Carved Dragons

In the toughest times of life, I often find myself troubled by the fact that we inhabit a world where dinosaurs, dragons, and colossal reptiles are merely figments of imagination. It pains me deeply when I rewatch Jurassic Park. The realization that Godzilla is just a fictional character brings tears to my eyes. There are no Drogons or Smaugs in existence—nothing at all! All these magnificent creatures have either long been extinct or transformed into elaborate fantasies crafted by humans. It’s simply unbearable! I can only hope that bears are real…

Fortunately, there are individuals in this world who can bring magic back into our lives. One such person is Roman—a 23-year-old builder from Minecraft Pocket Edition. He possesses an incredible talent for sculpture. Not only can he recreate various images in Minecraft PE, but he is also one of the biggest enthusiasts of everything related to lizards and dragons.







“I love everything about them—from the tip of their tails to their snouts, from their immense strength to their fierce nature. My fascination with them began over 13 years ago. I know a great deal about them. Simply put, dragons are just giant lizards,” says the creator.

Roman discovered his passion and skill for sculpting four years ago when he decided to work on 2D models. Initially, he focused on small builds ranging from 20 to 50 blocks. Once he felt the spark of interest, he aimed to expand the scale of his creations.

However, not only did the projects grow in size, but they also became more three-dimensional! “A sculpture of 50 blocks? What nonsense! I need more; my dragons must be massive,” thought our builder.

Of course! Size is what distinguishes an ordinary lizard from a dragon. Constructing dragons out of blocks is a challenging and labor-intensive task. The developer needed tools to help him create these dragons. He tried using Voxelsniper and WorldEdit, but they were incompatible with Roman’s old equipment and ended up being removed from his computer.

A fantastic solution to this issue was the program MCEdit, which avoids unnecessary rendering and focuses solely on the main model. Two years have passed since then, and although Roman has upgraded his computer, he still works with this software. “Honestly, I’ve become too accustomed to this program. I still have to tweak minor details directly in Minecraft PE,” he admits.





And so, Roman began crafting one terrifying reptile after another. The height of these creatures typically reached 256 blocks, while their width could range from 600 to 1000 blocks. Just imagine how many blocks that requires! Roman’s latest creation, Come to me into hell, measures 501 blocks wide, 514 blocks long, and 252 blocks high.

“I dislike small creations. They appear very unrealistic. Large sculptures seem more lush, rounded, and lifelike. Grand structures allow you to refine every detail,” notes the artist.

Creating large-scale sculptures enables Roman to incorporate as many details as possible, making the structure beautiful and realistic. He utilizes everything available—from coloring to the shape of the dragon.

“In the initial phase, inspiration is crucial. For this, I turn to the World Wide Web. Sometimes I even merge two photos into one! Additionally, ideas come to me spontaneously. Inspiration can also be found in everyday life,” explains Roman.

You’ve likely noticed that the artist strives to give a sense of movement to his sculptures. However, as he himself points out, the most critical aspects of the sculpture are the eyes and the color of the dragon. Roman describes the coloring process as working with gradients rather than individual shades. And he does it quite well!

“I design the eyes to look identical when viewed head-on. The last project marked a new milestone. In it, the dragon gazes directly into your eyes, rather than looking past you.”

Yes, having a dragon staring straight into your soul is quite frightening, especially considering they might break the fourth wall!

Nevertheless, I mentioned earlier that I wish to see more dragons in my life. Therefore, I will continue to admire Roman’s sculptures for a long time to come!