from the Middle Ages). Sometimes I draw them the traditional way, with two wings and no legs.
However, as I was working on the cerulean kite inks a few days ago I found myself drawing a dragon with what looked like vestigial secondary wings. That kicked off a line of speculation on what might happen if a six-limbed flying creature evolved into a flightless creature, and then re-developed the ability to fly…using a different set of limbs as wings.
The result is something with four flying limbs (two primary, two secondary) and two limbs for walking: the kinds of dragons I’ve taken to calling kites after the birds of prey of the same name.
Take that a step further (after all, bats use their wings for ground locomotion as well as flight) and you have a six-winged amphiptere. It’s rather ornamental-looking and I imagine that the swallowtail amfipteryx is semi-aquatic – a fish-eater perhaps, using those chin barbels to skim the water in search of the signs of prey beneath the surface.
About 32 minutes, black ink applied over bluelines using a Hunt 102 quill and small brush, plus a little water for the washes. This one will definitely appear in color soon.